It's frustrating to create great YouTube content only to realize that no one wants to watch it. You can improve your odds of finding an audience by learning to use Google Trends for YouTube.

This free tool helps you find trending topics to create videos that capture the moment and attract viewers. In this guide, we'll discuss how to use Google Trends for YouTube and share tips for using Virlo AI's Virality Analysis Tool to simplify finding social media trends and going viral. Additionally, understanding how to find social media trends can provide valuable insights into what your target audience is engaging with across various platforms.

Table of Contents

• Key Features of Google Trends

• How to Use Google Trends for YouTube In 8 Ways

• Benefits of Using Google Trends for YouTube

• How To Find Topics for YouTube Through Google Trends

• Go Viral with Virlo's Virality Analysis Tool

Key Features of Google Trends

Analyzing Search Volume Trends with Google Trends

Search Volume Analysis tracks the relative popularity of search terms over time. It offers data in percentage-based trends, not raw search numbers. This means that rather than telling you that the term “Google Trends” received 5,800 searches last month, it would say that it has increased in popularity by 40% over the previous year. 

Compare Multiple Search Terms

With Google Trends, you can compare multiple search terms to see their relative popularity. This comparative analysis is helpful for competitive research and understanding trends within an industry. For example, if you are trying to decide between creating content for “Google Trends” or “YouTube SEO,” comparing these two terms on Google Trends can help you make a more informed decision. 

Discover Regional Interest

Google Trends breaks down search data by geographic regions (countries, states, cities). This feature helps identify where a term or topic is most popular. Understanding regional interests is vital for creating targeted content that resonates with specific audiences. 

Find Related Topics and Queries

Google Trends doesn’t just show you the popularity of a single search term. It also suggests related search terms and topics and their growth percentages. The tool highlights breakout terms that are experiencing a significant surge in interest. 

Identify Seasonal Trends

Seasonal Trends identifies seasonal patterns and recurring trends for specific keywords. This feature helps plan marketing campaigns and seasonal promotions. 

Access Real-Time Data

Google Trends provides up-to-the-minute search data for trending topics and events. This feature helps analyze public interest in real-time during breaking news or events. 

Filter Trends by Category

Google Trends focuses on specific industries or categories to refine data (e.g., health, sports, technology). This feature ensures more accurate insights within a niche market. 

Get Trend Predictions

Trend Predictions reveal early signals of rising trends by monitoring interest in specific topics. This feature helps you stay ahead of emerging trends. 

Visualize Your Data

Google Trends presents data through graphs, maps, and charts for better understanding. These visualization tools enable easy sharing and integration into reports or presentations. 

Export Your Data

Google Trends allows you to export trend data in CSV format for deeper analysis using external tools. 

Check the Trending Searches Section

The Trending Searches section highlights daily search trends and hot topics in real-time globally or in specific regions. This feature helps you stay updated on what’s popular in different locations. 

Explore YouTube Search Trends

Finally, Google Trends provides insights into what people are searching for on YouTube, offering a unique perspective on video content trends.

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How to Use Google Trends for YouTube In 8 Ways

1. Pinpointing Popular Subjects

To start using Google Trends for YouTube, head to the site and check out the “Trending Searches” section for daily or real-time trending topics. You can also use the search bar to explore keywords related to your niche. For example, a tech YouTuber noticed that “AI tools” is trending. By analyzing the interest over time, they discover a peak interest in “AI for content creation.” They created a video titled “Top 5 AI Tools for YouTubers in 2025” and published it while the trend was still hot.

2. Targeted Keyword Exploration 

Instead of jumping right into creating content, use Google Trends to explore keywords related to your niche. Enter a few essential keywords in the search bar to see what’s trending in your area of interest. You can compare multiple keywords to see which is more popular and check the “Related Queries” section for video ideas. For example, a fitness YouTuber compares “HIIT workout” vs. “Pilates for beginners.” They find that “Pilates for beginners” has a rising trend. They create a video series focusing on beginner-friendly Pilates routines.

3. Advance Planning for Seasonal Content

Another way to use Google Trends for YouTube is for seasonal content planning. Search for seasonal keywords to plan videos around holidays, events, or trends. Check “Interest by Time” to see when interest peaks annually. For example, a cooking channel finds that searches for “Christmas cookies” peak every December. In November, they released a video titled “10 Creative Christmas Cookie Ideas” to capture early viewers.

4. Improve Video Titles and Tags 

You can also use Google Trends to optimize your video’s search performance before you publish. Refine your video title by checking keyword popularity with Google Trends. Find high-interest phrases from the “Related Queries” section that can help you improve your title and tags. For example, a travel vlogger checks Google Trends for “Best places to visit in Europe.” They notice “hidden gems in Europe” is a breakout query. They updated their video title to “10 Hidden Gems in Europe You Must Visit” for better search performance.

5. Uncover Geographic Interest 

Google Trends lets you see if certain topics are trending in specific locations. Use the “Interest by Region” section to target audiences based on location. You can tailor video topics or language to regions with high interest. For example, a gaming channel finds that “Minecraft building tips” are most popular in the U.S. and Canada. They focus their video language and examples on elements familiar to those audiences.

6. Get Ahead of the Competition with Rising Queries 

Another way to use Google Trends for YouTube is to monitor “Related Queries” marked as “Breakout.” These are rising trends that have seen a recent spike in interest. Creating content on these topics before competition increases can help you get ahead of the game. For example, a beauty YouTuber notices “clean girl makeup” as a breakout query. They created a tutorial titled “Effortless Clean Girl Makeup Look,” becoming one of the first creators to target this trend.

7. Analyze Competitor Trends 

You can also use Google Trends to analyze competitor trends. Start by searching for your competitors’ primary topics to identify opportunities they may have missed. For example, a DIY YouTuber checks “easy DIY crafts” and finds that “DIY gifts for men” are rising. They create a unique video that fills this content gap.

8. Combine Insights with YouTube Analytics 

Lastly, use Google Trends insights alongside your YouTube Analytics data. Test video ideas and evaluate their success with YouTube metrics. For example, a lifestyle vlogger uses Google Trends to plan a video about the “morning routine for productivity” and monitors its performance. They find it outperforms other videos, indicating strong alignment with audience interest. 

How Can Virlo Help Me Go Viral on TikTok?  

Virlo helps short-form content creators crack the code of virality through AI-powered trend analysis. Our platform combines creator insights with advanced analytics to identify winning content patterns, optimal posting times, and successful audio/video combinations that help your content stand out in today’s fast-moving social landscape. Perfect for independent creators looking to build a sustainable side business, Virlo takes the guesswork out of content strategy. 

We analyze the latest viral trends and help you understand when to post and what combinations of elements drive engagement. Whether you’re just starting or looking to optimize your existing content, Virlo enables you to navigate the ever-changing algorithms to increase your chances of going viral. Go viral with Virlo’s virality analysis tool.

Benefits of Using Google Trends for YouTube

Unearth What Your Audience Is Searching For

Using Google Trends to find YouTube content ideas can help creators discover what topics and themes are in demand in their niche, enabling them to craft content that aligns with their audience's interests. For example, a personal finance YouTuber can use Google Trends to explore the rising interest in “crypto staking.” Observing the search trend and related queries, they create a series on “How to Earn Passive Income with Crypto Staking,” catering to the growing demand. 

Identify What Products Are Trending

If you create product reviews or tutorials, Google Trends can help you identify which products or tools are gaining popularity, ensuring your content is relevant and timely. For example, a tech YouTuber searches for “best laptops for students” and discovers “budget-friendly laptops” is a breakout query. They create a comparison video, targeting a budget-conscious audience, which aligns with the product demand. 

Discover Trends by Location

Google Trends provides insights into location-specific interests, allowing YouTubers to tailor their content to regional preferences and grow their audience in targeted areas. For example, a travel vlogger finds that searches for “beach destinations in winter” are high in Europe but low in Southeast Asia. They create content focusing on European winter beach destinations to attract viewers from Europe. 

Uncover Seasonality

Understanding the seasonal nature of search terms allows creators to prepare and publish videos at the right time to maximize views. For example, a fitness YouTuber sees a yearly spike in searches for “home workout plans” every January. They release a video titled “30-Day Home Workout Challenge for Beginners” in late December to align with New Year’s fitness resolutions. 

Find Niche Products

Google Trends helps creators identify niche products or topics with less competition, giving them an edge in targeting underserved audiences. For example, a DIY YouTuber notices that “eco-friendly crafts” is an emerging niche. They focus on creating tutorials like “DIY Upcycled Home Decor Ideas” to tap into this growing interest. 

Improve Marketing and Online Advertisement

Creators who run YouTube ads or promote their content on other platforms can use Google Trends to refine their ad targeting and messaging based on current trends. For example, a cooking channel promoting a video through YouTube ads notices a rise in searches for “quick family dinners.” They update their ad title to “5 Quick Dinners for Busy Families,” making the campaign more relevant and likely to succeed. 

Compare Brands and Topics

Google Trends allows creators to compare search interests in competing brands or topics to guide collaborations or align their channel with the right keywords. For example, a beauty YouTuber compares the popularity of “Maybelline mascara” vs. “L'Oréal mascara.” Noticing a higher search interest in “Maybelline mascara,” they create a review video on the brand’s top products to capitalize on its popularity.

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How To Find Topics for YouTube Through Google Trends

Start on the Right Page: Google Trends

Google Trends is a powerful tool for identifying trends and topics with viral potential. To find issues for YouTube using Google Trends, start by visiting trends.google.com. From there, enter your seed keyword. For instance, type “swimming” into the search box to create content about swimming. 

Next, you can adjust your settings. For example, you can change the target region to get results specific to a country or state. But what we’re interested in is the last value in the settings. By default, Google Trends shows you the data for “Web Search.” Click on this option, and then select “YouTube Search.” 

Now, Google Trends will show you results exclusively for YouTube. As you can see from the graph here, the interest over time increases in the summer and decreases in the winter. 

Scrolling down, you can see some of the ‘rising’ or trending queries related to this keyword. These are potential topics for your YouTube videos. 

What’s the Catch? Google Trends Limitations

Google Trends isn’t perfect. There are a couple of limitations that we need to be aware of. First, you can’t tell how popular a keyword is in numbers. Google Trends only shows you the relative popularity of a keyword over some time or region. 

Second, Google Trends doesn’t provide search volume data for the seed keyword or the keyword suggestions. Determining which keywords to select for YouTube to create trending content is difficult. 

The Solution: Google Trends for YouTube Keyword Tool

There’s a better way to use Google Trends to find topics for YouTube. Instead of going to Google Trends directly, we recommend using a tool like Keywords Explorer. This tool pulls data from Google Trends to show the relative popularity (calculated from 0-100) of a topic or search term compared to all searches on all topics. 

You can change the search results based on locations and search type, among other things. 

Go Viral with Virlo's Virality Analysis Tool

Virlo helps short-form content creators crack the code of virality through AI-powered trend analysis. Our platform combines creator insights with advanced analytics to identify winning content patterns, optimal posting times, and successful audio/video combinations that help your content stand out in today’s fast-moving social landscape. Perfect for independent creators looking to build a sustainable side business, Virlo takes the guesswork out of content strategy. 

We analyze the latest viral trends and help you understand when to post and what combinations of elements drive engagement. Whether you’re just starting or looking to optimize your existing content, Virlo enables you to navigate the ever-changing algorithms to increase your chances of going viral. Go viral with Virlo’s virality analysis tool.

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