How To Use Google Trends To Research Traffic Changes

Organic traffic can be fickle, and investigating a drop or increase in traffic doesn’t always have a simple answer. However, Google Trends can give you the bigger picture and allow you to discount or include external factors from your research.

Google Trends is an invaluable resource for digital and content marketers. In fact, when it comes to seeing historic and current trends for your ecommerce business sector, it’s your best friend. In this step-by-step guide we’re demonstrating how to use Google Trends to research changes in organic traffic.

Investigating a drop or increase in organic traffic

Part of your investigation into why you’ve had a significant drop or rise in traffic to your website should include Google Trends. Why?

This is because it will help you determine whether the change in traffic was possibly a result of the business landscape and external factors rather than something to do with the way you’re managing your website.

We’re going to show you exactly how to research changes in traffic.

Step 1: Type in your keyword

Bear in mind that Google Trends is limited on its keywords, so you should reign in anything that’s too niche and choose a broader term if Google doesn’t present any data.

Step 2: Choose your country

This should match the majority of your target audience.

Step 3: Choose your timeframe

Timeframes can span from hours to years. Typically, 12 months is a good starting point as it allows you to see at a glance how the demand for a keyword has changed over the past year.

Step 4: Choose your traffic origin

If you want to research organic traffic, then you’ll want to make sure you select ‘Web Search’. Once you’ve done that you can hit the search button.

Step 5: Interpret the timeline

If your website has seen a gradual decline or rise in traffic it’s worth seeing if this correlates with the Google Trends timeline. A peak of ‘100’ shows when the keyword was at its most popular.

This is your basic introduction to Google Trends which we hope will make your traffic reports that little easier to understand and interpret. If Google Trends doesn’t appear to show a match for your organic traffic dips, then it’s time to go back to the drawing board and take a closer look at whether something went wrong with your website.