How to Make Money Online With Google Trends: 3 Proven Methods

Most people who want to make money online start by picking a niche and hoping it has an audience. Alston flips that process: he starts with what people are already searching for right now, and then builds content around the demand. In this breakdown of his Google Trends tutorial, you will see exactly how he uses free data to find affiliate opportunities before the competition does.

Google Trends is a free tool from Google that shows what people are searching for and how those searches change over time. You do not need a big channel, a course, or a product of your own to make this work. What you need is the willingness to act on what the data is already telling you.

What You’ll Walk Out With

How to use Google Trends’ Explore section to find what’s trending on YouTube right now
The step-by-step process for turning trending searches into affiliate commissions
How to filter real-time trending searches by category to find niche affiliate opportunities
How the Year in Search feature helps you get ahead of future trends before they peak
Specific examples from the video, including gaming hardware, Salesforce, and Samsung Galaxy
A simple weekly workflow you can start using this week
The honest drawbacks so you go in with realistic expectations
Use the Platform Proof Finder to match your skills to the right online income model

What Google Trends Actually Is

Google Trends (trends.google.com) is a free website Google uses to show what people are searching for over a chosen time period. You can look at global data or narrow it down to a single country or even a specific state inside that country. You can filter searches to show web results, image results, news results, Google Shopping results, or YouTube results specifically. That last filter is what makes it so useful for content creators and affiliate marketers who want to match their work to actual search demand.

When you change the search type to YouTube Search inside Google Trends, you get real data on what people are actively looking for on YouTube. That is not a guess or a projection. It is the actual search behavior of people who go to YouTube to find content. If you create videos around those topics, you are fishing where the fish already are instead of casting into empty water and hoping something shows up.

Alston walks through three specific ways to use Google Trends to find these opportunities and turn them into income. Each one involves a slightly different part of the Google Trends tool, and each one can be used on its own or combined into a repeatable research system. All three are free. None require any prior audience or existing platform.

Method 1: Explore With YouTube Search Filtering

The first method starts at the Explore section in Google Trends. When you open Google Trends and click the hamburger menu in the top left corner, you will see several options: Explore, Trending Searches, and Year in Search. Click Explore and you will land on a page that shows trending searches over a time period you can adjust to your needs.

The default view shows worldwide trends over the past 12 months for web search. Alston changes two settings from the defaults. First, he switches the country to United States. Second, he changes the time window to the past 30 days. Then he switches the search type from Web Search to YouTube Search. What you see after that is a snapshot of what is trending on YouTube right now in the United States.

In the video, Alston is looking at the results during the Fortnite Season 10 moment and the theatrical releases of Top Gun and The Lion King. People were actively searching for all of those topics on YouTube at the time. His point is direct: if people are searching for it, they are open to content about it, and if they are open to content about it, they will click your affiliate links when you recommend the right products.

The Fortnite Season 10 example is the clearest illustration of how this translates into money. Fortnite players are not just looking for game tips. They are also in the market for gaming hardware that improves their setup. That means you can create YouTube videos about Fortnite Season 10 gameplay, strategy, or updates, and then put affiliate links in the description for products like Ethernet cables, routers, gaming controllers, gaming headsets, and gaming chairs. Every time a viewer clicks your link and completes a purchase, you earn a commission from the retailer.

The key insight here is that you do not have to sell something directly related to the video topic in a one-to-one way. You just have to understand who is watching and what they are likely to need. A Fortnite player is almost certainly interested in gear that improves their gaming performance or their setup. You recommend things that would genuinely help them, and you get paid when they buy. Google Trends helps you find the moment when the audience is at its largest, so your content lands at the right time.

This is what Alston calls the first and easiest way to start making money online with affiliate marketing and Google Trends. You look at what is trending on YouTube in the past 30 days, you pick a topic you can speak to or research quickly, you create a video, and you link to affiliate products that match the people who came to watch it.

Method 2: Real-Time Trending Searches With Category Filters

The second method uses a different part of the tool: Trending Searches. Back in the hamburger menu, click down to Trending Searches and you get a list of what is rising in search volume right now across Google. You can filter this by country and choose between Daily Search Trends and Real-Time Search Trends.

Alston switches to Real-Time Search Trends and says this is where he has personally found affiliate opportunities. Real-time means the data updates throughout the day, so you are seeing what people are searching for today, not what was popular last week or last month. The list also shows whether each topic is trending up, trending down, or holding steady, which helps you prioritize which ones are worth acting on quickly.

The category filter is what makes this approach targeted rather than random. At the top of the results, there is a drop-down for categories. The default is All Categories, which gives you a wide mix of everything happening at once. Alston demonstrates by switching to Business, and then to Science and Technology. Each filter narrows the results to topics relevant to that space, which helps you find opportunities in whatever niche you are building content around.

In the Business category, he sees trending entries like Broadcom and Salesforce. In the Science and Technology category, he sees the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. When you click on any of these entries, Google Trends opens a panel showing the related queries that people are searching for within that trending topic. That list of related queries is where the real content ideas live.

For Salesforce, Alston explains the opportunity directly. Salesforce is a customer relationship management software platform used by businesses around the world. If you create a YouTube video or a blog post that answers one of the related queries people are typing about Salesforce, and Salesforce has an affiliate or referral program, you can link to it from your content. If a viewer clicks your link and starts a Salesforce subscription, you earn a commission. Software affiliate programs tend to pay well because the product prices are higher and subscriptions are often recurring.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 example works on a different model. Alston points out that you could join Amazon Associates and link to the Galaxy Note 10 listing on Amazon from your content. If someone is searching for reviews, comparisons, or buying guides about the Note 10 and they find your video or article, they are already close to a purchase decision. They click your link, buy the phone, and you earn the commission. Meeting someone at that moment in their search is one of the most efficient positions to be in as an affiliate marketer.

What makes this second method powerful is the speed of the information. Real-time trending searches show you what people are looking for today. If you have a workflow that lets you publish content quickly, either a short YouTube video or a blog post, you can get in front of the audience before the trend fades. Alston notes that YouTube videos are the fastest path for most people because you can record and upload the same day you spot the trend.

This category filter approach works across almost any niche. Business, science and technology, health, sports, entertainment: each category will surface different trending topics with different related queries and different affiliate opportunities attached to them. The research process stays identical regardless of which direction you take it.

Method 3: Year in Search and the 5-Year Trend View

The third method is the one that separates reactive content creators from strategic ones. Alston walks through how to use the Year in Search feature and the 5-year trend view to spot opportunities before they reach their peak rather than after.

Year in Search is a feature in Google Trends that compiles the top searches from previous years in a browsable format. Alston demonstrates by looking at the diet category inside Year in Search and finding the Keto diet listed there. When he clicks on Keto diet and switches to the past 12 months view, he can see exactly how its search volume has moved over that period. At the time he is recording, it had peaked in December 2018 and was trending downward from that high point.

That information is not a reason to avoid keto content altogether. It is a reason to look at what has replaced it, what is trending up alongside it in the related queries, and what the data suggests is coming next. Year in Search gives you a historical view of what people cared about and how that interest shifted over time. You can use that perspective to position content for trends that are still growing rather than ones that have already passed their peak.

The ping pong example shows how to use the 5-year view to think forward rather than backward. Alston types ping pong into the search bar, switches to YouTube Search, and looks at the past five years of data. The trend appears relatively flat for ping pong overall. But when he scrolls down to the related queries section, he finds a connection to the Olympics. Rio 2016 appeared in the related searches, and knowing the 2020 Olympics was upcoming at the time of recording, he makes the observation that ping pong as an Olympic event would drive a spike in searches around that time.

His conclusion: if you start creating content about ping pong as an Olympic event months before the games, you can build a library of videos or articles before the audience spike arrives. When the Olympics begins and people flood YouTube looking for table tennis content, your existing videos are already indexed and waiting. That is a proactive approach, not a reactive one. You use historical data and a known future event to get in position before the demand arrives.

This third method requires more patience than the first two, but it builds more durable traffic. You are not trying to win the day on a flash trend. You are positioning for a large, predictable audience that will show up on a schedule you can plan around. The content you create today can be the top result when that search spike arrives three or six months from now.

Not sure which of these three methods fits where you are right now?

The Platform Proof Finder asks you a few questions about your skills, time, and income goal, then tells you which online income model makes the most sense for your situation. Visit finder.platformproof.com to get a clear answer instead of guessing.

How Affiliate Marketing Actually Connects to All Three Methods

Alston briefly explains affiliate marketing in the video for viewers who are not familiar with it. It is worth spelling out more clearly here because it is the income mechanism that ties all three methods together.

Affiliate marketing means you recommend a product or service, and when someone buys through your specific tracking link, you earn a commission. You do not create the product. You do not handle customer service. You do not keep inventory. You are the bridge between someone who has a problem or a need and the product that meets that need. The retailer or software company handles everything after the click.

Commission rates vary widely depending on what you are promoting. Physical products sold through Amazon typically pay between 1 and 10 percent of the sale price. Software products with subscription models can pay 20 to 40 percent, sometimes on a recurring basis for every month the customer stays subscribed. High-ticket products in some categories pay flat fees of $100 or more per sale. Where the commissions are higher, you need fewer sales to reach a meaningful income number.

Google Trends does not find you the affiliate programs. It finds you the audiences and the timing. Once you know that people are actively searching for Samsung Galaxy Note 10 content right now, you go to Amazon Associates and get your affiliate link for the product. Once you know that people are researching Salesforce, you look up their partner or referral program and apply. The Trends data tells you where the demand is. Your job is to meet it with content that earns the click at the right moment.

A Simple Weekly Workflow for Applying All Three Methods

Here is how to turn these three methods into a repeatable system without it becoming a full-time research job:

Monday: Explore check. Open Google Trends and go to Explore. Switch to YouTube Search, set the time window to the past 30 days, and write down the top 10 trending topics in your country. This takes about 10 minutes.
Tuesday: Topic selection. Filter your 10 topics by two questions: Can you create credible content about this? Are there affiliate products that match the audience searching for it? Pick one topic to act on this week.
Wednesday: Real-time research. Go to Real-Time Trending Searches and filter by the category that matches your niche. Find two or three related queries from that day that you can address in your content. Add them as supporting points in whatever you create this week.
Thursday: Create and publish. For YouTube, record, edit, and upload with your affiliate links placed in the description. For a blog post, write and publish with links embedded naturally in the text where they are genuinely relevant.
Friday: Forward planning. Spend 15 to 20 minutes in Year in Search. Look at what was big in your niche in previous years. Check whether there is a known future event, season, or product cycle that will bring a related audience back. If there is, draft a content idea, date it three to six months out, and put it on your calendar.

Honest Drawbacks of This Approach

None of this produces income overnight, and Alston does not claim it does. A few real limitations are worth understanding before you invest your time in this strategy.

First, trending topics move fast. The Fortnite Season 10 moment Alston references was a real window of opportunity at the time he recorded the video. That exact moment cannot be recaptured. The method works, but you have to apply it consistently and with reasonable speed to catch the next wave before it passes. If you research a topic on Monday and do not publish until three weeks later, the trend may already be cooling.

Second, trending topics attract competition quickly. If Fortnite is trending, thousands of creators are making Fortnite content at the same time. Standing out requires a specific, useful angle on the topic rather than a generic overview. A comparison video, a problem-solution format, a product review tied to the trend: these specific framings tend to outperform broad topic coverage, especially for smaller channels.

Third, affiliate commissions are not stable income, at least not at first. Some weeks a trending topic will drive dozens of clicks and several purchases. Other weeks the same amount of effort produces almost nothing. Building up enough content across enough topics and affiliate programs takes real time before the income becomes consistent enough to plan around.

Fourth, YouTube channels and websites both require time to build search visibility. If you are starting from zero subscribers or no organic search traffic, your content will not immediately rank when people search for trending topics. Established channels and sites already have domain authority and subscriber bases that push their content higher in results. You are building toward that position, which is achievable, but it takes consistent publishing over months, not days.

Understanding these limitations going in is what separates people who stick with the method long enough to see results from people who try it for two weeks and give up. The strategy is sound. The timeline is longer than most YouTube thumbnails suggest.

Find Your X

Google Trends is a powerful research tool for affiliate marketers, but the bigger question is whether affiliate marketing through content is the right income model for you at all. Some people would reach their income goals faster by consulting directly in a field where they already have expertise. Others would get better results selling a simple service or building a digital product. The Platform Proof Finder helps you figure out which path fits your skills, your available time, and your income goal. Visit finder.platformproof.com to get a clear recommendation instead of spending months testing models that do not match your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Google Trends free to use?

Yes. Google Trends is completely free and requires no account to access. Go to trends.google.com and all three methods Alston covers in this video are available to you immediately. There are no paid tiers or premium features needed for what he describes.

Do I need an existing YouTube channel to make this work?

No. The method works even on a brand-new channel. When a topic is actively trending, people are searching for fresh content about it, which gives newer channels a better chance of surfacing in those results than they would have for evergreen topics where established channels already dominate the results. Starting during a trend is actually one of the more favorable conditions for a new channel to get discovered.

How do I find affiliate programs for the products I want to promote?

For physical products, Amazon Associates is the most accessible starting point. Apply at affiliate-program.amazon.com. For software products, search the company name plus “affiliate program” or “referral program” to find their specific application page. Most major software companies have some form of partner arrangement. Networks like ShareASale, Impact, and CJ Affiliate aggregate programs across many industries and let you apply to multiple programs from one dashboard.

How long until I see my first commission?

There is no reliable universal timeline. Some people publish a video on a trending topic with strong affiliate products and see their first commission within days if the content gets traction. Others spend two or three months building a library of content before clicks and conversions become consistent. The timeline depends on how fast you publish, how competitive the topic is, how well the affiliate products match what viewers actually want to buy, and whether your channel or site has any existing audience to start with.

Can I use blog posts instead of YouTube videos?

Yes. Alston mentions both YouTube videos and blog posts as valid content formats. Blog content can rank in Google search for the same trending queries that appear in Google Trends. The practical difference is that YouTube content tends to surface faster for trending topics because YouTube’s algorithm actively promotes new content on subjects that are rising in search volume. Blog posts typically take longer to rank in Google search unless your site already has some domain authority built up from prior content.

What if I do not know much about the trending topic?

You do not need to be an expert. Many effective affiliate content pieces are research-based rather than expertise-based. You find what people want to know about the topic, research it thoroughly, present what you found in a clear and honest way, and link to products that solve the problem your audience came with. Credibility comes from being genuinely useful and transparent about what you know and do not know, not from having a formal credential in the field.

How many pieces of content should I publish each week?

Alston does not give a specific weekly number in this video. The practical answer depends on how much time you have available and how much quality you can maintain at a given pace. One well-made video or post per week focused on a real trending topic will outperform five rushed pieces that do not deliver what the viewer came for. Starting with one piece per week is a realistic pace for most people who are building this on the side while managing other work and life commitments.

Does this method work outside the United States?

Yes. Google Trends lets you filter by country, so you can see what is trending in the UK, Canada, Australia, India, or most other countries. You would find affiliate programs that operate in your target market, create content in the language of that audience, and apply exactly the same research and publishing process Alston describes. The geographic filter is built into the tool and does not require any special settings or account.

Sources

Google Trends, trends.google.com, free public tool, no account required
Amazon Associates Affiliate Program, affiliate-program.amazon.com
Alston Godbolt, “How To Make Money Online With Google Trends: 3 Ways to Make Money Online With this Tool,” YouTube, https://youtu.be/BSlxo8i5Fgw