At this point, people use the search engine Google so often that looking something up online is often referred to as “Googling”. In fact, Google is more than a good way to look up random information. The search engine has several tools that are quite helpful when it comes to market research.

Google Labs
Google Labs is a section of Google dedicated to learning, exploring and developing its technology and includes a tool called Google Trends. This tool shows online search trends, which can be highly valuable in determining keywords that receive the greatest number of hits. Visit https://www.google.com/trends/ and search on keywords associated with the market.

Utilize hot keywords on the company website, marketing messages, blogs, social media websites and emails to clients to increase company visibility. Another important factor in terms of marketing is the sheer popularity of Google. After all, approximately 85

percent of global online users access Google every month.

Google Insights
Another useful Google tool is Google Insights, which displays search activity results sorted by time, geographic areas and other demographics. Understanding the search volume of a company or market’s primary demographics and audience can help target user-facing media and advertising towards those trends, again increasing the likelihood of visibility and search engine profiling.

Google+
Google+ is the new Google social media networking site, which is starting to grow in popularity. Use the Google+ search function to find target customers or B2B leads and track what is talked about online.

Note that companies will need to set up a business profile on Google+ in order to have access to the site, perform searches, and locate information on the site. As with all social media networking sites, it is important to set up a thorough profile with plenty of information, images and photographs and maintain a regular online presence.

Once joined, the Google+ profile can be utilized to join or create “circles” of clients, customers, B2B relationships or other contacts. Remember to post relevant videos to increase visibility on the Google+ network.
Over 400 million users are expected to utilize Google+ by 2012 and the site has a large U.S. audience.

Google Surveys
Yet another option for market research are the new Google Surveys, which allows companies to create surveys and look at Google-powered charts, reports and insights about online searches. This service, however, is not free and costs 0.10 cents per response.
A few other tips – most people conduct one-word searches (approximately 30 percent of all online searches) and are less likely to search using five or more words. Utilize Google to find the keywords most often relevant to the marketplace and spend time making sure the primary keywords are used frequently on the company website and other online sites and tools.