Coronavirus is creating extreme change. The search community is heading toward Google Trends for insights. Google Trends is becoming more useful now in this moment than at any other time.

Google Trends offers a peek into search trends as the world goes through massive upheavals due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Search Trends Shifting Rapidly

Lily Ray noted how exploring Google Trends is something SEO professionals should consider visiting.

Search trends are shifting in an unprecedented manner. This is business as unusual.

Getting into Google Trends is important because everything is changing in profound ways.

If you're an SEO professional not living in Google Trends right now, I recommend you make your way over there. pic.twitter.com/3lFx6dUc9T — Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) March 26, 2020

Animated Time Lapse of Search Trends

Google Trends Time Lapse

A useful way to discover insights is to view the different time phases, like a time lapse.

Use the time settings to see the differences across your region at the 12 month, 90 day, 30 day, and 7 day trends.

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This will show what people are doing, what their interests are and what their mood is.

Time lapse is not a feature in Google Trends.

It’s something you have to create for yourself..

Rebecca Lehmann (@BeckyLehmann) tweeted a time lapse of how Google’s search trends can reveal the mood of a nation.

Her Google Trends snapshots show the progression from 12 months ago to 7 days ago of how people gradually shifted away from cakes and toward baking bread, a more practical staple.

The timeline for these maps of "bread recipe" vs "cake recipe" seems to show exactly when various states started to get worried. #COVID19 https://t.co/k6R12tOQVk pic.twitter.com/lMY4UF8FJo — Rebecca Lehmann (@BeckyLehmann) March 26, 2020

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Money is Trending… Who Would Have Guessed?!

Taking advantage of the sinking stock market is something else that’s top of mind during coronavirus epidemic.

How to Buy Stocks is trending:

These are the top five states wanting to learn about buying stocks:

Boredom During Self-Isolation

The phrase I’m Bored (in Spanish) was trending in Spain. That may indicate people who are out of work and forced to stay at home unable to socialize.

Toilet Paper is Trending in Spain as Well

It’s nice to know we’re not alone in our lust for toilet paper.

Australia is transitioning from Yoga Near Me to Online Yoga

Past 90 days: Google searches for 'yoga near me' plummeted. Google searches for 'online yoga' skyrocketed. YOUR customers are moving online. Will you meet them? Or will they find your competition… #businesstips #covid19australia #getonline #GoogleTrends #howtosell #SEO pic.twitter.com/dr5VA7tXlK — Search It Local (@SearchItSocial) March 27, 2020

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The trend away from going out for yoga toward online yoga at home developed rapidly within the past month. It may be that during a time of upheaval it may be useful to review shifting trends more often than normal.

Time Lapse of Yoga Trends

Google Trends Helps Understand the Moment

Many search marketers are diving into Google Trends. This is a moment of dramatic change. Google Trends can help make sense of what is going on right now.

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Lily Ray noted:

It feels like it. Search patterns are fluctuating like crazy right now. — Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) March 26, 2020

Google Trends Offers Insights

Something as mundane as asking how to make pancakes can contain insights. It indicates that people may be cooking for family.

To use this as an example, if you’re a recipe blogger, this may be a useful indicator that switching to family friendly recipes might be a good idea.

This is especially useful information if the bulk of your recipes are about dinner items.

Explore Google Trends Now

There are many more examples of different things that are trending. I saw someone note that the phrase “how to cut my hair” was trending.

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If your site reviews products, maybe you should be review more grooming products, right? If your YouTube channel is about beauty then maybe this moment calls for more content on how to self-groom at home.

How to make pancakes can be viewed as humorous but there is a lot of insight in those kinds of trends that may be useful.