Just in time for Back to School campaigns, a practical demonstration of how online marketers can get the most leverage from Google Insights for Search – for free
With retailers and parents alike getting ready for back-to-school shopping, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the need to do our own homework as marketers. 
We’ve written before about third-party keyword research tools, which are irreplaceable for competitive research but also a considerable financial investment, especially for small to mid-size companies. Happily, anyone can use one of the best, deepest data resources available for search trends completely for free.
Cram Session: How to Use Google Insights for Search
Google Insights for Search is essentially a souped-up version of Google Trends, the search engine’s simple report on “Hot Topics” and “Hot Searches.” Beyond merely finding out what’s hot right now, the Insights tool offers the ability to analyze historical search patterns. You can track searches as far back as 2004 (further even than most paid tools) and quickly grasp the seasonality of particular keywords as well as entire market segments. Note that you’ll need to log into any Google account (you probably already have one via Gmail) to access certain features, like indexes.
First Assignment: Use Daily Data to Show How Early Back to School Searches Start
With the fall semester on our mind, let’s take a look at what data Google has for “back to school” searches. We entered that term in the Insights for Search tool, then applied a filter to show only U.S. queries in 2009 for the key months of July through September:
First, we see that in 2009, searches continued to build up to a peak on Monday, 8/24. A second peak date of roughly the same magnitude is also revealed on Tuesday, 9/8 — the day after the Labor Day holiday. Perhaps recession-weary consumers were seeking after-season, inventory-clearing discounts.
2009 – Same As It Ever Was? Looking at Year-over-Year
The obvious follow-up question is, how typical was last year? How well does 2009’s peak week represent back-to-school seasonality in general? To find out, we added in the prior years of 2008, 2007 and 2006 and compared:
At first glance, we notice that the latter spike in September 2009 gets flattened when averaged with other days that same week, while the earlier main peak is still visible. Second, we notice that three of the four years peaked during the third week in August, but that 2008 looks like the odd man out, peaking a week too early. Or did it? Actually, because Labor Day came early that year (September 1), the pattern remains the same.
The takeaway? Google Insights for Search data confirms that for the last four consecutive years, back-to-school interest peaked exactly two weekends before the traditional end-of-summer holiday, even when that holiday moves around. Good to know if you’re planning summer sales strategies for school supplies, backpacks, laptops or teen apparel.
Smarter Searching: Back to School Coupons
We know from experience that coupon-related searches have been gaining in popularity. So let’s use Google Insights for Search to help us dig a little deeper and see whether coupons play a role in this season too. If we chart “back to school coupons” from June to September, year over year, you’ll see similar growth, especially in 2009. We also see that these searches have been starting earlier every year.
Let’s Pack It Up: What every student needs for Back to School
For our final exploration, let’s see what Google Insights for Search has to say about a crucial product term for this season. Let’s look at the chart for “backpacks” vs. the generic “back to school” phrase:
Since at least the start of 2009, “backpacks” interest has tracked so closely with generic “back to school” interest that the two concepts seem practically synonymous. (Of course, you might not need Google data to tell you this if you’ve got a Jansport-burdened teen at home.) Also: “backpacks” searches pick up earlier and peak two whole weeks before generic “back to school” searches. Naturally, this comparison can be done in Google Insights for Search with any number of product terms to help devise one’s strategy for the season. So whether you’re selling backpacks, laptops or skinny jeans to this market, or to any market, remember what you already know to be true: your situation is unique. Test, test, test. Optimize, optimize, optimize. Research, research, research. And when you can do it for free, even better.
