You may already be using key Google tools like Google Webmaster Tools, the Keyword Planner or the Search Console. Chances are, you haven’t heard of Think with Google or used it much yet; here is some info about all the free resources hosted within it and what they can help you accomplish.
Shopping Insights
In this module of Think with Google, you can explore commerce trends and the popularity of products across different locales by typing in search terms like ‘’air purifier’’ or ‘’iphone 7.’’ This tool is quite handy for gauging product interest and it even allows you to get as granular as specific cities or devices.
In the featured stories, you will find specific shopping summaries by Google, e.g. the most popular Halloween costumes for the year.
Trends
In Think with Google > Trends, you can search global news and search trends by region or topic. When you land on the home page you will be presented with curious trend summary reports and articles, ranging from sports events and fashion to politics and the environment. When you go on to explore a particular story, let’s say the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, you will see sub-categories that allow you to go deeper into each sub-topic, for example alpine skiing, biathlon and bobsleigh.
Rich Media Insights
In this interesting module, you are free to browse innovative creatives from top advertisers and agencies. If you’re seeking inspiration for your next campaign, this is a good place to start. You can search by keyword or just browse different campaigns by brand or vertical.
As part of Rich Media Insights, Google Web Designer is a free design tool that allows you to create interactive HTML5-based designs and motion graphics that can run on any device. In the Ad Format Gallery current or future Google advertisers can learn and explore the different Google ad formats, like the native ads on AdSense, responsive ads on the display network, and TrueView online shopping ads, to name a few.
Consumer Barometer
This tool is interesting because it helps you gain a deeper understanding of how people are using the internet. Graph Builder lets you create your own custom visual analysis for a specific locale; Curated Insights shows you some interesting geo-based internet consumer behaviour stats, and in Trends you can see some more general user insights pertaining to internet and device usage. Stories help us take a look into the online habits of specific groups of user personas, like digital moms, millennials or brand advocates.
One of my favourite Google tools, Test My Site tests and analyses your site’s mobile speed – something every webmaster or web developer today should be doing before even launching a new website. Being mobile-first is such an important part of the web reality we live in today and it is now heavily factored into Google’s search engine ranking algorithm that you don’t want to downplay or ignore it. Simply enter your domain name and let the tool scan your html/CSS code, run Javascript and check compression.
The results may surprise you, and will certainly help reveal areas that need to be fixed for your site to be fully mobile-optimized vs. simply mobile-responsive. In addition to a custom, free pdf report, including loading speed, estimated visitor loss, and an industry comparison, you will also get tips on optimizing the speed, content and performance of your site. Have in mind that 70% of mobile network connections (especially those in the developing world) will occur at 3G speeds, or slower, through the year 2020.
AMP pages are a good way to speed up your site if you’ve already minified resources, configured the viewport, leveraged browser caching, and reduced page weight.
Display Benchmarks
This tool lets you gain a better understanding of how your display campaigns measure up across your industry by pulling key user engagement metrics across countries, verticals, ad formats, and ad sizes. Having this intelligence makes it easier to plan and measure the success of your Google display advertising (PPC) campaigns.
Market Finder
Another really handy tool, Market Finder can be helpful when trying to decide where to expand your business internationally as it helps analyse the size of the opportunity for each product or service category you serve in any market worldwide. Simply enter your URL, tweak the suggested market categories and voila: you will see the monthly searches across categories, the AdWords recommended bid, the ease of doing business rank, and the household net disposable income, all specific to the market(s) of your choice.
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