Google Trends shows what people are searching for around the world in the Google Search Engine. You can benefit from this data as a tourism organization because it gives you insight into what kind of experiences and destinations travelers from different countries are searching for and how this changes over time. Measuring the volume of tourism related keywords in Google helps to identify demand and emerging trends for travel experiences, interest niches and destinations from different source markets. For more information on how to use Google Trends watch Google's Youtube playlist
You can also use the dashboards as an early warning system for the impact of economics, crises and disasters on a destination and adjust your travel marketing strategies with data-driven informed decisions. You can also use Google analytics as a start to optimize your content and SEO.
In this article, we'll show you how to create a Google Trends dashboard that displays the popularity of tourism-related keywords in different countries using Google Data Studio now called Looker, this article used to explain this with the Gtrends API of StrategiQ which is however not available anymore. We are searching for alternatives.
See for example this European hotel trend dashboard
Step 1: Set up a Google Data Studio Account
The first step in creating a Google Trends dashboard is to set up a Google Data Studio account. If you don't already have one, you can create one for free by visiting the Google Data Studio website and signing up with your Google account.
Step 2: Connect to Google Trends
As mentioned, The Gtrends API of Simon Thompson of StrategiQ is no longer available. This was a powerful free Google Trends Connector tool that allowed you to access Google Trends data programmatically.
There is a more complicated route to achieve the same through Google Trends API for Python : Pytrends or you could make static solutions by downloading the csv files and import them into Looker.
An easier to use solution is the paid solutions from Supermetrics that allow you to use 2 data sources they created in a Google Looker Dashboard for 29 euros per month.
Step 3: Create a Data Source
Now that you've connected to the Gtrends API, you need to create a data source that will allow you to access the data you want to display in your dashboard. To do this, click on the "Create new data source" button in the "Data Sources" tab and search and select the "Gtrends API of StrategiQ" from the list of available connectors.
In the "Edit Connection" window, enter the search terms that are relevant to your tourism business and select the countries you want to track them in. For example, if you run a hotel business, you might want to track keywords like "hotels" and "accommodation" in popular tourist destinations. You can also specify the time range you want to track the data for.
Once you've entered your search terms and countries, click on the "Connect" button to create your data source.
Step 4: Create a Dashboard
Now that you have a data source, you go back to the home screen to create a dashboard to display your Google Trends data. To create a new dashboard, click on the "Create Report" button in the upper left corner of your Google Data Studio dashboard and select the data source you just made under the tab my data sources.
In the report editor, you can add various elements such as charts, tables, and scorecards to display your data. To add a chart, that can represent a nice timeline of your keyword. Click on the "Add a chart" button in the toolbar and select the chart type for example time series chart. . You can then select your data source and configure the chart settings to display the data you want. Set the date range and dimension as seen in the graph below.
Repeat this process for each chart or table you want to add to your dashboard, using the same data source for each element.
Step 5: Share your Dashboard
Once you've created your Google Trends dashboard, you can share it with others by clicking on the "Share" button in the upper right corner of the dashboard editor. You can choose to share your dashboard with specific people or make it public.
Conclusion
In conclusion, by creating a Google Trends dashboard using Google Data Studio and the Gtrends API of StrategiQ, tourism businesses can gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. By tracking the popularity of tourism-related keywords in different countries, businesses can identify trends, monitor competition, and optimize their advertising campaigns to reach their target audience more effectively. A few years back i created a video for the Dutch Government organization CBI that help to increase sustainable export from developing countries to the European Union.
Though Google Data Studio changed into Looker Studio the video should still be able to help you out.
If you are looking for a more ready made solution you can think of the Supermetrics Google Trends Dashboard (paid)
You can also use Google Looker Studio to create dashboards from your Google Analytics data.
