Google Trends is one of the most popular tools for brands to stay up to date with what people are searching for online. The platform collects data around real-time search interest. It helps users better understand what people are looking for, when and where they’re looking from, and—crucially—why.

Google Trends is beneficial for insights into certain markets and niches, and a useful way of comparing terms. However, there are a host of other resources that can offer more granular data and takeaways. 

Let’s take a look at some of the alternatives to Google Trends to add to your toolbox in 2024. 

Alternatives to Google Trends

Here’s our pick of tried and tested alternatives. Let’s go!

1. TrendFeed

TrendFeed (in the Semrush App Center) is an app where you can dive into trending stories in your specific news category. 

Armed with this information, you can create responsive content and social media posts. For marketers looking to get their brands involved in trending conversations, TrendFeed is a great Google Trend alternative: the bridge between news stories and having a seat at the (virtual) table.

The tool provides alerts for emerging trends, so brands can share their positions around breaking stories as soon as possible (also known as “newsjacking”). 

It also shows which stories are getting the most attention online, enables users to browse stories according to preferred keywords, and displays content ideas for fresh, compelling content. 

In a fast-moving digital space, TrendFeed keeps brands ahead of the news curve and in front of audience eyes.

If you want to get started, there’s a free 7-day trial available. After your trial, the app is $25/month.

2. Treendly

Treendly prides itself on delivering the latest trends to brands. The platform allows users to search trend data based on specific locations and industries, as well as by platform (Google, YouTube or Amazon for example). Treendly even has a trend prediction feature to highlight how trends could change in the future.

Users can save their trend data and receive custom trend reports. Likewise, you can monitor keywords over time, ensuring that you have in-depth, documented information about where to focus your marketing efforts to make sure you’re making the most of your resources.

A free version of Treendly is available with limited access to functionality. Alternatively, you can sign up for the paid starter and enterprise plans.

3. Insider Intelligence

Insider Intelligence is a daily, subscription-based newsletter from eMarketer and Business Insider that includes trend information across a huge range of sectors and search categories. 

From advertising, to ecommerce, finance, tech, and much more, Insider Intelligence is a useful alternative to Google Trends and a dynamic tool to help brands make informed decisions. 

The newsletter gives you the chance to tap into trend projections, access interviews with industry experts, and review reports, infographics, and sessions with analysts to walk through top trends and reporting. 

While you can’t save trend history in the way you can with other tools, Insider Intelligence is more of a resource hub to help you review particular business landscapes and get a feel for customer intent.

Insider Intelligence is available via three different paid plans: Basic, PRO, and Enhanced subscription.

4. Topic Research

If you’ve been relying on Google Trends, alternatives like Topic Research can give you a fresh perspective. 

This Semrush tool generates trending topics and popular headlines around a seed topic. Simply enter a topic or interest in the search bar and the tool produces ideas for content, location-specific content themes, and the most asked questions around a topic. 

Additionally, you can find popular subtopics and the most-shared headlines around a topic. 

Topic Research is not only advantageous for pinpointing impactful trends, it helps you find relevant, SEO-ready topics. For content writers and strategists especially, the tool accelerates new content pathways, helping you find new opportunities to outperform competitors. 

5. AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is a free tool to review popular searches and trending topics on Google, Bing, and YouTube. 

The tool produces a vast number of phrases and questions that people ask around keywords, and displays them in cool visualizations, highlighting subcategories and often-searched queries within those subcategories. It also has key indicators to showcase which terms are highly searched, average searched, and lowest searched.

AnswerThePublic doesn’t show the search volume of phrases. However, it can populate question-based keywords, comparison keywords, and searches with prepositions. 

With this data, marketers can curate genuinely fresh, value-driven content which connects with the target audience.

6. TrendHunter

If you’re marketing a physical product, TrendHunter is a great alternative to Google Trends. TrendHunter is skilled at detecting trends from social media platforms like X, Instagram, and TikTok, providing a valuable perspective to social media marketers or strategists working with influencers.

The tool has a database of more than 430,000 trends to browse through, spanning culture, design, fashion, ads, and much more. 

TrendHunter is best utilized as a discovery tool that can influence the specific keywords and search phrases you want to hone in on. TrendHunter content is free to access, including a free 2024 Trend Report, and paid plans come with custom reporting.

7. Keyword Overview

Keyword Overview from Semrush shares deep insights about any keyword as searched on Google. 

Simply enter a keyword in the search bar and get key metrics like monthly search volume, estimated cost-per-click, keyword variations, questions, search results, and more—all from the biggest keyword database on the market.

Keyword Overview is a powerful keyword research tool for marketers and SEO specialists who need to evaluate the potential of a keyword or topic for a campaign, or decide what terms to target. 

This SEO tool allows you to explore your audience’s questions about your brand, find low-competition and long-tail keywords, look into top competitors’ SEO metrics and traffic, and reveal seasonal spikes in audiences’ interests. 

Keyword Overview is included in any Semrush plan (including the free plan), with varying degrees of access depending upon the tier. 

If you don’t already have one, sign up for a free Semrush account today to check it out.

8. Keyword Tool

Keyword Tool is a free resource to understand what people are searching for online. Users enter a keyword and receive relevant, long-tail keywords, hashtags, and products in return. 

The tool accumulates its data from Google, Amazon, Ebay, and Instagram, as well as from Google Trends. For this reason, Keyword Tool offers a more holistic view of trends, alongside related topics and queries that keep marketers one step in front of competitors. 

Keyword Tool can generate over 750 keywords from Google autocomplete in seconds and doesn’t require an account to use.

These alternatives to Google Trends can really make a big difference to your content marketing in 2024, offering you more granular data, fresh perspectives and alternative insights. Like all marketing tools, some will align more than others with your marketing needs and brand goals.