{"id":19364,"date":"2018-03-20T11:19:50","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T19:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=19364"},"modified":"2024-02-02T12:29:21","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T17:29:21","slug":"how-to-use-google-trends-for-keyword-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-use-google-trends-for-keyword-research\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Google Trends for Keyword Research: 7 Effective Ways"},"content":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m sure that if you\u2019ve ever done keyword research, you used Google Trends to check the interest in a given keyword. But many SEOs never utilize the full potential of this fantastic tool. <\/div>\n

That is why we decided to write an article about Google Trends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this post, we\u2019ll cover a few cool ways to use Google Trends to help with your keyword research and \u0441ontent marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

But first, let\u2019s get to the bottom of what Google Trends is (and isn\u2019t).<\/p>\n

\"Beginner's
New to keyword research? Check out our<\/div>
Beginner\u2019s guide to keyword research<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about Google Trends data (and how it works)\u2026<\/h2>\n

When I started writing this article, I realized there is some confusion about Google Trends data across the internet.<\/p>\n

Many people think that the trend curve is the direct<\/em> representation of the query\u2019s search volume over time (like the one you can see in Google Keyword Planner tool<\/a>).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not exactly<\/em> how it works.<\/p>\n

Let me show you the trends graphs for the keyword \u201cflowers\u201d in Google Trends and GKP tool:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sidenote.<\/div> You can no longer see such graphs in Google Keyword Planner unless you\u2019re spending a certain amount on AdWords ads. <\/div>\n

As you can see, they look quite similar, but they\u2019re not identical.<\/p>\n

While Google Keyword Planner shows absolute search volume data, Google Trends shows the relative popularity<\/em> of a search query.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the explanation from Google Trends Help Center<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Trends adjusts search data to make comparisons between terms easier. Each data point is divided by the total searches of the geography and time range it represents, to compare relative popularity. <\/div><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, relative popularity is the ratio of a query\u2019s search volume to the sum of the search volumes of all possible queries.<\/p>\n

The resulting numbers then get scaled on a range of 0 to 100 based on a topics proportion to all searches. <\/div><\/blockquote>\n

Trends eliminates repeated searches from the same person over a short period to give you a better picture. And it is important to note that Trends only shows data for popular terms (low volume appears as 0).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the Google Trends graph for the query \u201cFacebook\u201d over the past 12 months (in the US):<\/p>\n

\"facebook<\/p>\n

To demonstrate you how Google Trends builds its \u201cInterest over time\u201d graph, let\u2019s pretend I have the same data Google has. (I don\u2019t really have it, unfortunately.)<\/p>\n

The numbers I will use below are by no means accurate. They are just an assumption to demonstrate how things work.<\/p>\n

Assumption 1:<\/strong> the total monthly number of all Google searches in the US is around 10 Billion (Source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Assumption 2:<\/strong> the search volume for the query \u201cFacebook\u201d in the US is 83 Million (according to Ahrefs Keywords Explorer<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the table I made for this simulation:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To build a graph the way Google Trends does, you need to take the following steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Calculate relative popularity as a ratio of the query\u2019s search volume to the total number of searches.<\/li>\n
  2. Scale these values proportionally so that the maximum value is 100.<\/li>\n
  3. Put the dots on the graph.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Google<\/p>\n

    This example gives us two important takeaways:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Search term popularity changes when the query\u2019s search volume changes<\/strong> (see May 2017 \u2014 June 2017). That\u2019s pretty obvious, right?<\/li>\n
    2. Search term popularity will also change if the total number of searches changes<\/strong>, even if the query\u2019s search volume is constant (see June 2017 \u2014 July 2017 in my example above).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Now you see that popularity used in Google Trends does not always correlate with query\u2019s search volume. But in most cases, it does.<\/p>\n

      For example, if you take the keyword \u201cStar Wars,\u201d you\u2019ll notice that the same spike (December 2015) appears in Google Trends and<\/em> Ahrefs Keywords Explorer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      \"Star<\/p>\n

      This is despite the fact that Keywords Explorer shows the search volume trend, whereas Google Trends shows the \u201cpopularity\u201d trend (as outlined above).<\/p>\n

      Now let me show you how you can (and should) use Google Trends in your online marketing activities and during keyword research<\/a> in particular.<\/p>\n

      Prefer video? Watch this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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