How to Find Trending Topics on Google: The Ultimate Guide 2024

Figuring out the current Find Trending Topics on Google is incredibly valuable for content creators, marketers, researchers, journalists, and anyone wanting their work to connect with what’s popular right now.

Before we explore how to pinpoint trending topics, it’s important to define what exactly qualifies as a “trending” topic on Google.

Generally, trending topics on Google are subjects, people, places, news events, etc. that are rapidly gaining significant search volume and engagement. Characteristics include:

A sudden spike in search interest in a short period
High growth rates compared to past interest levels
Increased search frequency and traffic around the topic
Top rankings for related keyword variations
Buzz and mentions across search, news, social media
Tied to a current event, announcement, tragedy, etc.

Essentially, anything that has become a hot topic of conversation that Google searchers are intensely focused on right now can be considered a trending topic.

Knowing how to quickly notice the earliest signals of new topics fit this criterion is the key to capitalizing on trends.

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Identifying trending topics may seem pointless, but knowing what is trending provides many benefits:

Align your content with highly engaged topics to make it more discoverable and popular.
Opportunity to be an early provider of info people are seeking right now.
Chance to gain traffic, links, social shares, and recognition by covering trends first.
Tap into topics that capture people’s short attention spans.
Monitor shifts in audience interests and demand for content over time.
Inspire creative ideas by paying attention to rising subjects and discussions.
Avoid obsolete topics that are declining in interest.
Immerse yourself in influential cultural moments.

Riding the waves of trends can significantly expand your reach, relevance, and impact – making trend analysis well worth the effort.

Google Trends – Your #1 Trend Identification Tool

Far and away the most useful tool for uncovering trending Google topics is Google Trends.

Google Trends provides insightful data on the evolving search popularity of keywords, topics, and entities based on Google’s vast search data. It offers powerful filters to analyze trends across regions, periods, and categories.

I recommend these steps to leverage Google Trends effectively:

Go to trends.google.com
Focus on the Hot Searches and Top Charts sections
Try searches related to your niche to find rising sub-topics
Adjust filters like date range and location to customize insights
Compare multiple terms and topics side by side
Explore related queries and rising searches
Export data and visualize interactive charts

No other free tool allows you to easily surface as many statistically significant trending topics across every niche. Google Trends should be your go-to trend discovery tool.

While Google Trends does the heavy lifting, here are additional methods to spot emerging popular topics:

Consult Listening Tools – Social listening platforms like Buzzsumo, Talkwalker, and Sprout Social incorporate Google search data into their trending topic identification.
Check Google Suggest – Type in a basic keyword and look at the suggested searches. Rising autocomplete phrases often indicate new trends.
Monitor Columns – Many news sites have sections highlighting popular stories trending now that are shaping search.
Leverage Google News – Set Google News filters to sort by date and notice recurring new subjects gaining traction.
Watch Trending Sections – YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest and other social sites have sections showing what’s trending based on engagement.
Follow Influencers – Thought leaders in your niche often discuss rising trends. See what they’re talking about.
Track Hashtags – Find trending hashtags on social and see what topics they are associated with. Useful on Instagram and Twitter.
Search Autocomplete – Type basic keywords in the search bar and look at the suggested searches. Rising phrases often indicate new trends.

Setting Up Ongoing Google Trend Tracking

The trends landscape moves extremely quickly, with topics rising and fading fast. Rather than periodic checks, I recommend setting up ongoing trend monitoring to catch rising trends at the optimal moment.

Here are ways to automate trend tracking:

Google Alerts – Create alerts for your main niche keywords and names to get emailed new results.
Trends Email Digest – Google Trends can email daily, weekly, or monthly trend summary emails.
Twitter Search Alerts – Twitter alerts notify you of spikes in keyword mentions indicating new trends.
IFTTT Recipes – Create recipes to get app notifications of new Google Trends data.
Trend Tracking Apps – Apps like Trend Hunter, Trendsmap, Trend24, etc. can send trend alerts.
Saved Google Trends – Save searches to get alerts when those keywords trend.
Triangulate Sources – Follow news sites, influencers, and social accounts likely to discuss trends early.

Automated tracking ensures you catch rising trending topics the moment they emerge before they go fully mainstream.

Optimizing Timing with Google Trends

One key factor when attempting to capitalize on search trends is choosing the right timing.

Google Trends helps you identify not just current trending topics, but also the stage a trend is in and when it is peaking or declining.

Strategies to optimize timing include:

Analyze Trend Patterns – Study search patterns to predict if a trend is rising, peaking or falling.
Note Date Ranges – Google Trends dates show when a topic started trending and its ongoing lifespan.
Compare to Past Trends – Look at whether a topic is trending more than in previous years and months.
Watch in Real Time – Checking Trends constantly allows you to catch micro-trends emerging in the moment.
Consider External Factors – Real-world events can indicate if a trend is just beginning or nearing its end.
Track Velocity Shifts – Use daily Trend data to quickly spot sudden trend growth or decline.

Timing your content well to align with the upward curve of rising trends and peak interest moments will maximize the visibility and engagement potential.

An advantage of Google Trends is being able to filter trend data by location and category to dig deeper into interests by:

Country – Analyze individual countries to understand cultural differences in trends.
State/Region – Discover geographically localized trending topics.
City – Identify hyperlocal city-specific trends.
Category – break down trends by arts, sports, tech, entertainment, etc.
Time – Filter by hour, day, and month to detect story-related trends.

Using these filters allows you to precisely target niche trend interests and produce more tailored content. You can go beyond surface-level generic trends to unlock targeted viral topics.

Creating Trend-Focused Content That Performs

The ultimate goal of identifying trending topics is creating content that leverages those trends effectively. Here are tips:

Match Trend Timing – Align with trends during the uptick, peak, and initial declining interest.
Provide Valuable Info – Offer insightful analysis beyond just mentioning a trending topic.
Localize Trends – Adapt global trends into local versions of the content.
Get Visual – Use related photos, videos, gifs, and illustrations that fare well on visual platforms.
Curate Content – Compile and share the most interesting trending content in one place.
Explain Trends – Look at the deeper meaning behind why certain topics suddenly trend.
Satisfy Intent – Answer the questions and provide the angle people want on the trending topic.
Diversify Content – Cover trends with different formats like articles, social posts, videos, and podcasts.

Optimizing your content strategy around timely and robust trend analysis will help you win big by riding the waves of topics that capture public fascination.

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Conclusion

Paying close attention to the constantly evolving world of trending topics on Google is crucial for creating popular and relevant content. While trends may seem unpredictable, tools like Google Trends empower you to methodically spot rising trends, understand their lifespan, and optimize your timing. Use this guide’s tips to fully tap into trending topics and make content that people are searching for right now.
Ride the tides of public curiosity, and your content’s reach will dramatically expand.