Keyword research template with Google Trends

List your keyword ideas, see which ones are growing, then dig into the best ones. All in Google Sheets, with a free template.

What the template does

Keyword      | Country | Average (12 months) | Latest week | Momentum
e-bike       | US      | =SONAR_TREND(A2, B2) | =SONAR_TREND(A2, B2, "12m", "last") | +12%
cargo bike   | US      | …                    | …                                   | -5%

Average (12 months): the keyword's usual level of interest over the year.
Latest week: where it stands now.
Momentum: latest week compared with the average. Above zero, the keyword is above its usual level, a hint it is growing or in season.

Set it up

Install SheetSonar, then Extensions › SheetSonar › Get a free key. No sign-up, no card.
Download the keyword research template (CSV), then in Google Sheets: File › Import › Upload › Replace current sheet.
Replace the five example keywords with yours and set the country (US, GB, FR, US-CA… or world). Values arrive within a minute. Cells showing #NAME? in a new spreadsheet: open Extensions › SheetSonar › My quota once and they recalculate.

Then go deeper on the best keywords

Each row is scored on its own scale: 100 is that keyword's own peak, so a small niche can show the same average as a huge topic. Momentum is safe to compare across rows; the raw averages are not. For the volume question, take your top five and open Extensions › SheetSonar › Google Trends report…. It puts them in one comparison, on one scale, and adds:

the curves side by side, week by week;
interest by region, to see where each keyword is strongest;
related and rising queries: new keyword ideas to add to your list.

Seasonal keywords

For a seasonal topic, look at the curve before deciding: =SONAR_TREND("ski rental", "US", "5y", "curve") lays out five years of weekly values. Add a line chart and the peaks show when to publish.

What it costs

The free plan gives 20 results a month, and one keyword is one result. The Latest week column reuses the search of the Average column, so a row counts once; the same keyword asked again within 12 hours is free. The template's five keywords fit the free plan for a few checks a month. Pro gives 1,000 results a month for €9.90 to score long lists. A menu report counts as one result. Plans.

Why not IMPORTXML? See IMPORTXML and Google Trends: why it fails.

Install SheetSonar Download the template