Trends, trends, trends, trends, trends.
"Hey, is that keyword trending right now?"
"That keyword would be hot on Google right about now."
"Quick, write a blog and rank for that trending keyword!"
If you hang out with an SEO specialist for more than five minutes, you’re bound to hear something like this.
But don't get it twisted, this isn't about the latest pop culture buzz or Hollywood gossip. Nope, we’re diving into something way more practical (but still pretty exciting if you're into this sort of thing).
Let’s dive straight into it.
A key component that can be easily overlooked during a keyword research process is checking for keywords that are currently trending or expected to trend. Missing out on keywords means that you could potentially miss out on traffic coming through your website.
This is where partnering with a skilled SEO agency can make all the difference—they’ll ensure you’re targeting those high-impact, trending keywords to maximise your traffic potential.
You’re probably wondering, well how do I find these trends?
Well, we’re glad you asked! By far, the best free tool out there that a lot of content writers, digital marketers, and SEO specialists use is Google Trends.
What is Google Trends?
- Google first launched Google Trends in 2006, is a free tool that lets you explore the popularity of specific search terms over time and across different regions. It gives you handy graphs and data charts that show how search behaviours change. But here's the catch: it only shows data for popular queries. So if your keyword isn't well-known, it might not show up.
- Google Trends analyzes a portion of Google searches to figure out how many times a term was searched over a certain period. It then compares this information across different regions and languages, creating a detailed picture of what’s trending.
- How are these queries calculated?
According to Google, a search query is calculated by dividing the total number of monthly searches that happen in a geographic location by the number of searches a certain keyword gets in order to compare relative popularity.
How does this work?
Relative Popularity: Google Trends doesn’t give you raw numbers; it gives you a relative score. This score is normalised on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 showing peak popularity for that term. This means you’re seeing how a keyword's popularity compares over time, rather than its absolute search volume.
Real-time Data: One of the best things about Google Trends is that it offers near real-time data, letting you catch the latest trends as they happen. This is especially useful for news outlets, marketers, and researchers who need up-to-the-minute information.
For example: Total Monthly Searches in Australia = 100,000
Monthly Searches for keyword ‘Standing Desk’ = 10,000
10,000/100,000= 10 (relative score)
How to use Google Trends?
How to see how much something is searched on Google:
- Just type "Google Trends" into your search bar and click on the first result.
- Pop your keyword into the search bar and select your preferred location using the dropdown in the top right corner.
- You can narrow down your search by country, timeline, category, and even the type of web search.
4. Want to see how one keyword stacks up against another? Google Trends lets you do that easily. For instance, type in "Napkin" vs "Serviette."
Spoiler alert: "Napkin" usually wins.
5. Google Trends can also suggest related keywords, which might give you a fresh angle on your content.
6. Find related keywords to your target keyword that will give you an idea if something else is more or less popular. We can see below that ‘DIY Standing Desk’ is trending more than ‘Standing Desk’.
How will Google Trends help with Keyword Research?
- Identify popular products and topics: Once you identify the topic you want to write about or the product you want to launch, Google Trends will help you easily find keywords that are becoming super popular in your target country.
- Seasonal Trends: Google Trends gives you the opportunity of identifying seasonal trends, so you can create and promote content at the right time.
- A good example of this is the ‘Australian Open’, as it reaches peak popularity once a year.
- Prepare content calendar: A better example of a topic that you want to prepare a content calendar for would be the keyword ‘full moon’, as it appears to gain popularity at the start of each month.
- Identify evergreen & upcoming trending topics: Use Google Trends to find evergreen content that never goes out of popularity and see if those keywords are relevant to your topic’s industry/niche.
Use Google Trends to find content that is about to become popular and start preparing the content to be published. Below we can see that ‘Marketing Automation’ is a keyword that is expected to trend.
Once you have identified a topic you want to go after, cross-check with a tool like SEMrush to see how many times this keyword has been searched.
Another popular free tool is Exploding Topics by Brain Dean, which has a lot of similar functionalities to Google Trends.
Use Google Trends for Content Ideas
Crafting compelling content is all about staying ahead of the curve, and that’s where can Google Trends come in:
- Build Topic Clusters: Google Trends can help you create clusters of related topics that are gaining traction, giving your content a solid foundation.
- Finding the Most Searched Topic in Every Region or Country: Use Google Trends to find out which topics are hot in different areas, and tailor your content to those interests, enterprise SEO campaigns this is key research area for finding growth trends to leverage.
- Reading the Interest Over Time Graph: Learn how to interpret the "interest over time" graph to spot patterns and forecast future trends.
- Reading the Related Searches Chart: Dive into the "related searches" section to uncover additional keywords and phrases that could inspire your next piece of content.
- Keywords for Local SEO:Google Trends also allows you to see where a search query is most popular, right down to the country, city, or even metro area.
- This is especially useful if you're a business owner trying to figure out where your products or services are in demand. For instance, if you sell surfboards in Australia, you can pinpoint your top markets.
We hope this gave you an overall idea and insight into the power of Google Trends when it comes to finding current topics that are trending or topics that are about to trend.
Approach this tool with a strategy in mind, as leveraging it opens up a world of opportunities for content inspiration and writing. Go and get those blog’s ranking!
