Google built a crystal ball and called it Google Insights. Google Insights is a tool that lets you access search volume patterns for keywords. This can be tracked across regions, states, and countries and typically follows trends over multiple years, which is "insightful" in gauging the popularity of a certain concept or product. If you own an e-commerce store, you know the power of that information. Imagine if you stocked up on tickle-me-Elmo's before all your competition did - if only you possessed the miracle of foresight - well, at least now you have the power of Insight.

As an SEO, I find this tool to be very helpful in my day-to-day research. A common application for this technology would be if Exclusive Concepts had a client that was looking to start a Pay Per click campaign selling Rolex Watches - but only to certain locations. See some business owners feel strongly that it makes more sense to target specific locations that are more prone to buying their product and often it does. In this case, Google can help me get that level of insight. Here's what I would do:

1. First type http://www.google.com/insights/search/ into a browser.
2. Next, enter the keyword or phrase I'm looking for Insight into
3. Make sure I set my filters accordingly
4. I'll let you guess the last step, but here's a hint: it rhymes with "bless the church mutton"

The tool is quite versatile. You will first notice a line graph. This shows the popularity for your query over time. Google has also been so kind as to provide us with relevant news articles as well. If you watched my last SEO Monday post about Google's QDF formula then you'll note that here is where you can identify the type of trend that will render a search term a QDF. Now, underneath this section you will be presented with a list of the most popular regions for this query. As well as related searches that are popular. So let's go into the Rolex example.

Cities that like to search for Rolexes include:

1. Miami
2. New Orleans
3. New York
4. Philadelphia
5. Dallas

Now, our client can have us target these locations with different campaigns and ad text, filled with "Yo's" for the New York crowd, and "y'alls" for the Dallasites. He'll typically save money by geo-targeting and not waste his time within geographic areas that are not into Rolexes.

In conclusion, the Insights tool can be very helpful for business owners or anyone looking for knowledge on how or what people are searching for throughout the world. I encourage you all to use the Google insights tool on your own as it can not only be very informative but also amusing.

Whether it's for SEO or PPC, our team at Exclusive Concepts can help you get the most of your traffic with tools like this. If you're looking for a team that's filled with insights, you're probably only one call away. We offer free audits for Pay-Per-Click and SEO - call us at 800-504-3424 to schedule one today. Thanks again - have a great Wildcard Friday and a wonderful weekend.