You've probably already noticed Google's autocomplete feature, where Google cheekily tries to finish your sentence in search for you based on popular results, but are you aware of its use for spotting online trends?
To demonstrate, a recent study by Fixr revealed how the most common word that follows "the cost of …" differs wildly around the world. For instance, in the US the most common is "the cost of Patent", while Canada was "the cost of passport".
However, these are rather dull compared to some of the other more eccentric, and in some cases concerning, results. Take a look below:
Okay, this might not be the best way to detect trends, but there are other, more useful tools you should be making the most of.
Keeping up with the latest trends, and incorporating them into your content strategy, is a great way to draw more traffic to your site and increase brand awareness.
Here's a few of our favourite tools:
Google News
This one is simple, but incredibly effective. All you have to do is type keywords that are relevant to your industry into the News section of Google.
For instance, if you work in the property industry, type property into the search engine and click on the news tab and only the latest and most relevant results will show up that are from news sources. This will give you an idea of what news topics are currently trending in your industry, and whether or not you should be covering them too.
Google Trends
Google trends allows you to find out how many times a particular keyword has been searched for, and the best part, you can refine it depending on your location. This allows you to see what keywords you should be optimising, as well as the best times of year to make use of them.
Pinterest
Pinterest is quickly becoming one of the world's most popular social networking sites, but it is incredibly underused by marketers and businesses alike.
By using the site's search bar, type in some keywords and have a look at the most popular results (you can tell by how many pins the post has). This is a great way to find niche ideas to cover that you might not have considered, and that are also trending.
Alltop
This site is a news aggregator, and highlights what stories are trending on popular sites, such as Mashable and TechCrunch. By looking at these results, you can see the latest news topics and perhaps even cover it yourself.
Twitter
Utilising Twitter is definitely worthwhile. By looking at hashtags that are trending, you can gain insight into what stories are worth covering, and what topics are receiving engagement through favourites, retweets and refollows.
Buzzsumo
This one is by far my favourite. Buzzsumo shows you what stories are trending, and how much interaction they have received on the different social platforms. Type in an industry-relevant keyword and see if there are any topics that take your fancy.
While it is important to create original and unique content, there are no rules against gaining inspiration from topics that are currently trending and adding your own fresh spin on them. Have a try of these tools, and let us know if you need any help.
To demonstrate, a recent study by Fixr revealed how the most common word that follows "the cost of …" differs wildly around the world. For instance, in the US the most common is "the cost of Patent", while Canada was "the cost of passport".
However, these are rather dull compared to some of the other more eccentric, and in some cases concerning, results. Take a look below:
Okay, this might not be the best way to detect trends, but there are other, more useful tools you should be making the most of.
Keeping up with the latest trends, and incorporating them into your content strategy, is a great way to draw more traffic to your site and increase brand awareness.
Here's a few of our favourite tools:
Google News
This one is simple, but incredibly effective. All you have to do is type keywords that are relevant to your industry into the News section of Google.
For instance, if you work in the property industry, type property into the search engine and click on the news tab and only the latest and most relevant results will show up that are from news sources. This will give you an idea of what news topics are currently trending in your industry, and whether or not you should be covering them too.
Google Trends
Google trends allows you to find out how many times a particular keyword has been searched for, and the best part, you can refine it depending on your location. This allows you to see what keywords you should be optimising, as well as the best times of year to make use of them.
Pinterest is quickly becoming one of the world's most popular social networking sites, but it is incredibly underused by marketers and businesses alike.
By using the site's search bar, type in some keywords and have a look at the most popular results (you can tell by how many pins the post has). This is a great way to find niche ideas to cover that you might not have considered, and that are also trending.
Alltop
This site is a news aggregator, and highlights what stories are trending on popular sites, such as Mashable and TechCrunch. By looking at these results, you can see the latest news topics and perhaps even cover it yourself.
Utilising Twitter is definitely worthwhile. By looking at hashtags that are trending, you can gain insight into what stories are worth covering, and what topics are receiving engagement through favourites, retweets and refollows.
Buzzsumo
This one is by far my favourite. Buzzsumo shows you what stories are trending, and how much interaction they have received on the different social platforms. Type in an industry-relevant keyword and see if there are any topics that take your fancy.
While it is important to create original and unique content, there are no rules against gaining inspiration from topics that are currently trending and adding your own fresh spin on them. Have a try of these tools, and let us know if you need any help.