GOOGLE TRENDS AND KEYWORDS

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1 ONLINE COMMUNICATION SERVICES FACT SHEET GOOGLE TRENDS AND KEYWORDS The language we use on our websites should reflect the language of the audience. Word choice should be customer-centric and not organisation-centric. Google Trends helps when deciding what language people on the web are using in their searches. Investigating the keywords that people use to search with and using those words in our webpages will mean our pages will be easier to find. Only 16% of people using the internet read text word for word. The majority of people scan headlines, dot points and hyperlinks looking for the information they need to complete a task. Writing on the web needs to be succinct and simple, using language of the audience and not the organisation to minimise cognitive load. SEARCH INDEXING Google and most search engines regularly index webpages by essentially reading the content of each page. How these webpages rank in a set of search results depends on the algorithm of the search engine. Some search engines weight metadata higher than headings, others calculate the number of incoming links to determine page ranking. All search engines require a match between what the user types in the search field and what appears on the webpage. Consequently investigating what keywords people are using to search with and using those words in our webpages will mean our pages will be easier to find. The majority of search engines search by words and NOT TOPIC. When the word searched for is the same word used in the text it should appear in the search results list. GOOGLE TRENDS Google Trends ( is a product which allows comparisons between keywords (as indexed by Google Search and Google News). It shows how many people are searching for specific keywords and therefore shows the language the public are using. Creating a page about Secondary School Zoning for example, it is better, in terms of reader cognition and searching, to use the term "high school". Many more people search for "high school" as opposed to "secondary school", so a parent with a child in Year 7 looking for information about Secondary School Zoning wouldn t be able to find the information if there is no reference to "high schools" within the text. Google Trends and Keywords Page 1 of 5

2 HIGH SCHOOL VS SECONDARY SCHOOL EXAMPLE This graph shows that using "secondary school" on a webpage means it will not be found by the vast majority of people searching "high school". HOW TO USE GOOGLE TRENDS 1. Go to 2. Type in relative keywords, for example "car, automobile", using a comma to separate keywords. 3. Click "Search Trends" 4. A graph will appear showing the relative volumes of searches using the words Car and Automobile. 5. Select Australia from the Region section for a localised version. The graph clearly shows that "car" (in blue) is more often searched for than "automobile" (in red). So publishers should refer to "car" if necessary in text. The signposted letters signify news stories featuring the keywords. It is possible to add other keywords eg "vehicle" and phrases eg "motor vehicle". Google Trends and Keywords Page 2 of 5

3 "Car" is much more prevalent in the mind of our audience, with "vehicle" coming a very distant second. The bar graphs give a good representation of keyword searches in various subregions. OTHER EXAMPLES CHILD CARE VS CHILDCARE Sometimes using different forms of the words, such as childcare as one word or child care as two words can have an affect. "Child care" (as two words) is somewhat more searched for than "childcare" but not by much. It would be wise to try and use both words within the Keywords fields in Page Maintenance. Google Trends and Keywords Page 3 of 5

4 SCHOOL BOOK VS TEXTBOOK VS TEXT BOOK VS SCHOOLBOOK Google Trends can also show when certain keywords are being searched for by the public. The graph shows at the beginning of every term there is an increase of people searching for textbook (the preferred keyword). With this information, it is advisable to have any information about textbooks more prominent on the website around the start of each term. PRESCHOOL VS PRE-SCHOOL VS KINDERGARTEN Nationwide, preschool has more searches but in South Australia a slim majority of people in the community are searching for kindergartens. Both terms should be used (especially within the Keywords fields in Page Maintenance), but care should be taken to avoid confusing the reader. Google Trends and Keywords Page 4 of 5

5 DECS VS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION VS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Nation-wide DECS gets very little in the way of searches, but in South Australia it is more prevalent. If information is meant for a national audience ie for teachers or parents wanting to move to South Australia "Education Department" should be used in the text. Pages for parents and the wider community should include Education Department as a keyword or in the description. ATTENTION: DECD GENER8 WEB PUBLISHERS Department for Education and Child Development Policy and Communications Directorate Further Information: Phone Contact: (08) [email protected] Authorised by: Christine Irmler Position title: Manager Online Communication Services Google Trends and Keywords Page 5 of 5