Use Google Insights for Search to Maximize Your SEO Campaign

If you are thinking of launching a new Advertising or Search Engine Marketing campaign, Google Insights for Search is a great tool that, when used correctly, can help determine the best search terms for the best times and locations.  Using Google Insights for Search, you can compare the interest in different search terms over time, determine search term interest trends over time, research search term interest by area and much more.  In this post, we will give a quick run through on how to use this awesome tool so you can make your next Search Engine Marketing campaign that much more effective.  🙂

Step 1: Determine Your Search Terms

To start, determine the search terms you would like to build your campaign around.  The terms you use are completely up to you but I would suggest going with similar terms with slight differences (example:  landscaping, lawn care, lawn maintenance … all are services, centered around lawn care, that you pay for but each is a different term) once you have them down, enter them into the search terms box, comma separated, as indicated in the example image below.

Step 2: Determine Your Filters

The next step is to determine how you want to filter your results.  This is where you drill down the type of search you would like the results to come from (Web, Image, Product, and News), the geographic location (you can get down to the metro area level), time frame and categories, as indicated in the image below. If your marketing campaign is location based, you can research the interest level for your search terms, by the locations you are targeting.  Once your filters are selected, click search.

Step 3: Analysis of Results

The third step in this process is analyzing the results of your search.  Many tidbits of information can be gathered from the results but we will focus on 3 main ones: Comparison of Search Volume / Trending, Search Volume by Location and Top / Rising Searches.

Comparison of Search Volume / Trending

General comparison of the search volume for your terms is important because it indicates which term is being searched the most and also trending over time.  With this information you can plan out your advertising or marketing campaign based on when people search for that keyword the most and increase your chances of the campaign being successful.  Out of our example phrases, landscaping trumps the the other two in volume but it shares a common trend with lawn care.

Search Volume by Location

Google Insights for Search also reveals great data on the search volume, for your selected search term, by geographic location.  Using this information you can accurately plan your local search marketing campaign and target specific areas for different search terms.

Top / Rising Searches

The Top / Rising Searches section gives you great insight into other search terms, similar to yours, that are at the top  and also those that are rising in volume.  This information may help you determine what other search terms might benefit your campaign and give you an overall view of what people are searching for most often.

Review

So now you know the basics of how to use Google Insights for Search to improve your search engine marketing campaign.  We have covered how to get the report and a brief analysis of 3 different parts of the report.  If you have more questions about this awesome tool, visit our contact page and send us an email or call us at 210-519-7729.

Below are some live charts from the example search.  Enjoy.

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