google-trends-research

Google Trends Research

Use this skill for Google Trends platform-data work: topic discovery, keyword momentum, regional interest, rising queries, and search-intent watchlists.

Apply shared rulebook and user-guidance rules from postplus-shared.

Core Rule

Treat Google Trends as a search-intent source, not full demand proof.

Good uses: topic discovery, keyword momentum, regional comparison, rising-query discovery, and watchlist monitoring.

Do not overclaim transaction demand, conversion intent, marketplace competitiveness, creator execution quality, or merchant-model fit from Google Trends alone.

Task Shapes

Classify the request first:

• Trending now scan: hot searches by country or recent lookback.
• Keyword momentum check: trend changes across one or more terms.
• Regional interest mapping: which markets are warmer for a topic.
• Related query expansion: rising terms usable as seeds.

Collection Key Routing

Keyword analysis uses one keyword string. Keyword requests must set enableTrendingSearches: false; queries is not a supported keyword-request field because it produces generic realtime trending searches.

The --request file is the collection input object (the compiled Google Trends request) directly.

<!-- BEGIN GENERATED EXECUTION EXAMPLE -->

postplus research collect google-trends-fast --request request.json --output result.json

<!-- END GENERATED EXECUTION EXAMPLE -->

Default Workflow

1. Classify the request into one task shape.
2. Compile one keyword with country and timeframe.
3. Collect a small valid sample through google-trends-fast.
4. Extract trend signals that matter.
5. Separate observation from inference.
6. Hand off to platform or marketplace research if deeper evidence is needed.

The result record shape for the collection key is documented in the postplus-shared reference dataset-item-schemas.md; consult it before writing result-processing code, and probe a single record only to verify.

Keep query briefs, raw trend payloads, normalized outputs, and watchlist caches under .postplus/google-trends/; keep final summaries or shortlist exports where the user can inspect them.

Good Output

Return keyword or topic set, observed trend signal, timeframe, geo scope, strongest rising queries or related topics, provisional implication, and the missing evidence layer.

Failure Modes

• Do not treat search spikes as proof that a product will sell.
• Do not confuse news-driven spikes with durable category demand.
• Do not skip geo and timeframe details when comparing terms.
• Do not send queries for keyword momentum checks; use keyword with enableTrendingSearches: false.
• Stop on unsupported keys, missing auth, unavailable hosted service, stable network failure, or malformed collection output.
• Do not answer Google Trends platform-data requests from generic web articles when the hosted route is available.

Handoff

• TikTok content heat or hook patterns -> tiktok-research.
• Instagram creator, account, or campaign scouting -> instagram-research.
• Instagram/Meta content proof -> social-media-extractor.
• Cross-source sourcing or selection judgment -> sourcing-selection.

Public Command Boundary

• Choose the smallest matching command or workflow from the user input and run it directly.
• Readiness diagnostics: postplus doctor --skill google-trends-research.
• If an owned CLI or script command fails, report the exact error and stop. Do not bypass the failure with metadata-only answers, readiness probing, local payload rewrites, fallback providers, or unpublished tools.
• Use postplus research schema --collection-key google-trends-fast --json only when constructing or repairing an unknown request shape.
• Hosted collection: postplus research collect google-trends-fast --request <input.json> --output <result.json> (input = the collection parameters).
• Resume a pending collection: postplus research collect --run-handle <runHandle> --output <result.json> (waits in-command up to 45s per invocation; rerun while pending).
• Preview and approval boundaries stay explicit; do not execute irreversible publishing without the required approval artifact.
• If the CLI returns a quote-confirmation challenge, run postplus quote confirm --json --challenge-file <challenge.json> and retry with the returned token.