Amidst serious turmoil in the financial markets, most business managers are trying to understand effects on market demand in their specific sectors. One way to gage how your products are doing in the market is to look at the trending of generic search terms vs brand terms.
If generic terms (e.g. SUV) go down in the market (impressions and clicks) this is a true sign of a change in demand for that product. This would be a good “canary in the coal mine” of your given industry. If you then compare that to your brand terms (e.g. Lexus SUV), you will get a very clear indicator of whether you are holding ground vs. market or not.
The value of search trends (and brand vs. generics gap trending) in understanding demand, forecasting and setting expectations is in my view often foreseen. Using simple tools like Google Trends (or contacting Google for latest weeks updates) will help you add value to your on- and offline business decision making .
