Google tools for market research

Getting useful and relevant information is key in doing market research. Whether it is for building a service-related business, a blog, or just for a small store in your town, you need to know the right information about your target market or customers.

By now, it may be assumed that Google takes the majority of market share in terms of searching online. So it just makes sense that people base a portion of their market research based on what their customers search for; what your competitors put out online; and what are the current trends in your industry today.

In the Philippines alone, internet peneration has risen to 36% and is expected to increase this year to 41%. Search is one of the major activities in the country, as, according to comScore, the Philippines is third in Southeast Asia in terms of search activity. The country is also a tiny bit higher than the average number of internet searchers worldwide.
So with the Internet behavior of Pinoys established, what are the free and available Google tools that you can use?

Google Alerts

You can monitor the Web for any keyword you wish and in any result you need. By going to google.com/alerts, you can set a real-time, daily, or weekly report of news, blogs, videos, books, or discussions related to the keyword you want to monitor.

Not only is it useful in tracking your competitors' activity, it is also a listening tool for companies who want to track what other people are writing or saying about them. Of course, you can also use Google Alerts in seeing articles about trends relevant to your industry.

And if you're paranoid, you can always set a real-time monitor on your whole name...

Google Trends

What are the hottest searches for Pinoys this week or this month? How do my product compare with my competitors' products in a particular year and location? What are the other searches that users search for related to my industry? These questions can be answered by Google Trends, a tool that analyzes Google searches based on location and time.

Users can see what people are searching on Web, Image, News, YouTube, and Shopping (if available in the country). Based on the country availability, categories can be used. To drill down on the searches, a certain timeframe can be selected and locations can be set.

There is even a study that Google Trends can predict movements on the stock market (http://www.technologyreview.com/view/514226/google-trends-could-predict-stock-market-moves-study-shows/). This is possible as values in Google Trends can be dowloaded as CSV.

Google AdWords Keyword Planner

Google AdWords Keyword Planner, formerly called as Google Keyword Tool, is actually a Google AdWords tool for advertisers but can be used for research. Instead of a graph that Google Trends shows, Google AdWords Keyword Planner provides actual figures for the average monthly search volume, the suggested bid, and the competition, letting you know how much advertisers are paying attention to that certain keyword.

How is this useful for your market research? Imagine that you already have a brand and you just need to create your presence online. How would you know what right set of words to use so that customers will be able to find you? Google AdWords Keyword Planner is the answer.

Google+ and other social networking websites

As most of consumers are on social networking sites, it is good to assess the sentiment of your target market through social networking sites. Facebook, Google+, and Twitter, among others, are good to monitor especially since more and more businesses are setting up their presence on these websites.

Facebook. 

In order to look at your competitors or at least businesses in the same industry, you have to know the name of the business' page. This is one of the weakness of Facebook search, so oftentimes you find yourself searching on Google to look for the Facebook pages of your competitors. In terms of hashtags, Facebook seems to be still in the beta phase as Facebook omits some of the results when looking for posts related to a hashtag. So unless you are friends with thousands of people and you are a fan of a thousand pages, you can efficiently use Facebook for market research.

Twitter. 

Hashtags are its powerful feature as you can see all posts with hashtags - even mentions of keywords in real time. This is a great tool to listen what your customers are saying and even have the abiliy to reply to these messages. In researching for competitors, you need to have an idea of their brand name at least to look at their page.

Google+. 

Some associate Google+ as a social networking page that merges both Twitter and Facebook in terms of features. With Google's powerful search functionality, you can easily search for anything on Google+. Be it hashtags, keyword mentions, pages, or even users - you can see it all. As you type, all related pages, users, and communities appear on the searchbox. You can pick 'Best of' or 'Most Recent' to view relevant or timely posts on a topic. Plus, business pages are mostly public so you can read what they are saying about a certain topic.

6 useful applications of Voice Search

Google Voice Search has existed for quite some time now and may be associated with Apple's Siri. But as they say, don't compare apples with oranges - or Android for that matter - as each come with its own benefits.

For an Android user on smartphone and tablet, I have been benefiting from Google Voice Search. Here are just some ways to benefit from Android's functionality, which you can apply for personal or business use:

Try Voice Search for transcribing on Google Keep. 

Google Keep can be treated more than a note-taking or reminder app. Writers or even students can use Keep to type notes through its Voice functionality. Just make sure that your professor's or interviewee's voice is clear. You can always edit the note afterwards. 

I did a weird experiment back then of taking a voice note of a Korean drama by enabling Korean language under Voice Settings in Google Now. The note did not get all the words properly but the fact that Korean characters kept appearing on the note shows that it does work.

Try a hands-free search. For those who have Google Now enabled on their Nexus or smart devices, you don't have to click on the mic button to perform Voice Search. Just say 'Ok Google' and a notification sound will let you know that it's ready to take your verbal search term.

This is particularly useful for people who have their hands full - like when cooking. After saying 'Ok Google,' speak out your search term, 'convert 10 ounces to cup' and Google will dictate the answer to you.

Getting information on ingredients is useful too. With Google's powerful Knowledge Graph, you can search about any ingredient like 'cumin' or 'bonito flakes' and get Google Now to dictate to you the information.

Try hands-free search for tablets where typing is hard. 

Typing on tablets with smart keyboards is easy since it corrects your misspellings but sometimes typing on a 7" screen can be a challenge. You can always use Voice Search to spare yourself from seconds of tapping on your screen. Just be wary of weird looks when you're in a public place. :)

Google Search on desktop also has the Voice Search functionality but I think those who have touch devices may benefit more from this feature.

Instantly perform functions such as call, set alarm, directions, etc. Voice Search is not just for searching - you can also tell your device to do things like setting the alarm, calling a person, and getting directions without touching the screen.

Once in Google Now, say 'Ok Google' and use the following Voice commands from the Google Help page: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2842392?hl=en

This function can be useful when driving or just plainly multi-tasking.  

Allow kids to learn more from the knowledge graph using Voice Search in the local language. With the wealth of information found in Google Search, undoubtedly, kids can learn by simply speaking their search term. Here are some examples to try these with your kids:

• Get definitions spoken back to you: 'Define herd' 
• Get simple metric conversion: 'How many inches in a foot?' 
• Get answers to simple mathematical problems: 'Sixty-four plus twenty-two'
• Watch a video that you need: 'Show me a video of why rain happens'
• Get images that you want: 'Show me pictures of dogs'
• Get timezones for each location: 'What time is it in Sochi?'
• Get currencies of any country: 'What is the currency in Brazil?'

Just talk to Google Search and hear answers when you need it. Google has been changing its search logarithm to display results on question-based search terms when using Voice Search. So if you have a chance, try out Google Voice Search and ask questions the way you would ask someone else. Just Google it!     

Free online photo editors

The terminology cloud computing has gaining a lot of traction these days that even applications such as photo editors are being shifted to the cloud as we speak. One of the most useful tools that I've encountered and have been using for multiple purposes is the availability of online photo editors that mimics the famous Adobe Photoshop. There are also simple photo editors that provides simple functionality such as effects, cropping, and adding text.

Click read more to find out the five online photo editors (that can also be integrated as Google Chrome app) I found very useful online.


1. Pixlr: http://pixlr.com/editor 

Chrome app link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/icmaknaampgiegkcjlimdiidlhopknpk?hl=en-US&hc=search&hcp=main

PR: Beach and vacation-loving Filipino online searchers cite Coron as most popular destination in time for Summer 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Source: TeamAsia

In our tropical country where vacations in beaches or resorts can be pursued all-year round and weekend trips to nearby pools or beaches is the local norm, the Philippines ranking first worldwide in terms of ‘resorts’ searches on Google perhaps does not come as a surprise at all.