Three ways to use Google Trends for SEO in your content marketing

Use Google Trends for SEO in your content marketing in three ways Cooking is a lot like content marketing. Some days, you feel creative and inspired and make the best risotto ever. And sometimes you just want someone to tell you what to make because you can't think of anything else. One more problem? Even picky eaters have to be happy with what you make.

The keyword research tool company Semrush polled 1,500 content marketers around the world for its "State of Content Marketing 2022 Global Report." Only a little more than half had a written content marketing strategy, even though almost all (97%) said content marketing was part of their marketing strategy. Among their ongoing problems are getting people to read their content, improving its SEO performance, and coming up with new ideas for content.

Google Trends is a free tool that can help with these problems. It can help you keep putting out the best content and come up with new ways to do it.

You can use Google Trends to find out:

The topics you could discuss and the content you could create (what you can cook)
How to know when to post what (or when to cook what)
Which keywords to play around with and what kinds of content your audience is most likely to like are the right ingredients to use.

Choosing a Content Topic That Will Get People's Attention

You want to give your readers the information they're most interested in, which is directly related to your brand. Using keyword search is a great way to get ideas for good content because it shows you what people want to know.

Compare and contrast keywords to find out how popular yours might be. For example, this chart shows that "car repair" always gets more hits than "car maintenance." This is likely because repairs are more important than routine maintenance.

Google Trends: Car Repairs vs. Car Maintenance

Look under "Related Topics and Queries" to find other related search terms that people use. You can see that both "car service" and "car maintenance cost" do well. Related topics and queries can be especially helpful for finding alternatives to keywords that have a lot of competition for top spots on Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). Long-tail keywords like these that you can find on Google Trends are easier to rank for.

Similar Searches and Topics on Google Trends

If you switch from "Top Queries" to "Rising Queries," you can see which search terms are becoming more popular. If you can spot these trends early and use them to your advantage, especially in a B2C market, you can ride the popularity wave as it peaks. Make sure you plan your activities well.

Trends can end quickly, and people will get tired of a topic if it's been talked about too much before you get to it.

Google Trends also lets you divide search results by location, which can help you make more targeted pay-per-click campaigns. Use Google Discover on your phone to find more relevant ideas.

Use data to get your message to the right people at the right time.
A successful content strategy isn't just about figuring out what topics and angles to cover; it's also about reaching your customers at the right time. Use Google Trends to find keyword phrases that have been popular for a long or short time.

Google lets you go as far back as 2004, so you can measure trends over a year, a month, or even a few hours. The second one is helpful if you're dealing with breaking news, which is rare in B2B content marketing.

This screenshot shows how the number of searches for ChatGPT, which is an AI-driven language generation robot, has gone up. Even though there were small problems in October and November 2022, they spread like wildfire in December. If you're in the B2C market, you might want to take advantage of breakthrough trends like these.

A word of warning: you should always have a unique point of view, especially when the Internet is full of content about the same topic.

Google Trends

Keeping an eye on how trends change over time can help your content strategy by showing you when certain keywords are popular and when they are not. For example, do certain keywords become more popular as April's Earth Day approaches? Make content calendars ahead of time so that you can come up with new ideas every year.

Your content should be optimised for the right channels.

Successful content uses relevant keywords and presents them in a way that fits the goals of the asset. If your strategy isn't limited to just written content, it will help to know what kinds of searches (news, videos, etc.) to optimise for. Use Google Trends' other options (image search, news search, etc.) to see what kinds of content are popular. It might give you ideas for how to make your content buckets more interesting in the future.

Like cooking, content strategy sometimes requires knowing how well your existing content (like lists and blog posts) is doing and how you can use it in new ways. You can also get ideas for related categories by looking at the "Related Topics" widget on Google Trends. For example, "artificial intelligence" is related to the search term "Chat GPT."

Google Trends can also help you track the content efforts of your competitors. When you type "Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola" into a comparison search box, you can see that the cola wars are still going strong. If your company's search trend pattern goes down compared to those of other companies, you may need to try again to raise awareness.

Check Google Trends to find content ideas with a large audience.

Google Trends is a good way to find topics for content marketing that have a lot of reach. Even with careful planning, a good meal isn't always guaranteed. To give your audience consistent content that sticks, you need to know who they are and regularly review your content to find the best ones.

Use your best judgement. If a keyword term is overused and worn out, try out new topics and ways of doing things. There is no substitute for well-made content that is useful, connects with your readers, and positions your brand effectively. It's a tried-and-true way to get your content marketing strategy going in the right direction.