The term trending refers to something that is gaining popularity or interest at a given time. It can be a topic, hashtag, video or app that people are discussing on social media. Trending also applies to other areas like the stock market where investors can use trends analysis to determine whether a particular company’s stock is likely to rise or fall in value.

The word trending is actually a new addition to the English dictionary having been added in 2013. But it is becoming more common as technology changes the way we communicate with one another.

Trending is based on the collective interests, discussions and attention of a particular online community at a given moment. These topics can be influenced by current news events, cultural and other happenings, viral content or even online campaigns and challenges. Trending is a useful tool for businesses because it can help them understand what is currently popular, interesting and capturing people’s imagination.

For example, if your business is in the property industry you can look at trends to see if there is an upsurge in searches for ‘new houses’ in your area. You could then target your advertising efforts at this trend and hope to increase sales. Alternatively, if you find that search volumes for ‘gold earrings’ are increasing in New York you can use this trend information to focus your Facebook and Google Adwords budget on this geographical location.

It is important to understand how trends are compiled and what their limitations are. For instance, Twitter uses algorithms to determine what trends appear on their ‘Trends for you’ section and which ones appear in the wider ‘Trending’ tab. The algorithm favours spikes in a subject’s popularity over gradual increases and this may influence what is displayed as trends. Similarly, it’s important to note that trends are only valid for a limited period of time.

YouTube has been criticised for leaving certain videos out of its Trending section, particularly those related to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The company has responded saying that they are “careful about what is included in the trending list and ensure that it does not contain profanity or mature content”.

Aside from the limitations of the trending algorithms, it’s worth remembering that it is a very personal service for each user. This is why it’s important to compare your own trending data with that of your competitors to see how they are performing online.

For example, if you can see that a competitor has a significantly bigger search audience for a particular keyword or search term then you know that they are taking advantage of this opportunity. This will give you a good indication of what your competition is doing that is working and what you need to do to beat them. This can be an invaluable piece of data to have when planning your next marketing campaign. The good news is that you can compare up to five different search terms or competitors with Google Trends.