Screenshot of the dropdown selection menu popup that appears after selecting "+ Compare" with the cursor and entering the comparison topic when two topics already exist and selecting the "topic" when your input prompts several of the "same" option labeled as different "things", next to the input area for Google Trends explore, with two topic trends input on the right (Coronavirus Disease 2019, and "Symptoms of COVID-19"). In the comparison box, I have typed "Symptoms of COVID-19," and the cursor hovers over the same topic in the dropdown menu, highlighting the selection in grey. Below the topic is an area to set the dates of the query. The dates in this query are set from 01/01/2020-03/09/2023.

COVID-19 Google Topic Trends, with Widgets


Tracking Google Search Trends Using “Explore” (web)

Google has several features available to analyze Google data on the web, for free, without additional software. Google Trends “Explore” is one such feature.

**NOTE: You will need to click through the pages to view the entire tutorial. When you reach the end of a page, you will see the “page” navigator with numbers aligning with the pages of this tutorial.

Exploring interest in the keyword “covid” over time

Through the Google Trends site, you can explore trends by keyword, but also by topic. In the following example, I began with a simple exploration of the trends for the query (keyword) “covid” between January 1, 2020, and March 9, 2023, capturing a majority of the pandemic leading up to mid-March 2023.

Screenshot of the input area for Google Trends explore, with one query trend input on the right (covid), and a section to the left that reads "compare" with a "+" plus sign to add another topic. Below the topic is an area to set the dates of the query. The dates in this query are set from 01/01/2020-03/09/2023.
A simple keyword query

I can look at the interest over time for the keyword query “covid” (shown in this first widget below). I can move my cursor over the widget to explore the dates more closely. Interest for “covid” appears to peak between January 2-8, 2022, but this was also immediately following the implementation of improved trend measurement tools by Google, so I would take it carefully.

The last set of items on the page includes related topics and related queries. If I select “top” in the topics widget, I see that “Coronavirus Disease 2019” is the number 1 topic related to the keyword “covid.” I can use this information to inform additional explorations.

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