ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Improve SEO using Google Correlate and Google Trends

Updated on May 4, 2015

Google Correlate was one of the topics that we were given for our presentation in college.This is how I happened to even know that something like this exists! I had heard about Google Trends and so I thought of finding out the differences between the two.

This is what I found:

What is Google Correlate?

Google Correlate is precisely what the name suggests. It brings into your search results all those queries which have similar search patterns to the one you are looking for. It correlates i.e. it finds out a common parameter like a time duration or a location and finds out other searches which share similar trends in that specific time or location.

How is this different from Google Trends?

Google trends is like a dictionary : you get only that which you are looking for. For example you type in a query and it will show you the statistics for all that is related to the same.

Google correlate can be viewed as a thesaurus in that sense : you get similar words plus antonyms too. That means you enter your query and it returns all those queries which share trends similar to the one that you searched for. Also by using the negative correlation feature, you can find out the queries with exactly opposite trends as that of yours.

In Google correlate we can find out the severity of an epidemic based on the symptoms over a particular region of interest or a particular time interval. Moreover, we can even be able to trace its origin as in the actual place from where the epidemic started and the time when it started being severe. This can help a lot in countering its effects. For example, we can predict based on geographical data where the next vulnerable region would be and begin mandatory anti-epidemic measures in that location.

An example

I entered binge eating and here are the results below:

Weekly reports for searches regarding binge eating in US and other queries with similar patterns.
Weekly reports for searches regarding binge eating in US and other queries with similar patterns. | Source
Statistics of binge eating and binge eating disorder as compared among US states
Statistics of binge eating and binge eating disorder as compared among US states | Source
Statistics of binge eating and binge eating disorder as compared among US states(Zoomed in at the transition)
Statistics of binge eating and binge eating disorder as compared among US states(Zoomed in at the transition) | Source

Something that I observed!

  • First of all, I had entered binge eating and correlate showed me binge eating disorder too along with nineteen other terms which shared similar graphs.
  • Secondly, I was amazed at why suddenly the graph went upwards from January end. The peak was in the week between February 1-February 8, 2015.

I will tell you why.

It was because Monica Seles, the tennis legend who has US nationality confessed on February 3, 2015 that she used binge eating to cope up with the stress in her life.

This is what Monica Seles had revealed

It's really eating huge quantities of food in a very short period of time (Binge eating). It was just uncontrollable. It was very hard to understand how on the tennis court, I would be so focused and so disciplined in my training, but when it came to binge eating I had zero control.

If you are a writer or one who frequently works with keywords, isn't it amazing to get seemingly unrelated but most-searched-for keywords in just one go using correlate? You got to know about Monica Seles while searching for binge eating and that can be used to spark a new article.

Some more features of Correlate explained

Compare US states:

When you search for something under this, it gives you a complete picture of your query across all the states of the US.

Delaware is well known for childhood obesity
Delaware is well known for childhood obesity | Source

The above figure clearly indicates a high correlation in Delaware. The reason is because it has got a high enough childhood obesity rate among US states.

Compare weekly time series:

Comparison over a weekly time basis.

Weekly reports of net neutrality and neutrality in India
Weekly reports of net neutrality and neutrality in India | Source

Compare monthly time series:

Comparison over a monthly time basis.

You can even shift your time interval by the amount of weeks/months that you desire. Moreover, you can choose the country for which you wish to perform the analysis.

Monthly analysis of malnutrition and rural India related searches in India
Monthly analysis of malnutrition and rural India related searches in India | Source

One more thing

You can draw any random pattern of your choice using Search by Drawing and find out all those queries which share similar traits to the one you drew. So you can use this feature to find out all those evergreen topics that have consistently performing graphs.

Source

Go for Whitepaper or Correlate Algorithm if you are interested in the technicalities of this.

Enter your own data using spreadsheet and analyse but for that you will have to sign into your account.

You can even look into their tutorial which is quite good. Or find out similar doubts in their FAQ section.

The Google comicbook simplifies your understanding of the concept by pictorial representation of the process in the form of Comics.

http://www.google.com/trends/correlate/comic

So by now you must have realised how interesting Google Correlate is! What are you waiting for? Correlate! Have fun :)

Google Trends

You might be familiar with Google trends. I will therefore share only an overview of the same.

What is Google Trends?

Google trends displays the popularity of the terms that you search for based on location or a timeframe. To do this, it uses only a percentage of the overall number of searches and excludes those that are duplicate (too many searches from the same user) or of low popularity.

When I entered binge eating in Trends, the queries revolved around binge eating unlike in Correlate where there were various other keywords too.

Trends and Adwords

You can search trends for the Adwords that you have included by adding them in the compare option in Google Trends. For example, to see trends for highest grossing films put in both the names Avengers + Harry Potter.

You can't automatically import your AdWords keywords into Google Trends.

Using Google Trends

Using this is pretty easy. Just follow the following steps:

  • Type in your search query.
  • Select the country wherein you want the trends to be analysed or keep it worldwide.
  • Select the timeframe. The oldest you can search from is 2004.
  • Select the category of your query.
  • Click on whether you want data for web search or images or so on.

You can now view the reports for your query.

Compare trends

You can also compare two or more keywords by simply clicking on the compare button and entering your keywords one at a time.

Some operators in Google Trends

  • If you type in summer sports camp then you will get results for keywords matching the whole thing.
  • If you enter summer + sports camp then you will get results for both individually.
  • If you search for sports camp - summer then you will obtain results for only sports camp excluding summer.

Hot searches and Top charts

The difference between theses two is that Hot searches lists all topics that are popular and trending in terms of traffic while Top charts lists those that have more volumes of searches pertaining to them.

You can find more about Google Trends in their help section.

Using Google Correlate and Trends to your advantage!

Using Google Correlate you can gather new keywords to write more articles that are performing in a similar way as your best ones (The search patterns being similar). While using Google Trends you can check which of your articles are up to date with what people are looking for!

Combine both these with Google Adwords and you have the perfect combo for keyword research. Good luck!

References

  • https://www.google.co.in/trends
  • https://www.google.com/trends/correlate
  • http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2937992/Monica-Seles-41-confesses-eating-disorder-stabbing-court.html

Isn't Google Correlate a great tool for finding unrelated keywords?

See results

© 2015 Ramachandra A Pai

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)