Google Trends - Bringing Clarity to the Murky World of SEO

If you've optimized more than one web site, you have probably run into a scenario where you have a client in a technical, or niche market with complex terms, or multiple phrases that mean the same thing. How do you pick the best, or weight most heavily, most widely searched terms for that client? Or perhaps you have some optimization experience with the client's profession. The client may want keywords X, Y and Z, but you know from experience that potential customers are searching for similar terms A,B, and C. All of the terms are related, but your client, being immersed in his business and the vernacular that comes with it, is simply unaware that his terms may not be the ideal first choice. How can you quickly demonstrate to your customer that your keyword suggestions are better? Easy! Google Trends.

Google trends - as explained by Google

"With Google Trends, you can compare the world’s interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over time. Google Trends also shows how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and in which geographic regions people have searched for them most..."

Cool! So I can compare the search term "Tibetan Yak Oil" with "Himalayan Yak Oil" right? Well, yes and no. Let me explain. You are certainly allowed to enter those phrases into Google Trends, nobody is going to stop you from doing that. BUT, if your phrases are so obscure that next to nobody does a Google search for them, the resulting data you get back from Google will pretty much be zero. But even that data tells you something. Right?

So with that in mind, Google Trends is best used for broader search terms. For instance "Tooth whitening" vs. "Teeth whitening" gives us some rather good information on what Google users are searching for. This information is especially interesting because "Tooth whitening" is actually grammatically correct, but not what the majority of people are searching for. So, weighting the optimization of your cosmetic dentist client's tooth whitening page for the keyword phrase "teeth whitening" may actually bring your client more leads (and really get under the skin of an english major).