Using Google Insights for Keyword Research

redheadmama · 10-31-2009, 04:44 PM

Yall, I've been reading this forum for over a year and just now have gotten up the courage to contribute, so go easy on me. :>) I wrote this up originally for my colleagues at About.com (I'm the editor of about.websearch.com), and then put it on my personal blog (redheadmama.com), and then I thought, shoot, I should post this for the wonderful folks at the WF! So here we go. :>)

Google Insights is one of the best keyword research tools to come along in a while, and it surprises me that more people aren’t using it to mine the humungous glob of Google searchers for content topics that will almost certainly rocket to the front page of Google within days, simply because you’re getting in the back door, so to speak.

I use it for blog posts – I type in various terms and see what’s shakin’. If something is really on fire, and it will work for my site(s), I plug it into the free Keyword Tracker and see where it’s at in the longer term. If it’s a longer term kind of phrase, I’ll usually do an actual article or page on it, not just a blog post, because it’s more evergreen.

If it’s a really competitive keyterm,and doesn’t lend itself well to an evergreen article, I put it into my keyword research software (Keyword Elite, or Google's free keyword search tools do just fine) and do a keyword study to see what other keywords and phrases people might be looking for. A lot of times the Google Insights rising search terms don’t come with any extra data other than “hey I’m here”, so this is a good way to drill down into what else people are searching for – another trick is to Google the phrase and scroll all the way down to the “searches:related to”…this is gold. If it’s obviously from a breaking topic and would work for my site, I blog it.

I’ve been doing this for a couple months now and it is really paying off in traffic – plus, for many of these searches, I’m on the front page of Google.

If I can’t figure out on Google where the term is coming from, (this happens frequently with the rising search terms, the data is just too new to be registered in the search index, even sometimes outpacing Google News, but it’s showing up in the early measurement tools like Insights and Trends), I’ll plug it into various niche sites and search engines that are on my Firefox drop down search bar: delicious, digg, yahoo, ask, popurls, etc.

Google’s new search options make this very easy because I can narrow the search down to the last 24 hours. Oh, and I ALWAYS check trending topics on Twitter because that is a great indicator of rising searches as well, and since it’s real-time, I can get a better idea of where the rising search term might have originated.

Once I figure out a good set of data points where that term is coming from, I’ll piece together a blog post that (hopefully) addresses it more in depth than what I’m finding.

Nine times out of ten, Google Insights’ rising search terms will help you totally nail a term before other sites have the time to get traction on it.
I find that Google Insights is more of a pointer tool than anything, if that makes sense. It highlights what people are searching for currently and what terms are coming up in the pile, but it’s not necessarily a good indicator of what might work longer term. You’ve got to use it in tandem with your other favorite keyword research tools.

Just my .02. :>) This technique is great for people who are using articles to get traction in the SERPs, or perhaps want to find an untapped niche that is relatively new on the scene. Hope this helps someone - I am kind of a huge nerd when it comes to keyword research!

10-31-2009, 04:44 PM	#1
redheadmama Warrior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Social Networking	Using Google Insights for Keyword Research Yall, I've been reading this forum for over a year and just now have gotten up the courage to contribute, so go easy on me. :>) I wrote this up originally for my colleagues at About.com (I'm the editor of about.websearch.com), and then put it on my personal blog (redheadmama.com), and then I thought, shoot, I should post this for the wonderful folks at the WF! So here we go. :>) Google Insights is one of the best keyword research tools to come along in a while, and it surprises me that more people aren’t using it to mine the humungous glob of Google searchers for content topics that will almost certainly rocket to the front page of Google within days, simply because you’re getting in the back door, so to speak. I use it for blog posts – I type in various terms and see what’s shakin’. If something is really on fire, and it will work for my site(s), I plug it into the free Keyword Tracker and see where it’s at in the longer term. If it’s a longer term kind of phrase, I’ll usually do an actual article or page on it, not just a blog post, because it’s more evergreen. If it’s a really competitive keyterm,and doesn’t lend itself well to an evergreen article, I put it into my keyword research software (Keyword Elite, or Google's free keyword search tools do just fine) and do a keyword study to see what other keywords and phrases people might be looking for. A lot of times the Google Insights rising search terms don’t come with any extra data other than “hey I’m here”, so this is a good way to drill down into what else people are searching for – another trick is to Google the phrase and scroll all the way down to the “searches:related to”…this is gold. If it’s obviously from a breaking topic and would work for my site, I blog it. I’ve been doing this for a couple months now and it is really paying off in traffic – plus, for many of these searches, I’m on the front page of Google. If I can’t figure out on Google where the term is coming from, (this happens frequently with the rising search terms, the data is just too new to be registered in the search index, even sometimes outpacing Google News, but it’s showing up in the early measurement tools like Insights and Trends), I’ll plug it into various niche sites and search engines that are on my Firefox drop down search bar: delicious, digg, yahoo, ask, popurls, etc. Google’s new search options make this very easy because I can narrow the search down to the last 24 hours. Oh, and I ALWAYS check trending topics on Twitter because that is a great indicator of rising searches as well, and since it’s real-time, I can get a better idea of where the rising search term might have originated. Once I figure out a good set of data points where that term is coming from, I’ll piece together a blog post that (hopefully) addresses it more in depth than what I’m finding. Nine times out of ten, Google Insights’ rising search terms will help you totally nail a term before other sites have the time to get traction on it. I find that Google Insights is more of a pointer tool than anything, if that makes sense. It highlights what people are searching for currently and what terms are coming up in the pile, but it’s not necessarily a good indicator of what might work longer term. You’ve got to use it in tandem with your other favorite keyword research tools. Just my .02. :>) This technique is great for people who are using articles to get traction in the SERPs, or perhaps want to find an untapped niche that is relatively new on the scene. Hope this helps someone - I am kind of a huge nerd when it comes to keyword research!