Brad_strothkamp [Posted by Brad Strothkamp}

For years, I have been telling clients that mining search results (both internal and external) are great way to get into the mind of the shopper, understand what is on their mind, and get a better grip on the words they use when shopping for products.Google now offers a free tool to make mining search results even easier. It's called Google Insights.

Here is how you can use it:

If you are selling credit cards: A search on "credit cards reveals that Chase's advertising campaign around their new Ink products are working – at least from a search term perspective – as two of the top three terms related to credit cards are Chase related. You also see that developing and marketing a strategy to consumers with poor credit is important as two of the top six search terms deal with consumers with bad credit – those being "bad credit cards" and "bad credit".

If you are selling car insurnace: A search on "car insurance" reveals the importance of price as the top search term is "cheap car insurance". Results also show the importance of Internet quoting for auto insurers as two of the top five terms deal with quoting those being "car insurance quote" and "car insurance quotes"

Is the data going to drive your eBusines strategy?  Of course not. But keeping in mind it is free and that often we are looking for unbiased consumers insight, it is great place to turn for questions about advertising effectiveness, current trends and sentiment, and even the terms that you should have reflected on your Web site.

Happy Holidays.

Brad