4 Proven Steps to Use Google Trends to Create SEO-Friendly Blog Posts

Mos Clement
The Startup
Published in
10 min readNov 18, 2019

Create content that ranks high on Google with GoogleTrends

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Are you using Google Trends to amplify your blog content SEO performance? Do you want to know how Google Trends can help you create SEO-friendly post that ranks high on search engines? Then, continue reading, as this article addresses those questions.

If you may know, among the top 10 search engine platforms, Google accounts for most searches performed on the internet each day, every month, and per year. According to research, the search engine giant accounts for more than 75% of all searches conducted via desktop, and 80% of the searches performed on mobile devices.

As a result, Google amasses over 90% of the search engine market share worldwide.

Source: Net MarketShare

So since more people are using Google for search queries, it makes sense to take advantage of the helpful information it provides in your content creation processes. It will enable you to enjoy search engine optimization (SEO) juices.

What is more?

  • You will have a better understanding of your target market
  • Understand your buyer interests and behavior towards your brand
  • Be able to create the best content that drives traffic and maximize leads

However, you may wonder; how can you use Google to accomplish these undertakings? Google Trends is what you need. This free tool will assist you in several ways in creating the best content materials that your buyer persona will love.

I presume you’re wondering; how can I use Google trends to Improve my blog posts?

Heres how:

How to Use Google Trends to Your Advantage

You can use Google Trends to examine search patterns in your industry. It helps you see what searches and topics are currently trending. From there, you can do more research on your topic of interest to uncover additional information.

Besides that, it also lets you see the differences in the search volume of particular terms overtime, based on location. For instance, the holiday season is right around the corner, and it is time to start creating content that will address your audience’s needs for the season.

For this reason, I searched for “gift cards” trend in the USA. The graph shows a spike in development for gift cards, picking up from late September and early October to January. Nonetheless, you can also see pocket-size peaks in the months that follow.

Furthermore, from the second and third graphs, you can see variations in search patterns and search terms according to “Subregion.” The tool provides valuable information for marketers, including content creators.

For example, if you want to write fascinating essay pieces for your clients during the season, you can amplify your article with trending search terms.

Moreover, you can use the plus (+) sign at the top right corner of the graph to compare multiple search terms. Here is what I mean:

Here, you can see the result of my search comparison directly above. It shows “email marketing” as the most searched term. The information you gather from analyzing Google trends will aid you in various ways, including improving your SEO techniques for content optimization.

In view of this, we have assembled five ways to use Google Trends to create compelling content.

Tips On How to Use Google Trends

1: Use Google Trends to Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas

Google Trends is a blogger’s best friend because it will also help to discover new topic ideas for upcoming blog posts. All you have to do is enter your search terms in the search box and hit the search button.

The tool will show you the trends associated with your search query, as stated earlier. For instance, I searched for “digital marketing” to see the patterns related to the topic for my next blog post.

From the graphics above, the search pattern shows that people are steadily searching for topics relating to digital marketing for the past 12 months. It also lets you see “Related Topics” and “Related Queries” of your search terms.

Nonetheless, if you want more data, you can take your search terms and related searches, and plug them into Ubersuggest to find the keyword difficulties. The tool will also show you keyword volume and more relevant keywords for the term. Here we go;

From the keyword overview, you can see that the search volume for that term is high enough, but the SEO difficulty may not be in my favor. So to make my content rank quickly on Google search, I opted for related keywords.

You can use the “Suggestions or Related” keyword features at the top right of the page to generate related long-tail keywords that will rank higher. This strategy will help you avoid the challenges of writing a well-researched article.

Instead, it will assist you in creating fantastic blogs that would drive tons of traffic to your website.

More on Finding New Blog Posts Ideas

Trends involve movement — the way things are changing and progressing, including what’s happening in your industry. Google Trends helps you find new content ideas that will enable you to create blogs that stand out.

It helps you see what people are most concerned about, or what interests them the most. In other words, the software will show you what words people are searching for in your niche market. Use the search terms to create content around those trending searches. Therefore, click the “Trending Searches” tab to open up additional content ideas.

You can use the data to create posts for your blog, your clients, or for social media marketing. For instance, open the “Trending Searches” tab (formerly “Hot Searches”) to explore your preferred topic.

Then click an image to open the content and find out more about the writer. Alternatively, you can click the “Realtime Search Trends” next to the “Daily Search Trends” to uncover more topic ideas.

The Realtime search trends will show you what users are searching for at the moment, and over the past 24 hours. It shows you the search trends and popularity of the subject. Don’t forget to use the geographical section next to “Realtime Search Trends” and also the “All category” division at the far right corner.

These features will enable you to generate remarkable content ideas for your blog. In fact, you will find blog topic ideas you didn’t even know were there.

2: Use G-Trends to Optimize Your Content for Local Search

The beauty of Google Trends is that it lets you optimize your blog content according to the popularity of local search terms. For instance, the graph in the intro reveals that the search for “gift cards” is at its highest in Ohio and Pennsylvania states.

The information offers you enough insights to develop targeted blog content that will rank higher on the search engine results page (SERP). You can use the data to create content according to your subregion search terms. This process will boost your content visibility and enable you to rank higher on Google.

3: Find Keyword Terms Your Target Audience Is Searching on Google.

Google Trends lets you conduct searches on your target market to find the keywords they’re searching on a particular topic. How? The “Related Queries” section shows you the keyword terms your buyer persona is searching on Google.

For example, I performed a search and compared different keywords in my niche. I cross-checked four different keywords to uncover their search trends:

  1. Freelance writing
  2. Freelance writing jobs
  3. Writing Jobs, and
  4. Writing work

The graph shows that interest by subregion and popularity is “writing jobs.” So you can use this tool to compare keywords to find the best keywords for your blogs. Then you also have the “Related Queries” section where you can see other search terms your target audience is searching.

Moreover, the data provide details on subregions where the searches are coming from, and when users conduct queries. But if you’re more interested in a global overview, or a particular location, you can get the information by clicking the drop-down arrow.

You can find the drop-down at the top left corner of the page. By default, you see the United States. However, the arrow lets you choose your country of choice or a global audience. Nevertheless, from this section, you can also select the time frame for your search, as in months, weeks, or years.

Also, you have options for categories and web search to explore.

4: Use Google Trends to Update Your Content

We use content marketing in a variety of ways, such as:

  • Create brand awareness
  • Improve brand awareness
  • Drive more web traffic
  • Generate leads
  • Acquire more customers
  • Make more sales

These are just a few ways marketers are utilizing content to grow their business. In light of this, publishing more blog content plays a vital role in the success of your business. It will help you increase website traffic Google rankings, and sales.

However, there may be times when you can’t publish new posts regularly due to other vital matters. In this case, updating your blogs with fresh content is paramount to driving more web traffic.

How does it work? Simple!

Look for old blog content on your site, edit the posts, and remove outdated strategies that are no longer relevant. Replace the obsolete tips with new and related tactics that will add value to the reader.

Hence, you can use Google Trends to find new strategies that will help your audience. Then use the new tips to update your posts. It will aid you to attract new readers and drive more traffic. For instance, in the intro, I compared three keyword terms:

  1. Email marketing
  2. Cold email
  3. Email template

Email marketing turns out to be the most popular search term. It means that using “email marketing” as a seed keyword will drive more organic traffic than “cold email” and “email templates.”

Nevertheless, you already have blog content about cold calling. And you realize that cold calling is outdated and no longer applicable to your audience. You need to update that post with the current trends — email marketing strategy.

Still On Updating Blog Posts

If your blog is relatively new, you might not rank for that keyword (email marketing) because your competitors are already ranking for the search terms. So to help you beat the competition, use the “Related Queries” area to find more relevant words for your posts.

But to be confident that the keyword will work for you, you can plug “email marketing” into Ubersuggest to get more information regarding search volume and keyword difficulty. Moreover, you’ll also get relevant keywords with high search volume, but less competitive. That is what I did, and here is what I found. See screenshots below:

You can see from the screenshot that email marketing has a high monthly search volume. However, because your site is new, both SEO and Paid search difficulties are not in your favor.

Instead, use related search terms to drive traffic and rank higher. Therefore, use long-tail keyword terms that are related to email marketing to update your cold calling blog content. You will see a spike in traffic for that keyword. Use the same strategy for your popular blog posts to boost traffic and search engine rankings.

Wrapping Up How to Use Google Trends

Google Trends is a powerful marketing tool that should be part of your content marketing toolbox. Its features are beyond imagination. You can use the software to gain valuable insights about keyword research, trending topics, your target market, the competition, and how to create blogs that improve your Google search rankings.

In fact, it will help you in ways you never knew, including how to plan your posts (timing) for optimal results. Also, it lets you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in your industry.

Are you using Google Trends in your content marketing mix? Tell us about it.

This post originally appeared at Moss Media.

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Mos Clement
The Startup

SEO writer for B2B SaaS and digital marketing brands, including Semrush, SocialPilot, Serpstat, etc. Need content writing help for your biz blog? Let's talk!