When you explore data in Google Trends, you can analyze interest in two ways: by looking at a specific search term or a broader topic. Understanding the distinction is key to finding the most accurate insights.
This article explains the difference between the two and how to use the search box autocomplete to select the right option for your needs.
What is a search term?
A search term, also known as a search query, is the exact word or phrase that users type into the Google search bar - whether that’s on Web Search, Image Search, News Search, Google Shopping or Youtube. When you analyze a search term in Google Trends, you look at aggregated data for that precise sequence of characters in the language you typed.
It’s literal: It measures search interest only for the specific words you entered. For example, the search term "latte" won’t include searches for "coffee shops" or "milk coffee."
Best for:
- Analyzing the popularity of specific wording, such as a brand, exact product name, specific search query.
- Comparing different ways people spell or phrase the same search.
- Honing in on a specific variant of a search in a specific language (λάτε in Greek, 라떼 in Hangul (Korean alphabet))
- Researching a very new or niche query that hasn't been assigned a topic yet.
What is a topic?
A topic is a group of related search terms that all share the same concept or refer to the same real-world entity. Google's Knowledge Graph helps group these related searches together across different languages and spelling variations.
It’s conceptual: It aggregates data from many related search terms. For example, the topic "Latte" would include data for various searches like Latte, caffè latte, Milchkaffe, and Cafe con Leche, as well as searches in other languages.
Best for:
- Measuring overall search interest in a person, organization, place, or concept.
- Capturing all the different ways people search for something, not just one specific phrase.
- Getting a picture of interest that is unaffected by variations in spelling or languages.
Quick Comparison
|
Search term |
Topic |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Example term: |
Latte |
Latte (drink) |
|
What it represents: |
The exact words typed into Google. |
A collection of related searches pertaining to a single entity or concept. |
|
Scope: |
Narrow and literal. If someone types “Milchkaffee” or “cafe con leche,” Google Trends excludes those searches from the data for “latte.” |
Broad, conceptual, and language-agnostic. Includes many variations, spellings, of the terms across languages. |
Using the autocomplete dropdown
As you start typing in the Google Trends search box, an auto-complete dropdown menu appears. This menu helps you choose between a search term and a topic.
- Topics are identified with a description below the name, such as Artist, Politician, or Internet company. Sometimes it will show as topic.
- Search terms appear with the label Search term. Selecting one will show data only for that exact phrase.
Tip: For the most comprehensive view of interest in a person, brand, or concept, we recommend selecting a topic whenever one is available.
Handling terms with multiple meanings
Sometimes, a single term can refer to multiple distinct entities. For example, the word "Google" could mean the company, its stock, or the general concept of searching online.
Read the description next to each suggestion in the dropdown to ensure you measure the right data.
Example: Analyzing interest in "Google"
When you type "Google," you might see several options:
- Google (Search term)
- Choose this option to measure interest in the literal string Google.
- Google (Internet company)
- Choose this topic to measure interest in Google as a corporation. This includes searches related to its products, corporate news, and workplace culture.
- NASDAQ:GOOGL (Share)
- Choose this to track interest from a financial or investor perspective. This focuses on searches related to stock price and financial earnings.
- Google (topic)
- This is often the most generic category. It should capture general interest in the concept or other searches where the specific entity isn't clear. At times, the quality of this topic may be lower than others.
Select the topic whose description most accurately matches your research goal. If multiple topics appear, check the search interest for the different options, including the search term and evaluate which topic more closely resembles your goal, based on the commonly searched queries.