Using Google Insights to spot trends in keyphrases

Google Analytics does a great job of listing the keywords and phrases that customers are using to find your site, but where do you go to find the keywords that nobody is finding your for, or keywords which are taking your potential customers to your competitor's sites?   Your first call will be to Google Adwords where you can discover monthly/yearly search volumes and ask the tool to suggest new phrases, but website owners often overlook another useful Google tool, Google Insights.

The screenshot below is taken from Google Insights and shows a typical representation of the amount of  'interest' in two different search terms, wetsuit (blue) and wetsuits (red.) 

The first thing which stands out is how searches using the plural decrease as those using the singular increase, crossing over in August 2006.

Google Insights provides a list of the top searches and all the data is filterable by geographic location, time period (i.e. the last 7 days, month, year etc.)and category (there are many categories ranging from shopping, recreation and health to property, auto or business)

Using a combination of  filters, you can view a list of  "Rising searches." 

This list (right) was created by selecting shopping, over the past 30 days, UK and containing the word cheap. 

This type of information would prove very useful to a retailer selling christmas party dresses.