Google Insights Tool Provides PPC AdWords Power Christine Churchill - KeyRelevance.com - Dallas, TX - Apr 21, 2009

Language evolves. When marketing online, you need to constantly monitor and refine the keywords in your campaigns. One powerful tool for keyword intelligence is the Google Insights for Search tool. (www.google.com/insights/search/). This free tool allows you to analyze search volume patterns over:

• Time
• Geographic regions
• Different industry categories
• Across other Google properties (Web, image, news, and product search)

Information Straight from the Horse's Mouth

The popularity of a phrase is important because it reflects traffic potential for the keyword. Since Google Insights draws data directly from the most popular search engine on the Web (60% of the search volume), it provides valuable data you can't get elsewhere. Site analytics tells you what phrases are already bringing traffic to your site, but Google Insights gives you popularity data from a higher perspective -- the number of times phrases are searched for at Google as a whole.

Google Insights offers information that can be applied directly in your marketing programs. Let's explore a few ways this can make a difference for you.

Cyclical Trends of Keywords

Many keywords have seasonal cycles. Knowing the peaks and valleys will help you better allocate your PPC budget. Some words like "income tax help" have a very predictable season with demand early in the year and dropping off after April 15 as shown below.

Graphic showing seasonal cycle of search term "income tax help." Full size

Regional Differences in Keyword Usage

When you're looking at long lists of keywords and numbers, it's easy to get lost in the minutia and miss trends. To help, Google Insights graphically illustrates interest in a keyword in different geographic locations, so preferences pop out at you.

Let's say you're selling bathing suits online. You probably already know that the peak month for bathing suits is June (but if you didn't, Google Insights would tell you). You might not know that in some states like Utah and Idaho, the preferred phrase is "swim suit" not "bathing suit." The graphic below, extracted from Google Insights, shows geographic preferences for the term "swim suit."

Graphic depicts geographic distribution for the search term "swim suit" on Google.

If you're conducting regional targeting in PPC, knowing the preferred terminology by locale allows you to tailor your marketing message to help performance by including local lingo . If you're moving into a new market, the tool may save you problems by identifying the preferred keyword for the new region.

Online Reactions to Offline Conditions

A glance at the Google Insights trend line for the term "unemployment" speaks volumes about what is occurring in the country and what is on the mind of the consumer.

Graphic showing volume of traffic over time for the search term "unemployment." Full size.

The trend line is relatively flat for four years. Then starting in the middle of 2008 we see a sharp upward rise that continues high into 2009.

Google Insights captures changes in user behavior over time, as well. Consider the phrase "diamond ring."

Graphic showing volume of traffic over time for the search term "diamond ring." Full size.

A five year trend shows a high spike in December and a smaller spike in February for five years. However, in the sixth year, 2009, the trend line shows only a small blip in February. Someone selling diamonds no doubt knows that this is an industry hard hit by the recession. But Google Insights not only documents the shrinking demand, but may provide some ideas on fine tuning your marketing. The keyword variation "diamond engagement ring" shows strong searches in several states and almost no searches in others. Regional targeting in locations where demand still exists may bring sales despite overall economic conditions.

Identify New Marketing Opportunities

With the depressed economy raising havoc in nearly every business, companies are on the lookout for business opportunities that are more recession resilient. Say you sell women's hand bags. With discretionary spending lower than normal, your designer hand bags are still sitting on the shelf. A few minutes with Google Insights may help you find related marketing opportunities that aren't hit as hard by the recession. For example, a search for "diaper bag" reveals a steady, strong interest trend despite the hard times. Expanding your product mix to offer diaper bags might provide your company a new source of revenue that is related to what you already sell.

Discover New Keywords

Google Insights is great for brainstorming keywords. At the bottom of the tool page is a section displaying Top and Rising searches related to your phrase. You can scan the lists for overlooked terms that are gaining in popularity. This list can alert you to trends you may have overlooked.

The Google Insights tool is free and easy to use. It's the online marketer's chance to get insight into keyword terms used when people search the Web.

Christine Churchill is the President of KeyRelevance.com, a full service Dallas search engine marketing company that specializes in helping businesses succeed online. Christine and her experienced team of online marketers provide a holistic approach to marketing: increasing a site's visibility online, improving the user experience on the site, and maximizing the site's conversion potential.