Google Trends gets integrated into Data Studio via free third-party app

UK-based marketing firm StrategiQ has released a Google Trends connector for Data Studio. Initially developed for its own clients in July 2018, the now-free tool allows users to extract search trend information directly into their Data Studio reports.

Image sourced from StrategiQ.

How to get started. To get Google Trends information in your Data Studio reports, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Get the gtrends.app API. You can register for an API key by providing your email address (which StrategiQ says will be used to contact you if your use of the service causes issues). After inputting a keyword or phrase and region pair, the API will retrieve the data from the Google Trends UI and return it as JSON.
2. Add the Data Studio connector. You’ll first need to add a data source for every keyword and region pair you want data on. Then, you’ll need to configure that data source using your API key and the desired keyword/region combo.

Why we should care. Google Trends data has long been a resource for gauging keyword traffic, content planning and assessing daily as well as long term search trends. This solution helps to consolidate that valuable information onto Data Studio, where you can create custom reports to share with clients and colleagues. It may also save you the frustration of flipping back and forth between the Trends data being referenced and the platform you’re working on.

FWIW. Google has yet to release an official integration for Trends and Data Studio. Since this is a free, third-party offering, StrategiQ does not provide a service-level agreement or guarantee a minimum uptime. It also reserves the right to block abuse of the API without formal notice. And, StrategiQ requests that users attribute the company if they use the connector for research purposes.

If you’re trying to use this and getting an error when trying to authorize the connector in Data Studio, StrategiQ said Thursday that it has hit Google’s user limits but expects to be back up “within the next 24-48 hours.”

About The Author

George Nguyen

George Nguyen is an Associate Editor at Third Door Media. His background is in content marketing, journalism, and storytelling.