The new Google Trends site is interesting enough, but I still wonder why Google doesn’t just take it to its natural conclusion, and let us see the actual numbers.
Thank heavens for Yahoo / Overture, who tell you precisely how many people searched for a given keyword (and all derivatives) in a given month… if you know where to look. The link used to be fairly prominent before Yahoo bought Overture… but it isn’t now.
With this kind of hard statistical evidence at your fingertips, there’s really no excuse not to research the popular keywords in your area of operation; and to target your efforts accordingly. And not just on the web, either.
Look at Ryanair, who dropped their slogan ‘the low fares airline’ in favour of ‘fly cheaper’. Why would they do that? Compare the Overture data for the numbers of people wanting ‘low airline fares’ with those searching for ‘cheap flights’. Suddenly it’s a no-brainer, especially when your industry is dominated by e-business.