Do you ever start using Google Trends to find what’s trending and end up not using any of the data that looked so promising?
Good. You’re no different from most marketers out there.
But it’s time to stop wasting your time searching for dead end results and start getting everything you can out of this free tool.
Use only what you need
Every business will find a different way to use this tool but the core use always comes back to the research stage of development for your ad campaign, blogging, spying on competitors and finding what’s “hot” on the web.
Here are three ways you can start using Google Trends today:
- Mine insights from seasonal search trends to create timely content
- Identify geographic trends to improve Pay Per Click advertising campaigns
- Use the news to find topics your audience react to
Mine Seasonal Trends
Here is an example of how an accounting firm might use Google Trends to schedule their seasonal blog content to reach their audience at the optimal times.
Let’s use “filing taxes” as our sample key phrase. I chose the phrase literally because it came to the top of my head when I thought of a CPA. It doesn’t need to be meticulously calculated. Just ask yourself, What service or phrase do your customers use frequently when talking with you?
An obvious trend is spotted below and you can use the trend data to know when to post about filing your taxes.
The trend shows that the phrase “filing taxes” peaks in February and April.
Now it’s time to write create content! Create useful content around each peak in the graph to support the upcoming search trend. The goal is to not only write content during tax season but mostly out of tax season so it has time to build authority throughout the year and rank organically when tax season picks up again.
Target Geographically
Get a quick glimpse of what cities are searching the most for phrases in your industry. If you sell your product online, pay special attention to the top sub-regions and cities for potential ad targeting. Remember that Google Trends should serve as a launching tool to help identify what you should look into more. Don’t stop here. Even though Baltimore is ranked first for “filing taxes” you need to know why it is. It could simply be a few news stories that brought a lot of buzz. Always ask WHY.
Use the News
Take a look at the headlines I’ve highlighted in the red box below. Notice a pattern? Four out of the six stories are about saving money! That’s not just this year, notice the articles date back to 2008. You don’t need spend a bunch of time searching, trying to figure out what your audience is interested in… That’s what news reporters are for! They find the stories that get a reaction out of people. Stories that they know will pique public interest. Obviously they’ve found that saving money around tax time is a time tested topic that they know their audience is going to want read. If I were a CPA, I’d be writing articles with great tips to save my clients money as well!
Let the news sniff out the story while you sit back and relax. Use their topics as idea generators for your own content. In the end it’s your voice your audience wants to hear. There may be 1,000 articles on how to save money at tax time, but no matter how good they are, not one of them are as relevant to your target audience as the article you write for them. Your clients and audience are going to listen to your advice, not some strangers. So what are you waiting for?
Photo Credit: Stefano Corso via Compfight
