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Google Trends Gets “Trending Top Charts” To Show Interest Spikes; Hot Searches Go Back 30 Days

Danny Sullivan on September 12, 2013 at 4:55 pm

What’s hot in search? Often, it’s the same-old, same-old. That’s why Google Trends has added a new feature today, “Trending Top Charts,” to show interest areas that are spiking in popularity outside the norms.

Most Searched For Vs. Trending

For example, the Top Charts area shows the Ford Mustang and Ford F-Series are the most searched for cars in general. But by using the new trending option, you can discover there’s spiking interest in the Tesla Roadster & the Mini:

Similarly, while US president Barack Obama tops the most searched for list of politicians, it’s Syria president Bashar al-Assad who tops the most trending politicians list.

Interestingly, Russia president Vladimir Putin, who is receiving huge attention for his letter to the American people in the New York Times today, doesn’t make the list. That’s most likely because the charts are for the previous month of August, rather than the current month of September.

Hot Searches For Today & Past Month

Of course, if Putin is trending today, it’s difficult to tell, because Google Trends in general only shows the top three or four spiking topics for a day, rather than the top 40 terms it used to show:

I can’t recall when the top 40 list was dropped — I think about a year or so ago, and that’s missed. However, the Hot Searches can now be explored back for 30 days. To see this, when at Google Trends, use the new calendar icon:

To see more for any particular day, select the day, then carefully click on the “more” link (otherwise, you’ll just go to the featured publisher, which I’m sure many lucky publishers will love):

Google Trends - Hot Searches-2

Google explains more in its blog post today about the changes.

About The Author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.