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Google Trends

Google Trends is a free Google tool that shows how search interest in a term or topic changes over time and by place, as a relative index, not a search count.

How it works

Trends uses a sample of Google searches. Each point is divided by all searches in that place and period, so big countries don’t lead just by size. The result is scaled from 0 to 100, where 100 is the highest interest for the time range and location you chose.

Change the period or add a comparison, and every number is recalculated. Terms with very few searches show as 0.

For a store, Trends shows in which months interest in a category peaks and whether the peak repeats every year. That is the shape of its seasonality, to set against the store’s own seasonal index, as our guide to Google Trends for ecommerce shows.

Where you see it

  • Google Trends → Explore: the “Interest over time” chart, filtered by location, time range and category. Download saves it as a CSV file.

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop looks up “dinner set” in its country for the past 12 months. Interest peaks at 100 in December and falls to 40 in July: 40 ÷ 100 = 0.4 of the peak. The shop’s own revenue was 270,000 in December and 81,000 in July: 81,000 ÷ 270,000 = 0.3. The shapes are close, but the 40 could mean 400 searches or 40,000.

Not to be confused with

  • Keyword Planner — the Google Ads tool with rounded monthly search estimates. Google asks you not to cite the two together.
  • Search volume — the number of searches for a query. Trends shows interest relative to its own peak.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “The term scores 80 in one country and 40 in another, so the first has twice the searches.” Right: the index compares shares of each place’s searches. Google notes that regions with equal interest can differ in search volume.
  • Wrong: “A niche term jumped to 100 for one week, so demand surged.” Right: Google adds random noise for privacy, and on rarely searched terms it can create one-off spikes.

Sources

  • FAQ about Google Trends data — Trends Help: sampling, normalisation, 0 to 100 scale, privacy noise. Checked 2 October 2026 (archived copy of 28 September 2026).
  • Basics of Google Trends — Google News Initiative: 100 is the peak for the chosen time and location. Checked 2 October 2026.
  • Export, embed, and cite Trends data — Trends Help: CSV download; not to be cited with Google Ads data. Checked 2 October 2026 (archived copy of 6 September 2026).