Knowing what kind of information users are looking for is extremely important in
marketing
. Google Trends is a tool that allows you to research what those users are looking for. Google Trends is a tool that allows you to check search trends on Google, and when used appropriately, you can accurately understand user
needs
. Therefore, in this article, we will introduce the functions of Google Trends, how to use them, how to use them specifically, and the differences between them and Google Keyword Planner, so please refer to them.
What is Google Trends?
Google Trends
is a tool provided by Google that shows trends in the number of searches for keywords. It can be used for free without registering an account, and the reference data is real-time, so you can see the latest search trends. You can view search trends for keywords over a wide range of time periods, including the past hour, up to the past five years, or from 2004 to the present.
By registering your email address and specifying rapidly increasing keywords or keywords/topics you want to check, you will be notified of trends by email. In this way, Google Trends is a very useful tool for examining market demand.
How to use Google Trends
As of September 2021, Google Trends has four main functions.
Here, we will introduce the features and usage of the above four functions.
Trending keywords
Trending Keywords is a feature that allows you to view daily search trends and real-time search trends by country.
Daily search trends allow you to check the daily trending words and related articles. On the other hand, real-time search trends allow you to see the changes in keywords that have seen a sudden increase in search volume within the past 24 hours.
How to use it is as follows.
On the home screen, click the menu icon in the top left corner and select Trending Searches.
Specify the information you want to know: “Daily search trends”, “Real-time search trends”, and “By country”.
Daily search trends let you see the number of searches for each keyword and related news. Real-time search trends show interest trends, relevant news, and relevant keywords.
investigate (investigate)
“Search” is a function that allows you to check the trends in the number of searches for a keyword. Not only can you check the trends by country, but you can also compare the trends of up to 5 keywords by displaying them in a line graph at the same time. How to use it is as follows.
On the home screen, click the menu icon in the top left corner and select Explore.
Enter the keyword you want to search in the search window.
The displayed line graph shows the change in the number of searches that include the entered keyword. If you want to compare with another keyword, add the keyword to the “+ comparison” section. However, be careful when adding keywords. The line graph here is a graph of the relative value of the total number of searches, with the highest value being 100. Therefore, be careful not to confuse this with search volume, as it is different from search volume.
From the four pull-down menus below the search window, you can select target country, period, category, and search method. At the bottom of the page, you can check country-specific interests, related topics, and related keywords.
Years in Search: Looking back in search
You can check the ranking of search keywords by year. Unlike trending keywords, Years in Search is a tool that allows you to check the keywords that were searched more than the previous year in a specified year from a long-term perspective of one year.
On the home screen, click the menu icon in the top left corner and select Years in Search.
Select the year you want to check on the top right bar.
You can select the country you want to search in the blue text.
By clicking on the keyword you are interested in, you can check trend graphs, regions, related topics, and related keywords, just like in “Investigating” above.
Registration “Registration” is a feature that allows you to register keywords that interest you and receive notifications of the latest information via email. By registering keywords that you are interested in, you will not have to check the information on that keyword each time. How to use it is as follows.
Click the menu icon in the top left corner of the home screen and select “Register”.
Click “+” at the bottom right. If you have already registered keywords, they will be displayed on this screen.
*If you are not logged in, you will need to log in. A Google account is required for registration, so create one if you don’t have one.
If you want to get information about a certain keyword, add a “topic” and enter the keyword. If you want to get the latest information on trending keywords, select “Trending keywords.” You can specify the region and frequency for each, so please select your favorite region and frequency.
Difference between Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner
A similar tool to Google Trends is Google Keyword Planner. As mentioned above, you can use Google Trends for free without registering anything. On the other hand, Google Keyword Planner is a tool from Google Ads, so you need to register for an account. Here, we will explain the four major differences between each tool.
competitiveness
You can check the strength of your competitors who are running ads using the same keywords. The strength of competition is displayed in three levels: weak, medium, and strong. This is only competitive in advertising, but this competitiveness is often the same in
SEO
, so let’s take advantage of it when creating content.
Monthly search volume
Google Trends only allows you to check the number of searches in relative terms. On the other hand, Google Keyword Planner allows you to see exact monthly search numbers. However, Google Keyword Planner only displays the number of searches in rough numbers, such as “100 to 1000,” unless you place an ad. If you want to know the exact number, place an ad even if it’s a small amount.
CPC (Google Ads unit price)
You can check the standard value of CPC (cost per click) when running Google ads. It is a good idea to refer to this when considering your advertising budget or when placing ads within a fixed advertising budget.
Related keywords
You can check keywords that are highly related to the keyword you are searching for. You can also check the competition, monthly search volume, and CPC of the displayed related keywords, so be sure to check the related keywords when selecting keywords.
How to effectively utilize Google Trends
So far, we have explained the functions of Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner. So how can you actually use Google Trends? Here are four ways to use Google Trends.
Discovery of highly trending keywords
You can discover the current trending keywords from the “trending keywords” mentioned above. If you create a page for keywords that are rapidly increasing in Google trends, you can greatly increase search traffic to your site.
This is because Google has an algorithm that makes it easier to rank newer pages related to keywords where users are likely to be looking for fresh information.
Changes in search trends over a specified period
As mentioned above, Google Trends is unique in that it allows you to compare trends in the number of keyword searches over a period of several months to a year. When creating content for seasonal keywords, looking at the trends in keywords over the year will tell you when to start taking measures.
In addition to keywords that are highly seasonal, you can also look at long-term search trends and narrow down the keywords you should take action on. Create content targeting keywords that are on the rise rather than keywords that are on the decline over time.
Changes in search trends for up to 5 keywords
Google Trends allows you to compare 5 keywords. This feature is very useful when there are multiple solutions for a single user problem.
For example, if we think about products that solve the winter cold, we can think of multiple solutions such as air conditioners, floor heating, and stoves to overcome the winter cold. At this time, Google Trends allows you to compare the number of searches for each keyword, so you can take measures for keywords that have a higher number of searches, and efficiently increase traffic to your site.
Related topics and keywords
Search for keywords to see related topics and related keywords. These related topics and keywords are topics and keywords that are often searched together with the keyword you entered.
By including information about related topics and keywords when creating content, you can make the content more relevant to users’ needs. It is also very useful for SEO measures, so be sure to check it every time.
Google trends are also useful for developing new products and launching new businesses.
Google Trends allows you to easily investigate trends in user needs. See what your users are most interested in in real time with Trending Keywords. Also, even if you have decided what you want to create, you can check the hidden needs of your users by looking at related topics and keywords.
Even if a keyword seems to be in constant demand, looking at the changes in Google trends, there is a possibility that the demand is only temporary. Use Google Trends efficiently to understand user needs from various perspectives.
Summary: Master Google Trends
In this article, we explained how to use and utilize Google Trends. Google Trends allows you to know user demand, so it can be used not only for web marketing and SEO measures, but also for product development.
Use this article as a reference to understand user demand, implement SEO measures, and incorporate it into your marketing.