Hip and (Google) Trendy
It’s fun, it’s functional, it’s hip, it’s
Google Trends
In May, Google launched Google Trends, a tool that charts how often a particular search term is entered into the Google search engine over time1 in various regions of the world and in various languages. It also tracks news mentions of the terms.
So?
So, if one assumes that Google searches represent an intention or interest of the individual entering the search terms, we have an immediately accessible, highly configurable, database reflecting shifts in what folks (at least Google users and, by extension, probably much larger populations) want to buy, plan to do, are worried about, have on their minds, … .
How Google Trends Works
As usual, Google makes this tool simple and intuitive to use. One enters a term in the familiar search box, hits “enter” or clicks on “Search Trends,” and, voila, up pops a graph with the relative frequency the term was searched on the vertical axis (no absolute numbers are provided) with a timeline on the horizontal axis. By entering 2-5 terms, separated by commas, comparisons are shown with each term graphed in a different color.2
News items that Google dredges up as connected to the search term show on an overlay on the chart. In my experience, this function is imperfect but is sometimes helpful in understanding spikes in interest; e.g., “Pontiac” showed a surge on the date Oprah gave one to each of her audience members.
As one might expect, some keywords are seasonal, like “skiing” and “summer camps,” which spike in fall at spring, respectively.
Google Trends works best for terms that are highly searched; on less commonly searched terms, it may show no data at all. For example, there is no data available for “heck of a guy,” but the term “you guys” does appear to be gaining interest gradually (this device often raises more interesting questions than it answers; for instance, why the peak in folks searching for “you guys” in early 2006?)
especially in Cincinnati
Uses
A few examples provide insight into how this tool could be important in many fields:
- Marketers, of course, could use Google Trends to orient their campaigns.
- Merchants could use the charts to select which merchandise to order in what quantities.
- A legal marketing blog advises lawyers to use Google Trends to select the
best ambulance to chasebest type of cases to pursue (e.g., asbestosis Vs mesothelioma).
Google Trends For The Rest Of Us
As one might guess, my major uses of Google Trends tend to fall into other categories:
- Settling bar bets
- Wasting time
- Providing an excuse to write titillating terms
Heck Of A Guy Examples follow:
Love & Sex
What’s with those whacky Filipinos, who seem to be more interested in love than sex? And how about those Indians?
Rapture & Rupture
Again, the Philippines and India are the outliers. What’s with that?
Footnotes
- The charts start in 2004 and extend to a month or so before the current date ~back~
- More complex queries can also be submitted; instructions are in the Google Trends FAQ. ~back~
