Finding the right words with Google Trends

Using Google Trends, you can see the search terms people enter with the greatest frequency for a distinct period of time and for specific regions (especially helpful if your product is designed for a multinational or global audience). Comparing synonymous terms using Google Trends will yield more useful results than comparing disparate terms.

Considerations when using Google Trends

Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind when measuring terms with Google Trends.

• Search frequency is a rough measure. It tells you the terms people are searching, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate a preference. It’s best interpreted as a large-scale comparison of popularity.

• Spelling matters. For example, if you’re evaluating terms that have different US, Canadian, or UK English spellings, you might see skewed results. If you’re measuring terms

• Best for consumer terms. Enterprise users are harder to identify with Google Trends since the search terms are from a broad set of general users. If you were trying to identify the language people use to describe a procedure like drawing blood, for example, Google Trends might help with uncovering patient language, but probably wouldn’t be helpful with the language used by nurses, doctors, or phlebotomists.

  - UX Writer’s Collective