How does Google Insights for Search work?


Google Insights for Search analyzes a portion of worldwide Google web searches from all Google domains to compute how many searches have been done for the terms you've entered, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time. We then show you a graph with the results, indicating interest over time, plotted on a scale from 0 to 100; the totals are indicated next to bars by the search terms.

On the results page, you'll also see a list of the top searches, top rising searches, and a world heat map graphically displaying the search volume index with regions, subregions, and cities.

Keep in mind that Insights uses data aggregated over millions of users without personally identifiable information, and is powered by computer algorithms. Additionally, Insights only shows results for search terms that receive a significant amount of traffic, and enforces minimum thresholds for inclusion in the tool.

 

How can I use Google Insights for Search?

The examples below showcase some different ways of using Google Insights for Search. Whether you’re an advertising agency, a small business owner, a multinational corporation, or an academic researcher, Insights for Search can help you gauge interest in pertinent search terms.


Choosing advertising messages

Insights can help you determine which messages resonate best. For example, an automobile manufacturer may be unsure of whether it should highlight fuel efficiency, safety, or engine performance to market a new car model.


When the three features are entered into Insights, we can see that there's a considerable amount of interest in car safety. With this information, the manufacturer may want to consider incorporating car safety into its marketing strategy.


Examining seasonality

Insights can be used to determine seasonality. For example, a ski resort may want to find out when people search for ski-related terms most often.


In this example, the same time frame (June through May) is being compared across several years.

The results are fairly consistent throughout the years: interest picks up in August and peaks in December and January. With this information, the ski resort can anticipate demand and make informed decisions about the appropriate allocation of everything from its advertising budget to staffing to resort resources.


Creating brand associations

Insights can be a helpful tool in creating brand associations. Take, for example, an advertising agency that needs to build a compelling advertising campaign for its client, a computer hardware company. The agency needs to know what competing brands are doing: how should they position their client's product against them?

When comparing laptops or notebook, it's useful to apply the Category filter, whereby the data will be narrowed down to just Computers & Electronics.


Carefully examining the resulting top related searches and the rising searches can help the agency better understand competitors' offers, thereby creating a campaign to differentiate their client's brand.


Entering new markets

Insights can be useful in determining a new market. A wine distributor may be looking to expand into new markets. By entering in wine + vino, and comparing the data across multiple countries, such as Argentina, Mexico, Spain, and Venezuela, the distributor can get a sense of where interest is more prevalent.


The resulting graph indicates greater interest in Spain and Argentina. Choosing Spain, for example, the distributor can examine the subregions and consider centralizing distribution in the La Rioja region, where interest appears to be the highest.