Trend Intelligence for PR
Find stories before your competitors using free tools
⌚ 12 min read · 2,600 words
I studied 5,272 media placements earned by Search Intelligence, one of the UK’s top digital PR agencies, to figure out what actually gets covered. Real placements, real publications, real links. That research shaped how we build campaigns at Presslei — and one pattern stood out above everything else: the best campaigns weren’t built on the biggest budgets. They were built on a single free data source.
Not Statista. Not government data portals. Not expensive survey platforms.
“Google Trends doesn’t just show you what’s trending. It shows you what stories nobody has written yet — if you know how to read it.”
— Salva Jovells, Presslei
It’s free, instant, and sitting right there for anyone to use. Yet most PR people treat it like a novelty search tool instead of what it actually is: a story engine.
Here’s how I use it at Presslei to find angles journalists actually want to cover.
In This Article
Why Google Trends Is the Most Underrated Tool in PR
Look at any of the 5,272 placements we studied and the pattern is the same: the campaigns that landed national coverage weren’t the ones with the biggest budgets or the fanciest interactive maps. They tapped into what people were already searching for.
Google Trends tells you what the public cares about right now. Not what brands think they care about. Not what a content calendar says they should care about. What people actually type into Google when nobody’s watching.
That’s a goldmine for PR, because journalists cover stories their readers care about, and Google Trends is the closest thing we have to a real-time pulse check on public interest.
Most people open Google Trends, type in their brand name, see a flat line, and close the tab. That’s not how you use it.
Step by Step: Finding a PR Story in Google Trends
Here’s exactly how I’d find a story right now, from scratch.
Step 1: Start with a topic, not your brand
Forget your company for a minute. Think about the broader space you operate in. Fintech? Think “savings” or “cost of living.” Fashion? Think “sustainable fashion” or “wedding outfits.” Travel? Think “solo travel” or “cheap flights.”
Step 2: Check the trend line over 12 months
Go to trends.google.com, enter your topic, set the timeframe to 12 months, and set the region to wherever your target audience lives. Look at the shape of the line.
You’re looking for three things:
- Spikes — sudden jumps that mean something happened
- Steady climbs — growing interest you can ride
- Seasonal patterns — predictable peaks you can plan around
Step 3: Dig into the “Related Queries” section
This is where the actual stories hide. Scroll past the map and look at “Related queries.” Switch between “Top” and “Rising.” The rising queries are your best friends because they show you what’s gaining momentum before it peaks.
Step 4: Compare terms to create tension
This is the technique that separates good PR from great PR. Don’t just look at one term. Compare two or three. The story lives in the gap between them.
Step 5: Find the geographic angle
Click on the map. Look at which regions or cities over-index for your search term. That’s your headline.
Let’s break each of these techniques down with real examples.
Pro Tip
Track everything. The difference between PR people who grow and those who stagnate is measurement. Know your pitch-to-placement rate and which angles convert.
5 Google Trends Techniques That Actually Produce PR Stories
1. Trending Searches for Newsjacking
Google Trends has a “Trending Searches” section showing what’s spiking right now, both daily and real-time. Most people ignore this. Don’t.
Check it every morning. When a trending topic connects to your client’s expertise, you have a window of maybe 4 to 6 hours to pitch a reactive comment to journalists.
I covered this in more detail in the reactive PR guide, but the short version is: Google Trends tells you when a topic goes from “interesting” to “everyone is searching for it.” That’s your signal to move.
For example, in February 2026 “tariffs” spiked across US and UK searches. Any finance or trade brand with a pre-written comment ready could have landed coverage within hours. The ones that waited until the next day missed it.
This is core to newsjacking and it’s one of the fastest paths to media coverage for brands without a massive PR budget.
2. Compare Terms to Create Story Tension
The compare feature is where Google Trends goes from useful to powerful. You can compare up to 5 search terms on the same chart.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
| Vertical | Compare These Terms | Story Angle |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion | “vintage clothing” vs “fast fashion” | Brits searching for vintage more than fast fashion for the first time |
| Finance | “buy to let” vs “rent” | Rental interest overtaking property buying in key regions |
| Travel | “staycation” vs “all inclusive holiday” | The crossover point where one overtakes the other |
The trick is finding two terms that are related but represent different choices, different mindsets, or different trends. The comparison creates natural narrative tension. Journalists love tension.
3. Geographic Breakdown for City Rankings
This is my favourite technique, and it connects directly to what I call Format 1: City Rankings in our campaign format guide.
Every Google Trends search shows a map with regional breakdowns, and you can drill down to city level. That means you can rank cities by search interest for any topic.
This is the same principle behind trend analysis campaigns but using free data instead of expensive surveys.
A few more examples that work across verticals:
- “Personal loan” by US state (finance brands)
- “Hair transplant” by UK city (health and beauty)
- “Remote work” by European country (HR tech, coworking brands)
- “Wedding dress” by region, timed to engagement season (fashion, bridal)
4. Related Queries for Unexpected Angles
The related queries section at the bottom of every Google Trends search is where you find the stories nobody else is pitching.
Search a broad term like “mortgage” and the rising related queries might show things like “mortgage calculator,” “mortgage rates 2026,” or “first time buyer mortgage.” Those are expected. But sometimes you’ll see something surprising — a rising query that connects your topic to something unexpected. That’s your angle.
I once found “cryptocurrency mortgage” as a rising query in the US. No mortgage brand was telling that story at the time, but it reflected a real shift in what buyers were thinking about. A fintech brand could have owned that narrative.
5. Seasonal Patterns for Forward Planning
Set Google Trends to a 5-year timeframe and you can see exactly when interest peaks each year for any search term.
This is PR planning gold. Instead of guessing when to pitch a story, you can see exactly when journalists and readers will be most receptive.
| Search Term | Peak Period | When to Pitch |
|---|---|---|
| “Tax return” | January (UK) / April (US) | 2-3 weeks before peak |
| “Summer dress” | June (starts climbing March) | Late February |
| “Ski holiday” | December (starts rising September) | September-October |
Find your peak, then pitch 3 to 4 weeks before it hits. Journalists plan ahead. If you pitch at the peak, they’ve already assigned those stories to someone else.
I wrote more about timing and planning in the PR for startups guide. Getting the timing right is half the battle when you’re competing against bigger agencies.
How to Turn a Google Trends Insight Into a Pitch
Finding the data is step one. Turning it into something a journalist will open, read, and respond to is step two.
Here’s my process:
1. Write the headline first
If you can’t write a compelling headline from your Google Trends finding, the story isn’t strong enough. “UK Searches for ‘Budget Wedding’ Hit 5-Year High as Cost of Living Bites” works. “Wedding Trends Are Changing” doesn’t.
2. Add context
Google Trends data alone is thin. Pair it with one or two supporting data points — government statistics, industry reports, even a quick survey. The Google Trends data is the hook. The context makes it credible.
3. Include a quote from a real person
Your founder, a client, an industry expert. Journalists need quotes. Make their job easier.
4. Match the journalist to the angle
Don’t spray this to 500 contacts. Find 15 to 20 journalists who specifically cover this beat. Use your journalist database and personalize every pitch.
5. Attach the data
Include a clean chart or table. Make it easy to republish. If a journalist has to recreate your Google Trends chart themselves, they probably won’t bother.
Example pitch structure:
Subject: Data: UK searches for “budget wedding” hit 5-year high
Hi [Name],
Google Trends data shows UK searches for “budget wedding” have hit their highest point in 5 years, up 340% since 2022. At the same time, “wedding planner” searches are declining, suggesting couples are going DIY to save money.
[Client name] analyzed the data alongside ONS cost of living figures and found that the average UK wedding now costs more than a house deposit in 3 regions.
I’ve attached the full data breakdown with charts. Happy to share a quote from [expert name] if useful for a piece.
Short. Specific. Data led. No fluff.
For more on finding the right journalists to send this to, check the guide to building a journalist database from scratch. And if you need more angles beyond Google Trends, I put together 7 ways to find PR ideas for your brand.
Google Trends PR Story Finder Checklist
Use this every time you sit down to mine Google Trends for a campaign. Work through each step and don’t pitch until you can check every box.
Topic Discovery
Comparison & Context
Geographic Angle
Story Validation
Pitch Prep
Key Takeaway
PR is a long game. Individual campaigns matter less than building a reputation as a reliable, valuable source that journalists trust.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Chasing volume without a story. A term with high search volume is not a story. “iPhone” has massive search volume. So what? You need a change, a comparison, a surprise, or a geographic angle. Volume alone is just a number.
Misreading seasonal patterns. Every December, “Christmas gifts” spikes. That’s not a trend. That’s a calendar. The story is when something breaks its usual seasonal pattern — if “Christmas gifts” peaks earlier than usual, or a new term starts appearing in the related queries, that’s worth investigating.
Using too short a timeframe. A 7-day spike could mean anything: a viral tweet, a one-off news event. Always cross-reference short-term spikes against the 12-month and 5-year view. No historical precedent, might be noise. Part of a growing pattern, you have a real trend.
Confusing relative interest with absolute volume. Google Trends shows relative interest, not absolute search volume. A score of 100 means peak interest for that term in that timeframe — it doesn’t mean millions of searches. A niche term can show 100 and still have tiny volume. Pair Google Trends with a keyword tool if absolute volume matters for your story.
Pitching the data without the narrative. Journalists don’t publish charts. They publish stories. Your job is to turn “searches for X are up 200% in Manchester” into “Manchester has quietly become the UK capital of X, and here’s why.” The data supports the story. It doesn’t replace it.
DO
- Use Google Trends to validate story angles before pitching
- Compare year-over-year search patterns to identify genuine trends vs seasonal noise
- Check Related Queries for emerging angles journalists will cover next
- Cross-reference Google Trends with actual coverage to confirm journalist interest
- Set up Google Trends alerts for your core topic areas
DON’T
- Confuse a seasonal spike with a genuine trend
- Use Google Trends as your only research tool — cross-reference with actual coverage
- Pitch a story angle solely because search interest is rising without editorial context
- Ignore geographic breakdowns — regional variation is often the story
- Wait too long to pitch once you’ve identified a rising trend
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Google Trends data accurate enough for PR stories?
Yes. Major publications cite Google Trends data regularly. It’s a credible source because it reflects real search behaviour from billions of queries. Journalists trust it because readers intuitively understand what search interest means.
How often should I check Google Trends for PR opportunities?
Daily for reactive opportunities (breaking trends) and monthly for strategic planning (seasonal patterns). Set up email alerts for key terms in your industry to get notified automatically when interest spikes.
Can I use Google Trends for industries outside consumer products?
Absolutely. B2B, SaaS, finance, healthcare — every industry generates search interest. The key is finding terms your audience searches for, not just your product name. Think about problems, trends, and questions in your space.
Start Finding Stories Today
Google Trends is sitting there right now, free, updated in real time, and full of stories nobody else has found yet. The barrier isn’t access. It’s knowing what to look for.
Open a tab. Search something your audience cares about. Compare two terms. Check the map. Look at the rising queries. I guarantee you’ll find at least one angle worth pitching within 30 minutes.
And if you want to see how Google Trends data fits into larger campaign formats, read the PR campaign formats guide. City rankings and trend analysis campaigns are two of the eight formats that consistently land coverage, and Google Trends is the starting point for both.
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Salva Jovells is the founder of Presslei, a reactive PR agency based in Zurich. His research into 5,272 media placements from a leading UK digital PR agency shaped how Presslei approaches campaigns. Get in touch at presslei.com/contact.
About the Author
Salvador Jovells
Founder of Presslei. 12+ years in ecommerce SEO across international markets. After a decade of link buying for Hockerty and Sumissura, I reverse-engineered 5,272 earned media placements and founded a reactive PR agency that builds authority through data-driven stories journalists actually want to publish. Based in Zurich.
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