Google Trends is a free online tool for search trends. It is based on how often a keyword is searched on Google over a period of time. And as it also integrates geographical data, it is particularly useful for local SEO.

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Create seasonal content

The idea is to detect peaks of popularity for your query in order to publish at the right time. For example, if you run a blog about motorcycles, you know that certain events like the MotoGP are very popular. So, by checking the search term "MotoGP" in Google Trends, you'll see when it is most popular. It could be the day of the MotoGP launch, the day before or the day after... So you'll have a clear idea of when you should publish.

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Seasonal trends are an endless source of topics to cover. You can take advantage of the influx of research to write fresh content or to optimize existing content.

Find new hot topics

Google Trends can help you find ideas for newsworthy topics. You'll get access to the most typed queries over the past 24 hours. It is also possible to apply a filter by category to refine your search. However, keep in mind that you will not be the only one to use Google Trends. To stand out from the competition, try to take a contrarian approach to the hot topics. A topic treated with an innovative angle will be more easily talked about.

Make sure popularity spikes don't skew your data

Tools giving estimates of monthly search volumes like Yooda Insight or Adwords Planner indicate an average smoothed over a year. As a result, this method of calculation can be problematic when queries experience peaks in popularity at certain times of the year. The average data is therefore wrong in a way. Google Trends help you evaluate the real potential of a keyword by indicating if it has experienced peaks in popularity during the year.

Diagnose a drop in organic traffic

Many site owners have experienced a lot of scares in terms of organic traffic. However, sometimes the drop in traffic is not your fault. It is simply a drop in searches for the targeted keyword. Google Trends will show you that drop in that case.

Evaluate demand by city and region

Google Trends allows you to target prospects based on their preferences and location. For example, if you sell motorcycle equipment, you can check the popularity of the keyword "motorcycle equipment" in a region or city. This way, you will know if it is wise to try to rank on queries such as "motorcycle equipment + city name", both in SEO and in SEA.

Find related queries for the long tail

Google Trends is an excellent tool to develop your content strategy. Indeed, it offers a "related queries" function that displays the first 20 queries related to trends and the 25 most popular related queries. By entering these related keywords into a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush, you can find new opportunities for your long tail.

Choose the right medium for your topic

Sometimes a keyword's popularity drops, but that doesn't mean you should give up working on it. Indeed, it happens that the interest of Internet users "transfers" to another medium. For example, until now, your page about "Vegan Mascara" was very successful. You have noticed for a few weeks a decrease in traffic and a decrease in its popularity on Google. But this is not necessarily a fatality. If you replace "Web search" by "Youtube search", you might be surprised to see that this query becomes more and more popular on Youtube! In this case, the explanation could be that Youtubers have started to publish tutorials on vegan mascaras.

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Conclusion

Google Trends is therefore a versatile tool that helps in the development and planning of its content strategy, while providing indications on potential targets. It is also an additional metric to refine the data on search volumes.

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   Article written by Louis Chevant

Further reading

The complete guide to using the Google Search Console

Google Search Console: free tool provided by Google to analyze the SEO performance of your website.