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If you’re looking for data on the data people are looking for, check out Google Trends. Google Trends is a treasure trove of information about the most popular searches at Google.
What Is Google Trends?
Google Trends shows you the most popular search terms at Google. Google Trends has been around in various forms since 2004 but the importance of the information gathered from Google Trends is still being discovered.
How Google Trends Can Be Used
You may not think of yourself as someone who needs to keep up on the latest trends. You may think, “I don’t care what Kim Kardashian wore last night no matter how many people search for it!”
But Google Trends can provide you with valuable information far beyond pop culture:
- Searches for a disease may alert epidemiologists and governments about possible outbreaks, especially within a certain region.
- Searches for news on a company may alert investors about possible stock movement.
- Google Trends can help politicians understand which issues are important to their constituents.
- Google Trends can help businesses marketers understand what people are searching for.
- Journalists and Bloggers can use Google Trends to get inspiration for hot article topics.
A study last year by Scientific Reports showed a correlation between US stock market movement and search terms appearing on Google Trends: Quantifying Trading Behavior in Financial Markets Using Google Trends. The report suggests that Google Trends may be able to predict stock market crashes based upon the searches people conduct on a company. Don’t bet the farm on Google Trends, though, it isn’t infallible. See, Google Trends Stock Market Prediction Gets A Trip To The Shop, Calls A Down Week.
Interested in seeing if people are searching for “flu” near you? See, Google Flu Trends for locations where influenza might be spreading and Dengue Trends to see where Dengue Fever is being searched.
Notably, a recent study by Wellesley College revealed that Google Trends results did not accurately predict the outcomes of US elections in 2008 and 2010: ON THE PREDICTABILITY OF THE U.S. ELECTIONS THROUGH SEARCH VOLUME ACTIVITY
Using Google Trends
You can use Google Trends to see which search terms are the most popular now or within a certain time period. You can see the search terms ranked in list view or in a calendar grid:
You can see all search terms or refine by categories such as:
- Business & politics
- Entertainment
- Lifestyle
- Nature & science
- Shopping & fashion
- Sports
- Travel & leisure
Clicking on the icons above the categories will show you which are the most popular topics and which are trending.
By clicking on “Explore” next to any term, you can see a graph of search volume over time, regional interest, similar search terms and more.
You can also see a constantly changing grid image of the hottest topics on Google:
Comparing Trends
You can compare search terms to see which is the most popular. Add multiple search terms to Google Trends to see how they compare over time:
[trends h=”450″ w=”500″ q=”iOS,android,windowsphone,BlackBerry” geo=”US”]
Google Trends will display regional interest, related search terms and allow you to share the results on social media.
Google Trends in 2013
Google Trends has a special section on 2013, showing you what were the hottest searches in each category last year. Head to Google Trends 2013 to show you which terms were the hottest last year.
Check out this video showing you the highlights of Google searches from 2013:
Your Thoughts
Have you ever used Google Trends to discover what’s hot? How do you think Google Trends information should be interpreted? Did you search your locality for Dengue Fever? Let us know in the Comments section below!
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Twitter Emoji Trends
If you’re interested in trends, check out a website called Emojitracker that shows the most popular emojis being used on Twitter in real time. Be careful, the number flashes so quickly that the website has a warning that it could trigger epilepsy.
For more information about emojis and emoticons, see, Emoticons: To Love or Not to Love?
Hi Carolyn,
Informative post indeed 🙂
Glad I knew a little about Google Trends before I read it here…lol…though not all the details! Yes, you can use it to a great extent. and when I learnt about it too from a post I’d read a few months back, I started using it for the posts I write on the blog – just to see whats trending in that niche to have a rough idea – you lose a few minutes but you get to know the trending topics and talks reg a topic and can elaborate or look it up and write about it too.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, Google Trends isn’t new but the ways that people are interpreting the information gained from Google Trends is especially interesting. Even if you don’t follow pop culture you still can benefit from seeing what’s hot on Google Trends.
You’re right, Harleena, Google Trends is a fascinating site and you definitely can lose time there exploring all that it has to offer.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Harleena!
Hi Carolyn,
I have peeked at Google Trends, and heard some buzz of how great it is to use, but NOW you have explained how effective it can be.
When sharing things on Social Media, trending topics are great conversation starters. And that’s what we want…engagement!
I also like the feature to see what trends are doing well. Now you have my wheels spinning as a marketer. I imagine this will also come in handy to see what people are most interested in certain niches.
Thanks for opening up a whole new world of ideas!
-Donna
Hi Donna, Yes, Google Trends can be a treasure trove for marketers. You can see which search terms are the ones most used by people for any date or regional area. You can develop an entire marketing campaign around the information you find on Google Trends. You can also avoid using a similar search term that isn’t nearly as popular as the one that appears on Google Trends.
Thanks so much for sharing your insights with us, Donna!
Hi Carolyn,
Google trends is an awesome site. It is very useful to know about the trends as you have outlined. Its also good to know about the trends from the blogging point of view as well. I know this is going to give a lot of people ideas to make things better for them.
Thanks for sharing the various types of case studies . I loved those 🙂
Hi Ashvini, Yes, thank you very much for the inspiration for this article. You’re right, Google Trends can be an effective tool both for the curious and for those who can make good use of this data.
I’m with you, I found the scientific uses of Google Trends fascinating. In the future who knows what this information will be used for? Perhaps predicting the next Martian/Zombie/Body Snatcher invasion?
Hey Carol,
Great info in your post! I’m working on incorporating “trends” into my keyword research to expand my reach and target more clients! I also really love the little emoji tracker, so cool that something like that exists, still have to think about the biz application though haha!
Great Read,
Zach
Hi Zach, So glad you enjoyed this. Yes, it’s a great way to find keywords and article topics for a blog. That emoji tracker is very cool too. I’m not sure what the business application is for it, but congratulations to the person who figures that out!
I have been using Google trend since one year . It is a very useful tool for a blogger . All time when I go to write an article , at first i go through the Google adward and google trend for choosing perfect keyword . Last 3 month I didn’t use Google trend because of business , that why I didn’t aware the latest update of it’s . This article was really informative and you deserve thanks for it
Hey Carolyn,
Finally made it by here, better late then never right!
So I know about Google Trends of course because when doing a lot of affiliate marketing I would do my research there to see what was trending and what I could take advantage of for promoting products. Since I don’t really do that area of affiliate marketing anymore I don’t pay as much attention to it now although finding great headlines and writing posts around something that’s trending, well we all know how powerful that can be right!
As always you’d dove into a great explanation and shared all the good stuff with anyone who just thought it was only about finding what’s up now! Way to go Carolyn and thank you for always explaining things so we all can understand it.
Hope you’re feeling much better now and your weather is slacking off. We’ve got sunshine and really nice weather this weekend so I’ll be thinking about you guys.
~Adrienne
Thanks Carolyn for this great post.
I knew little bit about Google Trends but don’t have such depth knowledge. Your post definitely help me to learn many thinks about Google Trends.
Hi Swarup, I’m so glad you found this helpful. Thanks for letting us know. I hope you’re enjoying Google Trends!