What Is Google Trends?
Google Trends is a free tool from Google, available at trends.google.com. It shows how often a particular search term is entered into Google over a selected time period and in a selected region.
Understand this upfront. Google Trends does not show exact search volumes. Instead, it shows relative interest on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 represents the peak popularity of a term over the selected period. A score of 50 means the term was half as popular as its peak, not that it received 50 searches.
Google Trends is available to anyone with a Google account and is entirely free to use. You don't need any paid subscriptions or special access.
Five Practical Ways Small Businesses Can Use Google Trends
Here are five practical ways you can put Google Trends to work for your business, even if you have no SEO background.
1. Compare Keyword Variations
Not sure whether to target 'web designer Sydney' or 'website designer Sydney'? Search both terms in Google Trends at the same time and see which has higher relative interest in your region.
This is a quick, low-effort way to choose between similar keyword variations before you invest time writing content or building pages around a particular phrase. A few minutes in Google Trends can save you from optimising for the less popular option.
2. Spot Seasonal Patterns
Does interest in your services spike at certain times of year? Search your main service keywords and switch to a five-year view to reveal seasonal patterns clearly.
Once you can see when interest peaks, you can plan your content calendar around those windows. The key is to publish content a few weeks before search interest rises. That gives Google time to index your content before your potential customers start searching.
3. Find Trending Related Topics and Queries
Scroll below the main trend line in Google Trends and you'll find two sections: Related Topics and Related Queries. These often surface specific long-tail keyword ideas you might not have thought of yourself.
Make sure to sort these by 'Rising' rather than 'Top'. Rising shows emerging topics that are gaining momentum, which gives you a chance to create content before the competition catches on.
4. Assess Whether a Topic Is Growing or Declining
Before you invest significant time writing a major piece of content, it's worth checking the trend line for your topic. Is search interest trending up, stable, or declining?
- Trending up. Good signal, the topic is gaining relevance
- Stable. Fine, there's consistent demand
- Declining. Worth reconsidering, or at least acknowledging in your content
This is especially useful for technology-related topics, where relevance can shift quickly. A topic that was hot two years ago may already be fading.
5. Geographic Insights
Google Trends lets you drill down to see where interest in a term is highest, by country, state, or even city. If you serve a specific region, check whether your target keywords have stronger interest there compared to other areas.
This can directly inform your local SEO strategy. If you're a business in Brisbane, for example, and you can see that search interest in your core service is particularly strong in Queensland, that reinforces the value of targeting local keywords.
How to Use Google Trends (Step by Step)
Getting started is straightforward. Here's how to run your first search:
- Go to trends.google.com
- Type a search term into the search bar and press Enter
- Select your country, choosing Australia if you're targeting a local audience
- Adjust the time range, using 90 days for recent trends, or 5 years to reveal seasonal patterns
- Select 'Web Search' as the search type, unless you specifically want data from YouTube, Google News, or Google Shopping
From there, scroll down to explore the regional breakdown and the related topics and queries sections. These are often where the most useful insights are hiding.
What Google Trends Does NOT Tell You
It's important to be clear about what Google Trends can't do, so you use it in the right way.
Google Trends does not show exact search volumes. You won't see a number like "this keyword gets 1,200 searches per month". That is not what the tool is designed for.
For exact search volume data, you'll want to use:
- Google Search Console gives actual search data for your own website
- Google Keyword Planner provides volume estimates (requires a Google Ads account)
- Ubersuggest is a third-party tool with keyword volume data
Think of Google Trends as a directional tool. Use it alongside these tools, not instead of them. It tells you which way the wind is blowing. Other tools tell you how hard it's blowing.
A Practical Example: A Web Designer in Melbourne
Imagine you're a web designer based in Melbourne. Here's how you might use Google Trends in a typical week.
Comparing keyword variations: You search 'web designer Melbourne' and 'website designer Melbourne' side by side. The results show one term consistently outperforms the other in Victoria, so you prioritise that phrase in your page titles and content.
Finding seasonal peaks: You search 'website redesign' with a five-year view and notice that interest tends to spike in January, as businesses return from the holiday break and start planning for the new year. You schedule a blog post or email campaign for mid-December to catch that wave early.
Spotting emerging queries: In the Related Queries section, you notice 'AI website builder Melbourne' is marked as a breakout rising query. That is a signal that potential clients are starting to ask about AI-powered tools, and that is an opportunity to write content addressing the question before your competitors do.
None of this requires an SEO background or a paid tool subscription. It just requires a few minutes and a willingness to look at the data before making decisions.
I use Google Trends the same way in my own work, as a directional check before I commit to a keyword or a topic. Send the project brief with your target keywords and the pages you have now, and I will tell you what the data supports.
