How to improve your ecommerce branding strategy with Google Trends

A successful digital marketing strategy grows by leveraging online visibility which results in conversion. According to 61% of marketers using B2B initiatives, organic traffic and SEO generate the most leads in a digital marketing strategy.

The statistics for 2022 capture the situation as they show that a search engine is the starting point for 68% of online businesses. The internet offers a lot of advice on building a digital marketing strategy. However, we’ve cut the chase and focus on harnessing the power of an SEO strategy and keyword research to grow your business this year and beyond.

The role of Google Trends in improving your SEO strategy

If you leverage its capabilities, Google Trends can be a game changer for your SEO strategy. Consider the following steps to take advantage of this tool to develop your digital marketing strategy:

1. Monitor trends

Google Trends is a free tool that explores the internet, collects data on search behavior, and helps you capitalize on popular trends when developing a marketing strategy. Collects information from platforms such as YouTube, Google Images, Google News, Twitter and Google Shopping on which web users interact.

Google Trends analysis looks at the total search volume over a specific period. It also identifies how often users searched for the time of a search query on the Google search engine. Although considered a reliable tool, it provides estimates of the levels assigned to a keyword’s value, ranging from 0 to 100. It establishes seasonal variations in a keyword.

A value of 100 on user intent means that the keyword has a high interest, while zero does not mean that no one has shown interest but that the level of interest was low. For example, if you search for the term “swimwear”, you will notice that it has more searches during the summer than in the winter. If you keep track of those analytics, you can judge your niche’s relevance levels to users and know when to get in and out of a trend.

2. Google Trends brings new keywords to light

When you have a website, keywords are pointers that show search engines what you have on your website. Keyword research shows you what your prospects might be looking for and the estimated audience size with that search intent.

Try the following steps:

• Identify the main idea your prospects associate the product or service your business offers, such as cashmere scarves. Avoid using adjectives.
• Narrow down your product or service specs by anticipating a unique aspect of your niche that would direct users to your website. For example, cashmere scarves from Italy.
• At this point, you can add a link from a website to your search for better results.
• Include your product brands or well-known names in the industry to improve product association, but don’t include an unknown brand in your search.
• Try several key phrases on the subject in different variations, such as “Italian cashmere scarves”, “Italian designer cashmere scarves” and “Italian cashmere scarves at affordable prices”. Use subject-related keywords to narrow your results.
• Considering there are over six billion searches worldwide every day, you should use tools like SEMrush to identify keywords that rank on a page and include related keywords for comparison with other valid keywords.

Beware, however, some new search terms may be popular but only fads that later disappear, making your content redundant.

Understand the difference between a trend and a fad

Here’s a quick look to help you discern what’s a trend and what’s not, giving you further clarity on whether to invest time and resources into content creation.

One trend is –

• A general development, a situational change, or a change in the way people behave
• It can be traced back to a starting point in time
• Evolve gradually
• Have a wider influence on consumer culture and behavior

A passing fad is –

• A very popular style or activity that can be compared to a “wonder of success”
• A starting point cannot be traced as fashions explode onto the scene out of nowhere
• They vanish as soon as they arise
• It does not have a substantial impact on consumer behavior

3. Research your niche

Even as you search for the best keywords to boost your SEO strategy, Google Trends ensures that you don’t miss out on any relevant topics in your niche. Your niche should provide value to stay relevant.

The variations between the dips and increases on the charts generated by Google Trends show the following at a glance:

• Seasonal price changes
• Seasonal changes in demand
• The stability of a niche depends on the search volumes sustained over a given period
• If the niche is still a viable business idea

The metrics from that research guide you in making data-driven decisions for your brand and leveraging your niche because it will allow you to:

• Identify the target regions
• Determine the viability of your niche
• Know the terms relevant to your search
• Make decisions using real-time data
• Optimize your campaign
• Find out if you have loyal customers who can create a community

4. Keep track of the latest popular searches

When your business focuses on a dynamic niche, Google Trends helps you keep up with the changes. People’s needs continue to evolve, and to keep up, you need to get real-time results on search engine queries and act accordingly.

Invest in that research to adapt your marketing tactics to address new concerns that arise in the market due to emerging problems.

Companies that adjust their strategy based on emerging needs and in real time thrive while others that don’t naturally see a decline in returns.

5. Compare the keywords

Google Trends searches have accumulated data from people’s search history in Google and the most used search terms in those searches. The Google Trends landing page has a search bar tailored to search terms. In this bar you can type up to five keywords you want to compare, separating them with a comma.

Research is very useful when focused on related topics and shows the less obvious needs of customers. When the analysis defines one-term results as increasing, it means that it has had the most considerable growth volume. Breakout is a percentage that shows that the search query volume has exploded to over 5000%.

6. Optimize for video and e-commerce

YouTube videos offer another avenue to study the market scene beyond web results. Through videos, Google Trends can bring to light the video topics that fuel trends. You’ll also know if it’s time to create video content for ecommerce and the relevant tags you should include for optimization.

You can also use the tool to monitor the success of your video. Consider that 88% of people say that watching a video about a brand convinced them to buy their product or service. While 0% more than 70 percent would rather watch a short video about a brand than read a text about it.

7. Reach out to the local audience

It is no longer a hassle to find geo-specific data and evaluate the popularity of a search item by region. You will reliably establish the region with the highest demand for your product or service.

There are several ways to conduct this research. One is to type the name of what your business offers into the search space and then scroll to the map section on the same page to determine the location.

The second way is to use search filters to compare keywords and identify the different regions where web users have shown interest in your products or services. Effective campaigns should be geographically relevant.

8. Google Trends for competitor analysis

Google Trends doesn’t just guide you on what your potential customers are using the internet to search for in your industry. It also gives you insights into what your competitors have been up to, such as showing trending search queries for your competition, now and over the past year.

You can use the tool to narrow your search by seasons to see any variations in their presence on the market. For example, you can see if there have been any changes in prices, such as seasonal offers and supplies at different times of the year. These results can help you define strategies on how to promote your brand based on your competitors’ business tactics.

9. Plan your annual calendar

Ultimately, you need to create a research marketing plan with time-specific events. The annual calendar will guide you in planning and creating schedules for seasonal events based on the needs of your customers. This calendar is a dynamic tool subject to review and adjustment not only to create goals but also to track them until completion.

It takes all the steps discussed above into consideration and integrates them into an ecommerce marketing strategy for both web-based establishments and physical businesses.

Make Google Trends work for your campaign

Google Trends is a great tool for providing valuable information on digital marketing and content strategy. Use this knowledge to plan your content, measure the best times of the year, and understand your audience.

Contact us for advice and support for results-oriented branding strategies.

Eric Ritter is the founder and president of Digital Neighbor. It can be found on Twitter @Eric Ritter.

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