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Google Adds to SEO Toolbox
by Ross Dunn, CEO and Founder, StepForth Placement
July 5, 2006
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Have you heard of Google?
Google shareholders must dance up a storm when they realize how ridiculous
it has become to ask a question like this. Google has become an unavoidable
fact of life for anyone with the intention of having their website found
online. It is the 'big daddy' of search engines with very nearly 50%
of the search market in its pocket (49.1% this May to be exact - Nielsen/Netratings).
For this reason alone I get pumped up when I am given new opportunities
to peek into Google's treasure trove of stats. Today I would like to
share
with you a relatively new offering from Google's lab; Google
Trends.
Now, to many SEO's there is nothing new here because we are all fanatical
about keeping up on Google's offerings; in our fast-paced world this was
released decades ago in SEO time (kind of like dog years). But to clients,
this may very well be an interesting new tool in their marketing arsenal
and I bet that many of your competitors haven't grasped the potential that
this tool has for increasing your bottom line. So take heed and you just
might find that piece of marketing information you have always wanted.
So what is Google Trends? It offers a genuine but prototype (beta) peek
into Google's search history so that you can better understand search trends.
The best way for me to describe how this might help you in your battle for
rankings is by example.
Imagine that you are an adventure tour operator running your business in
the Rocky Mountains. Your winter season has just started and you think
it would beneficial to know when prospective clients start searching for
Spring/Summer
holiday activities so that you can get a jump on your competitors. Unfortunately
most keyword analysis tools do not provide historical data to determine
this information and the only one that does is called Keyword
Discovery; a great keyword tool
but it does not get data direct from Google. Fortunately you now have
Google Trends; information direct from the source!
In this case you are interested in determining when you should begin promoting
your lucrative river rafting tours. You also want to know what people
are searching for; "river rafting" or "white water rafting".
As it turns out you can discover both of these answers in a single Google
Trends query. Go to Google
Trends and
in the search bar type the following: "white
water rafting","river rafting". The quotation marks will
act like quotes in any Google search by restricting "your results to
only those searches that contain your terms in the specific order you've
entered them" (About Google
Trends).
Now, you want to see a fixed term so that monthly trends are obvious
so choose a full year; 2005 (a selection in the top right of your screen).
Click enter and watch Google Trend magic. The following chart will appear
as well as the answers you were looking for.
The Answers:
#1: It is immediately obvious that "white water rafting" is searched
considerably more often than "river rafting".
#2: Just after April 2005 you can see that there is a gradual increase
in searches for these terms. In this regard you may want to begin pay-per-click
promotions for these terms in early May. At the same time you need
to ensure the rafting section of your site has attained top 10 natural
rankings by mid-April
to ensure you are ready for prime time.
Now, as a result of your research you are left with a better understanding
of when you need to get moving on your organic and paid SEO programs to
ensure the best results for your upcoming tour year.
Some Caveats:
This tool is definitely in beta so if you are weary of the results you
get I would recommend vetting the data from other tools such
as Keyword
Discovery (which offers historical data) or free tools like
Overture's suggestion tool. In addition, keep in mind that the data
you get isn't always positive. For example, in mid-July there was
a significant spike in search traffic for both keywords. With a little
research
(just
remove the quotes and try the search) it became clear that this spike
may have been a result of a big news event where a 'raft' was linked
with
a terrorist incident (see the article).
In other words, beware of big spikes because it is likely a result
of news - and not necessarily good news.
In summary I find this tool to be a great asset and I will be using it
regularly to get another window into the world of search trends. That said,
it is like any Internet tool; it has its benefits but must be used with
a dollop of common sense.
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