How can I use Google Trends for my keyword research?

Running a business means focusing on your product or service—but that often leaves little time to think like your customers. How do they find you online? What do they search for? If you're not a marketing expert, these questions can be overwhelming. Fortunately, free tools like Google Trends can help. In this article, you'll learn how to use Google Trends to improve your keyword strategy.

What is Google Trends?

Google Trends is a free tool from Google that shows you how often specific search terms are entered into Google Search over time. You can analyze interest in a keyword by region, time frame, or even by search type (web, image, YouTube, etc.). 

Whether you're targeting a global market or just your local area, Google Trends provides insights into what people care about—right now or historically. It’s an excellent starting point for understanding how topics and keywords evolve.

Google Trends is a free tool from Google that shows you how often specific search terms are entered into Google Search over time. You can analyze interest in a keyword by region, time frame, or even by search type (web, image, YouTube, etc.).

Whether you're targeting a global market or just your local area, Google Trends provides insights into what people care about—right now or historically. It’s an excellent starting point for understanding how topics and keywords evolve.

How Does It Work?

Google Trends is a free tool from Google that shows you how often specific search terms are entered into Google Search over time. You can analyze interest in a keyword by region, time frame, or even by search type (web, image, YouTube, etc.).

Whether you're targeting a global market or just your local area, Google Trends provides insights into what people care about—right now or historically. It’s an excellent starting point for understanding how topics and keywords evolve.

Google Trends is a free tool from Google that shows you how often specific search terms are entered into Google Search over time. You can analyze interest in a keyword by region, time frame, or even by search type (web, image, YouTube, etc.).

Whether you're targeting a global market or just your local area, Google Trends provides insights into what people care about—right now or historically. It’s an excellent starting point for understanding how topics and keywords evolve.

How Does It Work?

Using Google Trends is simple:

• Type in a keyword or phrase
• Choose a region and time range
• View a graph of search interest over time

You can also:

• Compare multiple terms (e.g. "ecommerce" vs. "online store")
• Discover related queries and rising trends
• Filter by search type (like YouTube or Google Shopping)

This helps you make more informed decisions when choosing between similar terms or evaluating seasonal interest in topics.

Why Should I Use It?

When building a website—especially for SEO—using the right keywords is crucial. They need to reflect your business and match what your audience actually types into Google.

Google Trends helps you:

• Understand keyword popularity over time
• Spot rising trends before your competitors do
• Choose the most effective version of a term (e.g. spelling, hyphenation)

Before investing in SEO content or ad campaigns, you can use Google Trends to validate your keyword ideas. It saves you time and ensures your efforts are grounded in actual data.

Real-World Use: Choosing the Right Keywords

Let’s say you’re unsure whether to use “online shop” or “ecommerce” on your site. With Google Trends, you can compare both terms and see which gets more searches—and in which regions. You’ll also spot whether their popularity is growing, stable, or declining.

These insights help shape not just your website content, but also blog posts, product descriptions, headlines, and even social media messaging.

A Smart Addition to Your Strategy

Google Trends isn’t a full SEO tool on its own, but it’s a valuable piece of the puzzle. Pair it with:

• A solid on-page SEO strategy
• Local directory listings
• Google Ads or social ads
• keyword tracking tools like those included in rankingCoach

This way, you’ll build a stronger digital presence and reach more of the right people.

Final thoughts

Google Trends is a fast, free, and user-friendly way to make smarter keyword choices. Use it to understand your audience, refine your content, and stay one step ahead of the competition.