Google Insights for Search – A Primer (Part 1)

If you’re looking for insight into the mind of the average internet searcher, (or, in this case, the aggregated minds) you have probably already stumbled across Google’s aptly named Insights for Search (which is of course, BETA!). While far from a comprehensive solution, it’s price tag results in a tool that can yield some very cost effective insights.

Unfortunately (and somewhat intentionally), Google has made Insights for Search a bit of a black box, with the data stripped of any meaningful scale aside from relative to what’s being compared. That’s not to say that you can’t draw some meaningful conclusions, so long as you have a thorough understanding of how the tool works. This post is the first in a series aimed at giving you such an understanding. Nowhere else have I seen this much detail on Insights for Search in one location; I put this guide together by piecing information from a variety of sources.

Last, if you find something you disagree with, or know is outright false, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

So here we go!

Part 1 – What is Google Insights for Search Anyway?

In short, it’s a way to glimpse into the mind of the average internet user. Specifically, the average internet Google user. What’s that good for? I’ll get into that later, but for now, trust me, it’s good for something.

It provides near-real-time data (2 day lag) on keywords that have high enough volume. What is “high enough”? That’s not that clear, but you have to be getting into some fairly obscure terms before Insights will stop giving you data. The data you are able to get is “aggregated over millions of users without personally identifiable information,” and “is powered by HAL 9000 computer algorithms.”

You are able to compare up to five terms (or groupings of terms) in one analysis. Although, with some work, you can extend beyond 5 terms (more on that later). For any given comparison, you have the ability to look at the following outputs*:

• A histogram with the search volume, indicating interest over time, plotted on a normalized scale from 0 to 100
• A breakdown of the categories that the terms are classified into (provides context to terms, e.g. how many people are searching for Ford, the car company vs. Ford, the former president)
• Lists of the top searches and rising searches
• A heat map graphically displaying the search volume index with defined regions, cities, and metros (based on IP address)

But before looking at the results, let’s first take a detailed look at the interface.

There are three basic sections to the interface – “Compare By”, “Search Terms”, and “Filter”

Compare By:

In this section, you select how you’d like to conduct comparisons – either by term, location, or time range. Using “apples” as an example subject, here are some examples for each comparison type.

Search Terms:

Compare searches for ‘apples’ vs. searches for other terms (e.g. ‘oranges’ & ‘bananas’) for one location (e.g. the United States) and one time range (e.g. the last 12 months)

Locations:

Compare searches for ‘apples’  in different regions (e.g. U.S. vs. Canada vs. Mexico) for one time range (e.g. they year 2009)

Time Ranges:

Compare searches for ‘apples’ in one location (e.g. Russia) for different time ranges (e.g. 2009 vs. 2008 & 2007)

Search Terms

The title of this section actually changes based on the selected method of comparison (can also be “Locations” and “Time Ranges”). This is where you enter (or select from a dropdown menu) the terms (locations/ranges) you’re looking to compare. You can add up to 4 additional comparisons here.

Filter

Finally, in the filter section, you can adjust the parameters that set the context for your comparison. In other words, do you want to compare three terms for the last 30 days or the last 2 years? In the United States, or in Canada? Specifically:

Type of Search:

Conduct analysis based on different functional search engines

• Web searches – google.com
• Image searches – images.google.com
• News searches – news.google.com
• Product searches – products.google.com

Geography:

Conduct analysis within a specific region

NOTE: Unavailable when “Locations” is selected in the “Compare by” section

Time Frame:

Conduct analysis for a specific segment of time

NOTE: Unavailable when “Time Ranges” is selected in the “Compare by” section

Category:

Conduct analysis within Google-determined segments

Category placement is determined entirely by user search patterns**

NOTE: This typically yields accurate results, however, if everyone searched for the term ‘banana’ in between multiple automotive searches, ‘banana’ would likely show up as an automotive term. I think.

All that’s left now is to click on the “search” button in the lower right hand corner…

Coming up Next…

That wraps up the interface and general overview of Insights for Search. In the next installment, I’ll begin to breakdown the outcome Google gives out, with examples even! In the meantime, leave questions/concerns in the comments.

*Source: http://www.google.com/support/insights/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87276

**Source: http://www.google.com/support/insights/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=96542