Hello everyone, this is MaoMaoyu, and today, we're diving into the essential topic of keyword traffic analysis for beginners. Understanding how to gauge the popularity of specific keywords is crucial for SEO, content creation, and online marketing. Let's explore how you can leverage Google Trends and benchmarking to estimate keyword traffic effectively.

Understanding Google Trends

Google Trends is a free tool that provides valuable insights into the relative popularity of search terms over time. While it doesn't give you the exact search volume numbers like some paid tools, it offers trends and comparisons that can be incredibly useful.

How to Use Google Trends for Keyword Analysis:

1. Enter your keywords: Type the keyword you want to research into the Google Trends search bar.
2. Compare keywords: Add multiple keywords to compare their popularity over time. This is useful to see which terms are more popular than others.
3. Filter by Location and Time: Set the geographic location and the time frame for more targeted insights. This is critical as search trends can vary by region and over time.
4. Analyze the Trend Graph: Examine the graph to see how popular the term has been over time, look for seasonality and emerging trends.
5. Explore Related Queries and Topics: Google Trends shows related queries and topics, which are a goldmine for new keywords and content ideas. These can help you target long-tail keywords.

Using Benchmarking to Estimate Traffic

While Google Trends provides relative popularity, we need to establish a method to estimate actual traffic. Benchmarking is the technique to refer to the known traffic data of certain keywords and use them as a reference for the ones we are researching. Here's a set of keywords with their estimated monthly search volume, which can be a helpful starting point:

• good morning images: 130,000
• happy birthday image: 50,000
• baby shower: 25,000
• image to text converter: 10,000
• gpts: 5,000

Now, let’s look at how to use these numbers in conjunction with Google Trends data:

1. Select a Reference Keyword: For example, if you are researching "cute cat pictures," compare it with "good morning images" in Google Trends.
2. Analyze the Relative Popularity: If the Google Trends graph shows that "cute cat pictures" has half the popularity of "good morning images," you can estimate its search volume to be around half of 130,000, or 65,000.
3. Adjust for Time and Region: Remember, traffic can fluctuate based on the time of year and geographic location. Make necessary adjustments using the filters in Google Trends.

Finding New Keywords on Social Media

Social media platforms are treasure troves for identifying emerging trends and popular new keywords. Here’s how to dig in:

1. Monitor Trending Topics: Platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok often have trending topics or hashtags that indicate new user interests.
2. Use Social Listening Tools: Tools like Brand24, Mention, or even built-in social media analytics can help you track what people are discussing.
3. Engage With Your Audience: Ask your audience or followers directly what they are searching for or what topics they are interested in. Direct feedback can yield new and targeted keywords.
4. Look at Industry Influencers: See what influencers are talking about. They often use relevant keywords in their content.

Introducing Trends Radar: A Batch Keyword Analysis Tool

To speed up your workflow, I recommend using a Google Chrome extension called Trends Radar. This tool lets you batch process keywords directly within Google Trends, saving you a lot of time and effort.

You can find it here: Trends Radar. This can help you streamline your keyword analysis by comparing many terms at once.

What to Consider

• Long-Tail Keywords: Don't just focus on broad terms. Long-tail keywords (more specific phrases) often have less competition and high conversion rates.
• Keyword Intent: Always understand the user intent behind the keywords. Are they looking to buy, learn, or find something specific?
• Data Limitations: Google Trends shows relative trends, not absolute volumes. Always use the benchmarking technique to estimate real numbers.
• Tool Combinations: Use Google Trends in combination with other SEO tools to refine your data and strategies.

By effectively using Google Trends and benchmarking, plus keeping an eye on social media, you can gain a solid understanding of keyword traffic. And don't forget tools like Trends Radar to boost your efficiency. This will help you make more informed decisions about your SEO and content strategy.

Happy researching!