insights
Why Use Google Insights?
Google Insights is a great tool for market research. It can be used to identify the popularity of search terms (keywords) used on Google and any trends for specific search terms.
On the Google Insights website, you can select one of three ways to search: by search terms, by locations or by time ranges. You can then select filtering options to narrow down your search results. Below are two scenarios to help illustrate why you might use Google Insights for market research.
Scenario 1
You own a specialty mittens shop in Vancouver, British Columbia and you plan to launch your online marketing plan. However, you aren’t quite sure when to start advertising. If you start advertising too early in the year, you risk wasting your budget because no one is looking for mittens yet. If you advertise too late, you risk missing out on potential customers. What do you do?
A quick search on Google Insights by Search Terms reveals Google searches for mittens begin to pick up in September. This may provide more insight on when you should start your online marketing strategy.
Scenario 2
You are planning to create a new recreational website targeting people living in British Columbia, Canada. However, you don’t know what recreational activities British Columbian are most interested in. What do you do?
A quick search on Google insights by Locations reveals the top searches in the recreation category, in BC are:
- bike
- fishiing
- bikes
- boats
- horse
- patters
- bicycle
- horses
- crafts
- paintball
With this information, you might decide to focus on creating a niche website for bicycle enthusiasts or a website for fishing enthusiasts.
Once again, Google offers valuable information. You just need to know where to look.
Victor
Tags: google, insights, market research, mittens, trends, Vancouver, victor
An Experience at F5 Expo in Vancouver
On April 7th, some members of the Magnify Digital team attended the F5 Expo at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Different people had varying opinions about the conference, panels and trade show. All in all, it was an experience.
The morning started with a surprise for attendees and organizers alike. I was greeted by a room full of people waiting in line at the entrance of the Convention Centre – technical difficulties. After an hour wait, I was finally able to check-in.
The day went well. I visited some booths at the trade show and attended some of the panel discussions. Here are a couple interesting points I heard from the panel discussions:
- If a search engine user sees a company’s results in both paid and organic listings, they are 25% more likely to click through on either listing
- 60% of Canadians use more than 1 search engine
- “Viral is an outcome, not a plan”
- YouTube has made videos eternal – watch what you say
Overall, the conference sessions were okay, but the opportunity to connect with other people at the conference was the highlight of my day.
Here’s what other people are also saying about their experience at the conference:
- Do a quick search on Twitter for #F5Expo.
- Read a student’s F5 Expo journey.
- Or a person’s personal insights and inspirations attending F5 Expo.
- How about, F5 Expo as experienced through Twitter, 140 characters at a time.
So, what was your experience at F5 Expo?
Victor Chan
eMarketing Strategist
Tags: experience, F5 Expo, insights, magnify digital, vancouver convention centre
