Google Insights for Global Search Phrase Distribution and Seasonal Variation

The first step in crafting a web marketing strategy for any product is to perform keyword research to figure out how to target your niche market. This is true whether you are engaged in affiliate marketing, selling physical goods, or promoting CPA (cost-per-action) offers. Many people utilize the Google Adwords keyword tool or a paid tool to find keyword phrases with sufficient search volume. Google Insights can be a valuable complement to any other keyword research tool and it is free to use. Google Insights supplies you with data for the global distribution and seasonal variation in the search volume of a chosen keyword. It displays this information in simple map and chart formats that are easy to understand (no manual required!). Google Insights can also show you search terms related to yours with rising search volume.

Global search volume distribution. Google Insights shows a global map of the volume of searches for your desired search term throughout the world. Some keyword research tools may give global vs. local search volumes by default. However, you'll want to understand the geographic origin of your searchers if you are marketing physical products or CPA (cost-per-action) promotions. It may be impractical to ship physical goods overseas and CPA offers are often geographically restricted. Certain keyword phrases may be utilized almost exclusively in the US but not South Africa, for instance, or in the United Kingdom but not Canada.

Seasonal fluctuations in search volume. Google Insights also shows a simple graph for search volume vs. time since 2004. This is quite handy because search volumes can have strong seasonal fluctuations. Keyword phrases containing "toys" may be searched much more often during December-height of the Christmas shopping season-than at other times of the year. Such keywords may still have adequate search volume the remainder of the year, but perhaps you don't want to define an annual advertising campaign based just on local search data collected during the Christmas season.

The Google Insights tool complements other popular keyword tools, but has been underappreciated by many marketers. Although it isn't new, it is not as well known as other similar tools. Also, many internet marketers are busy promoting information products that don't carry shipping charges or geographic limits. Should you decide to try Google Insights, which I recommend, sign in with your free Google account. This isn't mandatory, but a little information is visible when you are logged in that isn't otherwise.