Trending is an essential part of any successful market or business. For many people, the word trend may conjure up images of the financial markets, with the seemingly boundless and unpredictable movement of shares and prices. But for those of us in the trading and investing business, trending means something entirely different. In fact, for the truly committed trader, it’s vital that you understand the difference between the two.
To begin with, it’s important to understand just what the term ‘trending’ actually means. It relates to the verb trend and the root word, ‘motion’. Essentially, trending describes a general sense of direction (and sometimes course). There are many different ways to look at the concept, and it can be adapted to fit any type of business or market. For example, a brand may have begun trending down towards ‘semi-recession’ but as its followers begin to look out for any hints of recovery, the trend can become more pronounced and even clear.
A brand can begin trending because of specific changes in its marketing strategy. If a brand has invested heavily in one particular area, for example, it could be that those efforts have resulted in its decline over time. However, trends can also occur because of changes in consumer behaviour. This may be linked to current political and economic trends or simply the general feeling of change. Trends can also be the result of simple consumer behaviour – for example, products becoming more popular with each passing year or people simply choosing to pass on the latest fashion trends to skip the fads for the year and choose a more timeless look.
As well as identifying the reasons for trends developing, it’s also important to identify how you can make use of them to your advantage. One way of making the most of trending topics is to monitor them and get your search terms in as high a position as possible on search volume lists. This is done by using the trending topic as a keyword in your search terms. For example, if you were looking for a range of clothing items, you could include the name of your brand in your search terms, for example, ‘sale items’, ‘sale dresses’, or’sale girls’ to get your search volume list at the top of the results.
Another great way to make the most of trending searches is to make use of it alongside other keyword research tools. There are several keyword research tools available online that allow you to identify keywords that appear frequently in the search volume lists of particular product categories. These keywords can then be used as part of the anchor text in your links. This will increase your chances of getting traffic directly from the trending topics rather than from a general search term. For example, if you were selling products based on the seasons of the year, you would most likely want to include seasonal terms such as ‘outdoors’ or ‘greening’ as part of your anchor text links so that people searching for winter clothing will find your site instead of a competitor.
Finally, to best take advantage of the trends, you must have good content in your site. It is imperative that you update your content regularly to keep your visitors interested in your site. The last thing you want is to lose their interest in your site because you did not take the time to do thorough keyword research and incorporate updated content. Remember, the trend is always changing; therefore, it is important that you follow it closely. Keyword research tools and ensuring that you update your site regularly are the best ways to take advantage of the latest trends.