I wish I heard more people say “let me Google Trend that” instead of just “Google that.” The information available with Trends is mind-blowing once you get the hang of some simple comparisons. As an SEO, I only wish it revealed more about how Google prioritizes based on changing user interests. ClickStream is focused on the intersection of search and content strategy, with a sometimes focus on websites planning for content trends in Philadelphia. What does Google Trends say about the popularity of searches relating to these topics? More specifically, how do these local searches pertaining to specific cities and social media grow or shrink for those seeking information about their use in the work world?
The first consideration in looking at results is user intent. Adding the word “services” or “marketing” makes the query too narrow: there are too many ways to look for marketing or services by using other terms. Searches for the nebulous term “social media” may be largely from individuals looking for non-work information from social channels online. Look at the massive spike in “social media Boston” after the terror attacks at the Boston Marathon. These numbers show us how important the phrase is to find information about current events vs. learning about business use of Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, et. Al.
New York has a clear growth line over the past few years for people looking to find out about “social media,” while Philadelphia is largely flat. Is this like the spike for Boston: people are increasingly looking for non-work information in New York and not in Philadelphia via social media networks? Or, is the growth also impacted significantly by social media interest growing faster in New York related to use in business and work? Is it a faster growing industry since New York is the media center of the US? Is it also outpacing Philly in growth of its tech center which inpacts the growth?
To dig further into intent, we need to understand how the social media searches for more narrow interest—related to building awareness or using it for the workplace—trend across the country. Then we can further pin down the regional “long tail” searches such as “social media marketing in Philadelphia.”