Why read this? : We share the results of our quick dive into the most searched on Google today. Learn how Google Trends helps you find digital content ideas. And learn which topics dominate what we search for. Read this to learn how to use what’s most searched on Google today to make your content more topical.
One job you’d never want would be working in the Google press office. Because they get a lot of bad press. For example, look at the recent coverage of their fallout with the Australian government about paying for news coverage.
To be honest, we find it hard to get too worked up about this. Corporate giants who make billions in advertising revenue argue with politicians and other corporate giants who also make billions. For most normal people, who cares, really?
Google vs. other media businesses
But it got us thinking about the difference between Google and all those other news and media businesses. You know, the ones who give Google all the bad press.
We’ve worked directly with Google and some of those other media providers. Our experience is the folks at Google are easier to deal with.
They’re honest about their role as an advertising and media-led business. And they’re open to discussions about partnerships which serve the greater good, rather than just selling airtime.
You don’t always find that. They negotiate hard, but they’re less commercially stubborn than many other media sales teams. (Like when you sell with Amazon).
That’s not to say they’re perfect. But they’re pretty high on the list of people we like to work with. They have an interesting culture, which values humility and conscientiousness. We like that. (See our recent business review for more on this).
But put aside their culture, and there are still 2 business reasons we think Google stands out from those others. It’s how they differentiate themselves.
Google’s 2 points of difference
First, it’s that they give away for free their basic core service – search. Imagine if you had to pay for search. They could make a fortune if they charged for it, but they don’t.
That’s interesting. And different.
Imagine if you’d to live without search. How would you ever track down that new restaurant, new recipe and what show that actor was on before? There’s no real alternative to search. It’s part of what we do every day. And yet, it’s free.
And here’s the second thing.
Not only do they give that service away free, but they also freely share a lot of the digital data it generates.
As a business owner, you can use Google data to get live, free market research and insights 24/7, 365 days a year. For free. We cover lots of examples of this in our secondary data guide.
We don’t see other media channels doing this. Amazon famously gives almost nothing away. If you jump through a few hoops, you can squeeze some insights out of Facebook and Twitter But they don’t make it easy. Or obvious. They don’t even come close to matching what Google give you.
For us, Google has democratised digital data. It’s the digital equivalent of when plumbing went into houses.
As business owners, Google’s search data is amazing for generating insight and ideas. You can use keyword research to inspire what you write and create.
As an example, let’s have a quick data dive into the most searched on Google today.
Finding ideas on most searched on Google today
Having had the first Trump-Biden presidential debate / playground fight playing in the background as we wrote this post, we’re pretty sure by the time this article goes live today, that’ll be the top trend. And to be honest, it was such a car crash, that we can’t even bring ourselves to talk about it.
So, let’s do something more fun. What can the most searched on Google today for the last 3 days tell us about what people in Australia want and need right now?
Sport rules
Maybe because we first looked at most searched on Google today on a Monday, and the weekend is big for sport, but wow, sport. Sport-related content is all over Google Trends. And we mean, all over.
The search numbers smash some of the other search trends out of the park. Particularly anything related to the English Premier League.
But scroll down a little, and you also find cricket (the IPL), US-based sports, especially basketball and gridiron, and other global football teams like Athletico Madrid and Bayern Munich ranking highly.
And then rounding off the sports section, you have the teenage boy’s wet dream combination of cars and fighting, with Formula 1 and WWE / UFC.
So, no surprise that sport is popular as a general theme. But actually, quite an opportunity when you know what’s interesting to sports fans, right now.
Who could use this sort of data?
Well, obviously any business whose offer connects to sport for one. They can use it to be topical and relevant with their own content, especially on social media.
While obviously, you have to be careful not to infringe any trademarks, or suggest any endorsement, there’s nothing to stop you talking about these sports and teams and what’s going on with them.
If you know these are the topics your audience search on, then you should talk about them on your social media posts, or feature them in your product offer. It’s an opportunity to build your brand identity and connect with your target audience through shared views and experiences. You can position yourself as an expert and fan in those areas.
For example, one of our local restaurants has a chalkboard outside where they feature funny or sports-related content. Usually to the detriment of the Manly Sea Eagles. We’re pretty sure they must get some insight from Google Trends.
We love celebrities
So when sport doesn’t rule, it seems celebrities do.
What seems to be “hot” right now in the celebrity world are pregnancies and babies.
News about Joaquin Phoenix’s new baby, and pregnancy news from Sophie Turner from Game of Thrones featured highly in what people search for in the last 3 days.
Take care because the celebrity world is a fickle one. And again, be careful of trademarks.
But if these are the things your customers are interested in, then talk about them. Have an opinion. Have a point of view.
Who could use this sort of data?
If you’re a parenting-related brand, retweet the news about Joaquin’s baby with a comment which shows you care they chose River as the baby’s name.
Make a GOT-related pun about the new King of the North being on the way for Sophie T and whichever one of the Jonas brothers she’s with.
The point is you’re showing your interests match those of your target audience. That helps build connections and conversations.
News and events also matter
This leaves us with our last major category on Google Trends, and that’s when major news and events happen.
So in the last few days, we’ve had :-
- the Microsoft outage.
- the improving Coronavirus situation in Melbourne (plus the sh*tshow politics in the background).
- the run-up to today’s, let’s not talk about it, presidential debate.
- Supreme Court nominees.
- The Rock’s view on Trump.
This stuff’s all gold from a social media content point of view. You position yourself as savvy, switched on and connected by commenting and posting on anything relevant to your brand.
Who wouldn’t want that?
Life’s random searches
So, there we have it, sports, celebrities and news and events are what most people search for. These cover what’s most searched on Google today. Think about what you could do with that.
Except, there’s one last category, we should probably mention too. That’s the stuff which comes out of left field. Because in general, people are left-field. And that comes across in what else people search for.
So, right now, we also have many searches on Genshin. And, even though we consider ourselves quite gaming-friendly, we had to search to find out it’s a new downloadable game.
Then, you’ve also got La Nina, the Pacific-based weather event, Fox News (no idea why it was trending in Australia), and randomly Hugh Hefner and I Love Lucy.
Those topics, well, we’d struggle to generate many ideas from those. But if you’ve got any, let us know.
Check out our secondary research and digital media guides for more on using search trends. Also, our keywords article talks about using search tools for content ideas. Or drop us a line if you need specific help to use search trends to find ideas.
Photo credits
Google M&Ms : Photo by lalo Hernandez on Unsplash
Google Samsung Phone : Photo by PhotoMIX Ltd. from Pexels
Marketing Dashboard : Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash
Football : Photo by Tevarak Phanduang on Unsplash
Confetti : Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash
Paper on fire : Photo by Elijah O’Donnell on Unsplash
