| name | google-trends-research |
| description | Research Google Trends search-intent signals for topic discovery, keyword momentum, regional interest, and rising queries without treating search trends as the same thing as platform content heat or marketplace demand. |
| metadata | {"postplus":{"familyId":"marketplace-sourcing","familyName":"Marketplace, Sourcing, and Growth"}} |
Google Trends Research
Follow shared public skill rules in:
postplus-shared public skill rules
Use this skill for Google Trends platform-data work.
Typical requests:
- See which keywords or topics are heating up
- Compare search trends across several keywords
- See which countries or regions are warmer for a topic
- Find rising queries or related topics
- Provide search-intent signals for content research, product-selection research, and campaign planning
Read first:
postplus-shared research preferences
Core Rule
Treat Google Trends as a search-intent source, not as full demand proof.
Good uses:
- topic discovery
- keyword momentum tracking
- regional interest comparison
- rising-query discovery
- watchlist monitoring
Do not overclaim from Google Trends alone:
- transaction demand
- conversion intent
- marketplace competitiveness
- creator or content execution quality
- merchant-model fit
Those need to be combined with marketplace, content-platform, or business-context evidence.
Task Shapes
Classify the request first:
1. Trending Now Scan
Use when the user asks:
- What is trending on Google recently
- What hot searches a country has today or in the past few days
- Give me an initial set of real-time trending topics
Preferred hosted collection key:
2. Keyword Momentum Check
Use when the user asks:
- Whether this keyword has heated up recently
- Compare trend changes across several terms
- Inspect search interest over the past months or year
Preferred hosted collection keys:
3. Regional Interest Mapping
Use when the user asks:
- Which countries or regions are more responsive to this topic
- Where this term is warmer across markets
- Need a geographic priority judgment
Preferred hosted collection key:
4. Related Query Expansion
Use when the user asks:
- Which related search terms this topic has
- Whether there are rising queries usable as seeds
- Expand a keyword pool for me
Preferred hosted collection key:
Hosted Collection Strategy
Do not expose provider selection to the user.
Current defaults:
- broad keyword analysis:
google-trends-fast
- realtime trending feed:
google-trends-fast
Choose the narrowest actor that fits the task.
Use google-trends-fast by default when the task needs:
- interest over time
- geo comparison
- realtime trending searches
- regional trend signals
Hosted Collection Input Fields
google-trends-fast
The skill compiles user requests into one of two internal input shapes:
- keyword analysis: keyword, timeframe, geo, optional regional data
- trending-search scan: country, lookback window, max item count
The hosted actor's mode switch is an internal implementation detail. Do not
ask the user to choose or edit provider fields. Classify the request, compile
the correct actor input, and keep implementation field names inside logs or
developer errors only.
PostPlus-Provided Runner
For PostPlus runtime execution, use the PostPlus-provided collection runner:
node skills/20-research/google-trends-research/scripts/collection_actor_run.mjs \
--collection-key google-trends-fast \
--input <input.json> \
--output <raw-output.json>
Recommended Workflow
Use the lightest valid chain:
- classify the request into one task shape
- collect a small valid sample
- extract the trend signals that matter
- separate observation from inference
- hand off to other skills if deeper evidence is needed
Public Skill Execution Contract
- keep query briefs, raw trend payloads, normalized outputs, and watchlist
caches under
<work-folder>/.postplus/google-trends/
- keep only final user-facing summaries or shortlist exports outside
.postplus/
- compile a small keyword or geo brief before the expensive collection step
- start with a bounded first pass:
- one topic cluster
- one geo scope
- one timeframe comparison
- if PostPlus Cloud service is unavailable, unauthorized, or returns a stable
network error, stop immediately instead of switching to ad hoc shell glue
Good Output
Return:
- keyword or topic set
- observed trend signal
- timeframe
- geo scope
- strongest rising queries or related topics
- provisional implication
- missing layer
Good recommendation shapes:
search interest is rising, but platform-content proof is still missing
good US search signal, weak evidence for other markets
topic is hot now, but looks news-driven rather than durable
use these rising queries as seeds for TikTok or Instagram content scouting
Handoff
Escalate to platform research skills when search intent should be validated against actual content or commerce evidence:
- TikTok content heat or hook patterns ->
skills/20-research/tiktok-research
- Instagram creator, account, or campaign scouting ->
skills/20-research/instagram-account-research or skills/20-research/instagram-campaign-scout
- Amazon marketplace demand ->
skills/20-research/amazon-research
- marketplace demand ->
skills/20-research/amazon-research
Escalate to higher synthesis when the user is making a real business decision:
- cross-source sourcing or selection judgment ->
skills/30-strategy/sourcing-selection
Failure Modes To Avoid
Do not:
- treat search spikes as proof that a product will sell
- confuse news-driven spikes with durable category demand
- skip geo and timeframe details when comparing terms
- answer Google Trends requests from generic web articles when a platform-data route is available