As more people turn to the Internet to research products and services, it is important for your business to understand consumer behaviors. Who better to tell you online consumer trends than our friends at Google?
Nielsen NetRatings ranks Google as the number one search engine dominating 54% of the market. Compare this to Yahoo! who is in second place with 20% of the market. All this googling (yes it is a word and has officially been a verb in the Webster’s and Oxford dictionary since 2007), is tracked and stored by Google. This database is now open for your use.
In August 2008, Google rolled out Google Insights for Search, a more powerful version of Google Trends. Trends is free and allows users to see which words and phrases are most commonly searched in Google. Insights, as the name suggests, takes the Trends information to a new level allowing users to see what words are being searched, which geographic locations are most often seeking them and when they are being searched. If this sounds complicated I’ll break it down – Google tells you what, where and when searches are happening. To quote Google, Insights allows you to “compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames.” Did I mention that Trends is free?
Trends will help your business:
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Anticipate demand for your business so you can budget and plan accordingly.
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Know where to find your customers. See how search volume is distributed across regions and cities.
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Spot seasonality, improve market timing and identify trends and opportunities.
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Improve organic search engine optimization by identifying key words being searched.
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Launch new products and services or enter new markets
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Position products or services
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Track the competition
“The key to fishing isn’t baiting the hook or casting the line but knowing where to find the fish.” – Unknown
Understand how to apply Google’s free tools to your marketing strategy and you’ll reduce investment and increase return. Google’s Insights is one tool of many to help your business.
Go and play with Trends now - Google Insights for Search.
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