Google Trends and email marketing

Google Trends is a tool sitting hidden in the Labs section of the Google website. Put in any search term and it returns a graph displaying changes in the popularity of that search term across any month(s), year(s) or the last 30 days.

It also graphs the frequency of news references to that term. And matches the two. So a peak in search volume can be correlated with news stories.

It's a rough and ready tool, but has various uses for email marketing:

1. You can track the seasonality of interest in particular products, services or topics. And then plan the timing of related email content and promotions accordingly.

For example, if you track the term "Christmas decorations" you'll see that search volume is actually at its largest in November and the first week of December. So a handicraft newsletter might be better off writing about self-made decorations in late November rather than mid-December.

2. The graphs display results for up to five terms simultaneously. So you can use the tool to compare synonyms and pick the most popular for your subject lines.

3. The tool also reveals the regions and cities where interest in a search term is particularly high. Again, useful intelligence when segmenting your list by location.

4. The results themselves make interesting content for newsletters and blogs. A sports newsletter might report on a Google Trends face off between the two teams in the Superbowl / World Series / NBA Finals etc.

5. It's fun to play with while you wait for the results of the last campaign to come in.

Any other uses for Google Trends you can think of?

Tags: email marketing, google trends, subject lines, content development

Permalink | June 12, 2008 | 0 comment(s)
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