How I Use Google Trends for Local Keyword Research (Ahmedabad Example)
Most keyword research tutorials focus on search volume. But volume doesn’t tell you if interest is growing, seasonal, or fading. That’s where Google Trends comes in.
In this post, I’ll show you how I use Google Trends for local keyword research – using a real example from my internship in Ahmedabad.
Why Google Trends?
- It’s free – no subscription, no credits.
- Real‑time interest – shows what people are searching for right now (last hour, day, week).
- Seasonality – see annual patterns (e.g., “AC repair” peaks in summer).
- Geographic breakdown – compare interest across cities, states, or countries.
- Compare multiple terms – see which keyword is gaining traction.
For a local SEO intern, this is gold.
Step 1: Start with a Seed Keyword
Pick a topic relevant to your client or industry. For my cafe SEO audit, the seed keyword was “cafe”.
Go to trends.google.com and enter your seed.
Step 2: Narrow by Geography
In the top‑right corner, click on “Worldwide” and change to “India” → then drill down to “Gujarat” or “Ahmedabad” (if available).
For the cafe example, I compared “cafe” in Ahmedabad vs. “coffee shop” and “restaurant”. The results showed that “cafe” had consistently higher interest over the last 12 months – confirming it was the right primary term.
Step 3: Find Rising & Related Queries
Scroll down to the “Related queries” section. You’ll see two tabs:
- Top – the most popular searches (high volume, often broad).
- Rising – queries that have grown the most in the selected time frame (low volume but fast‑growing).
For the cafe client, “cafe near Prahlad Nagar” and “cafe with wifi” showed up in the “Rising” list. I added both to my keyword target list.
Step 4: Check Seasonality
Switch the time range to “Last 5 years” to see annual patterns. For a gym client, I noticed that “gym membership” peaks every January (New Year resolutions) and then again in June (summer break). That informed the content calendar – publish blog posts about fitness tips in December, not January.
Step 5: Compare Keywords
Add up to 5 terms and compare them. For an EV client, I compared “electric scooter”, “EV bike”, “Ola electric”, “Ather”, and “petrol scooter”. The chart showed that “electric scooter” has grown 300% in 2 years, while “petrol scooter” has declined. That was a clear signal to focus content on “electric”.
Ahmedabad Example: Monsoon Services
A client offers home waterproofing services. Using Google Trends, I searched “waterproofing” in Ahmedabad. The interest spike from June to September was obvious. I also looked at rising queries: “leak repair cost” and “terrace waterproofing” had tripled in search interest over the last 3 months. I recommended a blog post “How to Fix Terrace Leaks Before Monsoon” – which became their most visited page in July.
Pro Tips for Interns
- Combine with Google Keyword Planner – Trends shows direction; Keyword Planner gives volume. Use both.
- Set time range to “Past 7 days” for breaking topics or news‑related content.
- Use “Interest by subregion” to discover which neighbourhoods in Ahmedabad search most for your keyword. Target those areas in Google Business Profile posts.
- Export data – download the CSV and add it to your client reports. It’s visual proof of rising interest.
What You Can’t Do with Trends
- Exact search volume – it only gives relative interest (0–100 scale).
- Historical data before 2004 – but that’s rarely needed.
- Data for extremely niche terms – if a keyword gets <10 searches per day, Trends may show insufficient data.
Final Advice
Google Trends is underused by interns. Mastering it gives you a superpower: you can spot opportunities before they become competitive. Add a “Google Trends insights” slide to your next client report – it will impress your manager.
Try it today: search any local keyword (e.g., “best biryani Ahmedabad” or “plumber near me”) and see what rising queries appear. You’ll be surprised.
Have questions about using Google Trends for your industry? Connect with me on LinkedIn.