Smart Ezines

Google rules the world: They are top providers for search, free email, analytics, and more, and people spend money – LOTS of money – to make sure their websites conform to Google’s search engine optimization standards. But there is one way that people are overlooking Google’s value to their business: Google Trends.

Google Trends gives people insight into what the world is looking for. By checking out these trends, businesses can react and transform to help them strengthen customer relationships and acquire more clients.

Here are some ways to do that:

1. If you write blogs, check out the “hot topics” and “hot searches” at Google.com/Trends to find out what people are looking at right now. Then create content that matches with what people are searching for. If your blogs are pushed out to Twitter, this is a great way to get traffic to your site that is interested in timely content (and perhaps to be listed in Google News, depending on the content of your site).

2. Do competitive research on your industry: Type in a key word in the Google Trends search line to get a graph of the history of that keyword. Check out your favorite business thinkers, your competitors, and even your own name.

3. Keep an eye on the economy: Check out a word like “economy” or “recession” from time to time. You’ll notice that people start talking about a recession long before the economic impacts are felt!

4. If you’re going to write an ebook on a topic, this is a good place to start doing market research. Check out how the topic is searched and perhaps you’ll notice cyclical searches that might hint at when you should be releasing your product. If you want to write an ebook and you don’t know a topic, why not click over to Google Trends to find out what people are looking for. You might be able to match up your brand with a popular topic and get your product or service out there quickly.

5. The same idea works even better if you want to build a list of subscribers: Have the infrastructure ready (like a website and a newsletter sign-up form) and then watch for a trending topic that is relevant to you and has some “legs”. When you see something useful, set up some AdWords on that very topic and drive them to your website where you can get them to sign up for a newsletter. Create the first newsletter within minutes and start capturing subscribers within minutes of an important event!

6. If you’re doing keyword research to find out which keywords are best to use on your website, be sure to check them out here so that you can see any trends that may have occurred in the past.

Google Trends is a powerful site that graphically shows you how people have been searching. It’s a way for you to get meaningful, at-a-glance data so your business can respond appropriately.

Aaron Hoos is a business writer and strategist who accelerates small business performance with content and content strategy. Read more about Google Trends at “Misfortune Teller” and “Trending the Economy” or visit AaronHoos.com.