How to Use Trending Events for Better SEO Rankings? [Trend-based SEO]

Our world is a happening place. New trends emerge daily, capture headlines, and quickly fade from memory. Yesterday, there was excitement around GPT-4o. Today, it’s the IPL finals, and tomorrow, who knows what will capture our attention? 

While some view this as the fleeting nature of today’s online-centric world, digital marketers see these trends as golden opportunities. We are talking about trend-based SEO.

In this fast-paced digital landscape, staying relevant means tapping into what’s currently capturing the public’s interest. By leveraging trending events, you can attract more eyeballs, engage new audiences, and boost your visibility on the Internet. 

So, join us as we explain how you can use trending events to enhance your SEO strategy and drive more traffic to your website.

What Is Trend-Based SEO?

Trend-based SEO is a strategy that involves capitalising on current trends and popular events to boost a website’s search engine rankings. Instead of solely focusing on long-term keywords and evergreen content, trend-based SEO emphasises creating timely, relevant content around trending topics that are currently capturing the public’s interest.

The idea is that people are already searching for queries about a current event, be it a product launch, a major sporting event, or a viral social media trend. By identifying these emerging keywords and creating content that aligns with these trending topics, you can tap into the existing interest and drive significant traffic to your website.

visual representation of SEO (search engine optimization)

Here’s how you can ace trend-based SEO:

To leverage an event for SEO, first, you must determine which events are currently trending. A quick scroll through social media platforms and a glance at your favourite industry blogs can reveal what topics are generating buzz. 

For instance, when OpenAI launched ChatGPT, platforms like LinkedIn, news sites, and blogs were flooded with articles discussing the chatbot’s capabilities. SaaS brands and marketing agencies, in particular, highlighted how it could automate research and content creation.

For a more data-driven approach, turn to Google Trends. This tool provides real-time data on trending topics based on user searches, updated up to the last hour. You can use Google Trends to identify which events are most popular, ensuring you focus your SEO efforts on suitable topics.

Google Trends with trending topics from India.

2. Tap into The Excitement Building Up

With a hot topic like the ChatGPT or IPL, you don’t need to spend ages building audience interest—it’s already there. Instead, you can use this buzz by crafting compelling blog posts and social media content that weaves your brand into the narrative. 

Think “cricket-themed team building activities” for a corporate training company or “n ways to use ChatGPT in content marketing” for a digital marketing firm. This approach allows you to ride the wave of existing excitement and naturally attract more attention to your content.

Does “IPL” not fit into your narrative? Don’t sweat! When a topic as massive as the IPL takes centre stage, it often means a surge in searches for related terms. For example, with JioCinema streaming the IPL matches, searches for “Jio Cinema” spiked to over 1.2 million in no time. 

Depending on how early you latch on to the trend, these keywords may have a very low keyword difficulty. A lower difficulty, as you know, means it will be easier for you to rank better for these keywords on Google SERP. 

Keep an eye on these emerging keywords and identify opportunities to optimise your content. This way, even if you’re not directly connected to the main event, you can still capture the audience’s interest through related searches.

Google Trends with queries related to a trending event.

You don’t always need a tool like Google Trends to identify topics to cover. Instead, you can do your own research or even anticipate the trends that will take over the Internet. With big events like the IPL final, guessing which keywords will trend is even easier. 

For instance, IPL 2024 is set to be played between Kolkata and Hyderabad. People will definitely be excited to know about the details of this fixture, like venue, timings, etc. Therefore, keywords like “Kolkata vs Hyderabad,” “IPL final results,” etc., are bound to get traction. 

Snapshot of SEMRUSH keyword research tool.

You can use this foresight to plan your content in advance and get ahead of the curve. By anticipating and preparing content around these trending topics, you ensure your brand stays relevant and visible when interest peaks.

Trend-based SEO works best for short-term gains. It helps boost online visibility and bring traffic to your site faster than traditional SEO strategies. It doesn’t require time-consuming efforts like building backlinks and targeting niche terms.

However, these trends can die down just as quickly as they emerge. To benefit from trend-based SEO, it is crucial to act promptly and capitalise on these opportunities as they arise. By staying agile and responsive to trending events, you can maximise the immediate benefits and drive significant traffic to your site.

Bottom Line

By leveraging trend-based SEO, you can tap into the natural buzz surrounding trending events, engage your audience more effectively, and achieve quicker visibility in search results. Integrating this approach allows your brand to enjoy increased traffic and improved rankings, keeping you ahead in the digital landscape.

However, to succeed with this approach, you must develop a keen eye for identifying which trends gain traction and how you can turn them into relevant topics for your business. This means staying updated with the latest news, monitoring social media, and using tools like Google Trends to track emerging topics. 

By doing so, you can publish content before it loses its relevance while also ensuring that it appeals to your target audience. So, stay alert, be adaptable, and make the most of trending events to keep your SEO game strong and your audience engaged.

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