Great Place for a Google Trends Crash Course

While rummaging through some Google News under the "google" query I found a link to Wil Reynolds article "A Crash Course for Marketers on Google's New Trend Tool". Interested I clicked through the original link to the article. So far, so good.

Google Trends was released along with the most recent products during Google Press Day (with the exception of Google Notebook which was released the following week). Google Trends is a fun tool for novices, vanity searchers, and advertisers alike. Reynolds writes the "Crash Course" to offer some insight into the more useful techniques Google Trends can provide marketers, online commerce sites and advertisers.

To sum it up:

Here are some real-world ways you could use the data in Google Trends to help you get a jump on your competitors and assess their search penetration.

Plural vs. Singluar Searches
An interesting topic as many keyword tools default to the plural combining both singular and plural results in one. The trouble here is there's no way to decipher which is actually the power keyword. See the differences here betweenswimming pool vs. swimming pools. Note the differences and the spike in search activity. Providers of pools would want to be visible before the spike, not just during.

Real Estate Maximization
While this appears to effect ecommerce sites especially others must take heed. Featuring products, services, and information searches are looking for in predominant areas of your site are essential. Reynolds provides more insight into the retail side of this scenerio. Here's an example of political uses of the Google Trends tool. Note the spikes, note the election, then note the drop offs. The "cities" option can also help target areas for political campaigning.

Competitor Analysis
Google Trends also always insight into branding and PR campaigns. Looking at the results in the second graph you can follow news stories and their effects on the spikes and dips in the graph.

Organic Search Timing/SEO Firm Selection

Now you are armed with knowledge about when search volume picks up and when it typically spikes. You can better time when to kick off an organic search campaign. Typically, organic search can take 3-6 months to begin showing real results; if your industry is very competitive, it could take even longer!

You can read the full article at MarketingProfs.com. I would highly recommend this tool for anyone in the industry. Play around with the terms, notice trends, then put the information to good use. Of course, you could simply entertain yourself.