Keyword tools tell you how many people searched for something last month. They don’t tell you what people are starting to search for now. That is the gap Google Trends fills, and it is why I use Google Trends for SEO almost every week.
In short: Google Trends shows how interest in a search term changes over time and by place. Use it to spot rising topics early, plan seasonal content, pick the better of two phrases and check which regions care most. Just remember it shows relative interest, not real search numbers.
What Google Trends Actually Shows
Google Trends is a free tool from Google at trends.google.com. It looks at a sample of Google searches and shows how popular a term or topic is compared with other times and places.
The data goes back to 2004. You can also look at very recent data, down to the past hour, which is what makes it useful for spotting things as they start.
The main areas you will use are:
- Explore: type a term, then see its interest over time, interest by region, related topics and related queries.
- Trending searches: lists of what is spiking right now, split into daily search trends and real-time search trends for each country.
- Year in Search: Google’s yearly look back at the biggest searches. Handy for planning, but too late for spotting anything early.
The 0 to 100 Scale Is Relative, Not Search Volume
This is the part most people get wrong. The numbers on a Trends chart are not searches. Google takes the highest point in your chosen time and place and sets it to 100. Every other point is shown as a share of that peak.
So a score of 50 means “half as popular as the peak in this view”. It does not mean 50 searches, and it does not mean 50% of anything outside your chart.
Two more things follow from this:
- The scores are also adjusted for total search activity. A falling line means the term’s share of all searches is falling. The raw number of searches might still be flat or even growing.
- If you change the time range or region, the 100 point moves. A score from one chart cannot be compared with a score from another chart.
What Trends Leaves Out
Trends removes some searches before it builds the chart. Google says it leaves out terms with very low volume (they show as 0), repeat searches by the same person over a short time, and queries with special characters such as apostrophes.
In practice, this means very niche B2B or long-tail terms often show “not enough data”. That doesn’t mean nobody searches for them. It means Trends is the wrong tool for that term, and you should check your own Search Console data instead.
Search Terms vs Topics
When you type into the Explore box, Google usually offers two kinds of choices: a search term and a topic.
- A search term matches the words you typed, in that language. “running shoes” only counts searches that include those words.
- A topic is a group of searches about the same thing, across spellings and languages. The topic “Running shoe” would also include “trainers for running” and searches in other languages.
I use topics when I want to know if interest in a subject is growing. I use search terms when I am choosing the exact wording for a title or heading. Mixing the two in one comparison gives confusing results, so I keep them separate.
How to Use Google Trends for SEO: Spotting Rising Topics
Here is the process I follow when I want to find topics that are on the way up in a niche.
- Start with a broad seed. Enter a topic that describes your niche, like “Gardening” or “Electric bicycle”. Pick the topic version if it is offered.
- Set the country. Choose the market you actually sell to. Worldwide data hides a lot of local patterns.
- Pick the right time range. For new rising topics, I check “Past 90 days” and “Past 12 months”. For long-term direction, I check “Past 5 years”.
- Add a category if the term is ambiguous. “Python” means very different things in “Computers & Electronics” and “Pets & Animals”. The category filter cleans this up.
- Scroll to Related queries and switch to Rising. This list shows the searches with the biggest growth. Do the same in Related topics.
- Note every Breakout term. These are the most interesting leads. I’ll explain what Breakout means below.
- Check each lead on its own. Open each rising term in a new Explore search over five years. This tells you if it is new, seasonal or just a short spike.
- Search it on Google. Look at what currently ranks. If the results are thin, old or from forums, that is an opening.
The whole check takes me about half an hour for one niche. I usually repeat it once a month for the sites I work on.
Top vs Rising: What Each List Means
The Related queries and Related topics boxes each have two views:
- Top shows the searches most often made in the same session as your term. These are the steady, popular ones.
- Rising shows the searches with the biggest growth compared with the previous period of the same length. Each one has a percentage next to it.
Top is great for finding subtopics to cover on a main guide. Rising is where new content ideas come from.
What “Breakout” Means
When a rising term grew by more than 5,000%, Trends shows the word “Breakout” instead of a percentage. Google explains this in its help page on finding related searches.
Breakout often means a term went from almost nothing to something. That is a big jump in relative terms, but the real number of searches can still be small. Treat it as a signal to look closer, not a guarantee of traffic.
Is It a Trend or a Fad? How to Tell
Not every rising line is worth an article. In my experience, the biggest mistake is chasing a spike that is gone before the page even gets indexed.
When I look at a rising term over five years, I usually see one of four shapes:
- Steady climb: interest grows month after month. This is the best kind. Write a solid, evergreen guide and keep it updated.
- Repeating waves: the line peaks at the same time every year. This is seasonal demand. Plan the page ahead of the peak.
- Single sharp spike: a jump followed by a fast drop back to near zero. This is usually news or a viral moment. Only worth it if you publish news and can move fast.
- Spike with a higher floor: a big jump, then the line settles above where it started. This is often a new product or habit that stuck. Worth covering.
I also check if the rise shows up in more than one country. A topic that is growing in several markets is more likely to last than one that only moved in a single region.
Planning Seasonal Content With Google Trends
Seasonal topics are where Trends pays off most often. Search “Christmas gifts for dad”, “tax return” or “pool cleaning” over five years and you will see the same wave every year.
The key is timing. Google needs time to find, crawl and rank a page. If the wave starts climbing in early November, a page published in mid-December is too late.
My rule of thumb is to have a seasonal page live, or updated, about one to two months before the line starts to rise. For an existing page, I refresh it shortly before the season so it shows the current year’s details.
A few practical tips:
- Keep the same URL for seasonal pages every year instead of making “/gift-guide-2022/” and “/gift-guide-2023/”. The page keeps its links and history.
- Look at when interest starts rising, not just when it peaks. The start of the climb is your deadline.
- Compare a few years. If the peak moves earlier each year, plan even earlier.
Comparing Keywords to Choose the Right Wording
Trends lets you compare up to five terms on one chart. I use this when two phrases mean the same thing and I need to pick one for a title.
For example, you might compare “sneakers” and “trainers”, or “couch” and “sofa”. The chart shows which word people use more, and the region map shows where each one wins. That second part matters a lot if you target more than one country.
Keep in mind this is about wording, not about volume. Once you know which phrase is more popular, use a keyword tool like Keyword Planner to get a rough idea of actual search numbers. If you are new to that side of things, my keyword research guide for beginners walks through the full process.
Using Regional Data for Local SEO
The “Interest by subregion” map shows where a term is most popular. In many countries you can drill down to states, metro areas and cities.
This helps in a few ways:
- Choosing which locations to build pages for. If you serve several cities, start with the ones where interest is highest.
- Matching local language. People in different regions use different words for the same thing. Trends shows which word each region prefers.
- Timing by region. Weather-driven searches, like “AC repair”, rise at different times in different places.
Remember the map shows the share of searches in each area, not the total. A small city can top the list because a larger share of its searches are about your topic. If you run a local business, my guide to local SEO for restaurants covers the other steps that turn local demand into visits.
Using the Search Type Filter for YouTube, Shopping and More
By default, Trends shows Google web search. The drop-down above the chart lets you switch to Image search, News search, Google Shopping or YouTube search.
These views can look very different. A product might be flat in web search but climbing in Google Shopping, which tells you buyers are getting closer to purchase. A how-to topic might be growing much faster on YouTube, which is a hint that a video would help your page.
I check Shopping for ecommerce sites and YouTube for anything that is easier to show than to explain.
Checking Trending Searches for Fast-Moving Topics
The Trending searches page shows what is spiking right now in a country. Daily search trends lists the biggest searches of each day with a rough count of searches. Real-time search trends groups related stories that are picking up in the last hours.
This is useful if you run a news site or a site that covers fast-moving events in one niche. For most business sites, I’d skip it. The topics are usually celebrity, sport and breaking news, and they fade within days.
If you do write about a trending topic, make sure you add something real: an explanation, practical steps or your own view. Google’s helpful content guidance is clear that writing about something just because it is trending, with nothing to add, is a warning sign. I covered that in more detail in my piece on Google’s helpful content update.
Turning Rising Topics Into Content That Ranks
Finding a topic is only the first half. Here is how I decide what to do with each lead.
Decide Between a New Page and an Update
If the rising topic is a subtopic of something you already cover well, add a section to the existing page first. It already has links and history. If the topic is new and big enough to stand alone, give it its own page.
Check the Search Results Before Writing
Search the term on Google and look at page one. Are the results guides, product pages, videos or news? That tells you what kind of page Google thinks people want. Match that format.
New topics often have weak results at first: old pages that only mention the term in passing, or forum threads. That is your chance to be the most helpful page early.
Watch the Page in Search Console
After publishing, check the Performance report in Search Console. Filter by the page and look at the queries it shows up for. With rising topics, I often see new wording appear there that wasn’t in Trends yet. Those queries are great for headings and FAQs.
Common Mistakes When Using Google Trends
These are the mistakes I see most often:
- Reading the score as search volume. A score of 100 for a niche term might be a few hundred searches. A score of 20 for a big term might be millions.
- Comparing scores across different charts. Each chart has its own 100. Only compare terms that sit on the same chart.
- Using worldwide data for a local business. Always set the country, and the region if you serve one area.
- Ignoring the category filter. Brand names and common words often mean several things. Without a category, the line may not be about your topic at all.
- Judging from a short time range. A 30-day view can make a normal seasonal rise look like a new trend. Check five years before deciding.
- Chasing every Breakout term. Some are typos, one-off news or tiny volumes. Check each one on its own and on Google.
Where Google Trends Fits in Your SEO Toolkit
I think of Trends as a direction tool, not a measuring tool. It answers “is this growing, shrinking or seasonal?” and “where and when do people care?”. It doesn’t answer “how many visits could I get?”.
| Question | Best free tool |
|---|---|
| Is interest in this topic rising or falling? | Google Trends |
| When does seasonal demand start? | Google Trends |
| Roughly how many searches does a keyword get? | Google Keyword Planner |
| Which queries already bring my site impressions? | Google Search Console |
| What questions do people ask about it? | Google search results (autocomplete, People Also Ask) |
Used together, these give you a clear picture without paying for anything. My usual order is Trends first to pick the direction, then Keyword Planner for rough size, then Search Console to see what is already working.
Final Thoughts on Google Trends for SEO
Google Trends for SEO works best when you use it to answer timing and direction questions. Look at Rising and Breakout queries for new ideas, check five years of data to separate real trends from spikes, and publish seasonal pages before the curve starts climbing.
A good next step: pick your main topic, run the eight-step check above, and write down three rising ideas. Then add them to the plan you set from my SEO priorities for 2023 and give each one a publish date.
