There are many reasons why you might want to track Web trends. There are many ways that you can track Web trends. And there are many trends to track.
If you want to attract traffic to your own Website, one way to do it is to offer people content that they are looking for. Presuming that you are able to contribute to the trend, you will know when to strike.
Moreover, there are certain platforms that allow you to see a trend developing, so that you can intervene with your own content at the peak of the interest. Of course, traffic to your site is most profitable for you and others when the content you offer is valued by your visitors. Choose what trends may be a natural fit for you. Otherwise, you risk making the mistake of Lord Ronald who flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.
There are many sources available to track trends on the Web. In this post, we’ll consider one of the best. In the future, we’ll explore others until we have a comprehensive view of what is available.
Google Trends
The best place to start is with Google Trends. Google compiles the massive data that results from all of the requests made on its search engine. It makes the results available on its Trends page in three different formats, with further options that allow you to analyze the data. You can see the current trends under Trending Now, each one presented as a small thumbnail with the number of searches recorded up to the moment that you consult the page.
Alternatively, you could look at charts of the trends from the previous year. Most importantly, you should become familiar with the Explore function. There, you can indeed explore how trends develop. You can perform what is known as factor analysis, meaning that you can study what factors may be involved in the development of a trend.
The Google Trends Explore site gives you total freedom to imagine and analyze. For instance, let me test my hypothesis that the development of an El Nino event in the Pacific Ocean will correspond with heightened interest in the topic of climate change. I can put those two terms into the Topics section: there is a separate box for each new term. Google Trends will find the history of searches for those terms and plot them on two distinct lines on a graph, over the period of time that I choose: days, months, or years. It will allow me to see where the interest was most intense: the United States, Canada, Mexico, or globally. Best, it allows me to see if indeed there is a correlation between those two topics. If so, then I can prepare to publish my work on climate change as the El Nino event crests. Why waste a good El Nino event?
This is, of course, one example. But once you grasp the principle, then let your imagination play with the tool. Google Analytics allows you to know your own audience. Who are they? What interests them? Why do they visit your site? What do they do there? You can use that knowledge in conjunction with Google Trends.
Google Trends is one of a range of sources that allow you to see what people are doing throughout the Web. We at Devrun Web Agency can tap into all of these Web trends and propose ways that you can ride the trend safely to shore. Contact us to see all that we can offer.
