Google, on average, receives over 40,000 search queries per second. This equates to 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide (Internet Live Stats). Now that’s a lot of searches.
With over 70% of the search market share, it is safe to say that Google is undoubtedly the most popular search engine in the world, and we would be astounded if you came across anyone who hadn’t heard of it.
With all this ‘Googling’ it comes to no surprise that Google collects an extensive amount of data, which is incredibly useful if you’re searching for specific information.
However, when conducting market research on customers and potential customers, due to scarce resources and budgets, it can be near impossible. After all, many businesses don’t have the time or expertise to conduct detailed focus groups, surveys or customer interviews. They’re too busy running their business.
As customer centric as always, Google launched its Google Trends tool onto the market in 2008. An affordable and readily available research tool, it collects all its data from the Google search engine and develops in-depth market insights and analysis. Detailed and thorough, it shows how frequently a particular search term, keyword, phrase, company person or topic is searched for across the world.
Incredibly simple to use (thanks Google) all it requires is to type in a keyword or phrase that you want to research, and Google will identify how popular or ‘Trending’ it is. In addition, it identifies any other relevant phrases related to that topic.
Here are five ways you can utilise Google Trends to improve your business;
Relevancy
Highly beneficial for small businesses that don’t conduct ongoing market research, the Google Trends homepage provides lists of recently trending search phrases. It also offers insights into relevant news or media surrounding that topic.
For example, you may see a large beauty brand trending and determine it is because they have launched a new nail varnish which guarantees a chip-resistant finish for up to 3 weeks (we wish). If you own a beauty salon or are a beauty therapist, this is an excellent opportunity for you to catch onto the latest trend and begin offering it in your business.
Keeping up to date on trends in your industry is crucial to stay ahead of the curve, increase brand awareness and develop an edge over your competitors.
Seasonality
Google Trends also tells you the seasonality of the topic you are searching for – during what time period it is most popular. Whether you want to see the popularity of something in the past hour, last three months, or last five years, this can help you identify relevant trends through specific months and seasons – incredibly beneficial when deciding when to run marketing campaigns, or offer/introduce certain products.
For example, if you own a garden centre, you are likely to see a large number of searches for soil and seeds in the spring, or if you own a beauty brand, you are likely to see searches for red glitter nail varnishes in the months up to Christmas. Furthermore, you can make the data more relevant to your industry by editing your search by category.
Trend Longevity
An ideal solution if there is a trend or product you have been considering taking further, Google Trends will indicate whether the trend has seen a consistent increase over a long period, so you can determine whether it will stay relevant. Alternatively, if the trend seems to increase and dip, then the likelihood is that this trend isn’t worth investing in.
Creating Creative Content
Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to increase brand awareness and engage your audience, and one of the best ways to create content is to utilise Google Trends.
By being able to identify the latest stories and popular trending topics, you can capitalise on these interests in marketing emails, blog posts and social media.
Developing your content around relevant and exciting topics will increase engagement with your current and potential customers and show that you are up-to-date with world affairs.
Industry and Brand Monitoring
If you own a reasonably large business with significant website traffic, then Google Trends can be incredibly useful when comparing your business against the competition. To go a step further, you can use your findings to undertake a thorough competitor analysis.
Capitalising on these insights, such as specific locations, you can see where your competitors are doing better than you, which can help you decide whether to focus on marketing to this location or to discard it and focus on another.
In addition, you can identify where your products or services are most popular. If you only sell products online, you might be surprised to learn that you have a large market in another country or state that you were not aware of. This information will assist you in creating strategic geographic marketing campaigns and increase your market share within these audiences. If you need some help tailoring your products or services to your audience or want to develop more in-depth insights into your industry, we would love to utilise Google Trends and take your business to new heights. Get in touch with us today.
