How To Make Money With Google Trends In 2022

Every beginner who looks at affiliate marketing or selling online hits the same wall: every niche looks taken, every product looks saturated, and every channel looks like it belongs to someone who started years ago. What if the fastest path in is not to pick a niche you love but to follow what people are already searching for right now? That is exactly what Google Trends lets you do, and it is completely free.

In this post, you will see five concrete ways to turn trending search data into real income, including selling digital products on Etsy, building a YouTube channel around trending events, creating a Facebook group, running affiliate promotions, and outsourcing product creation through Fiverr. The strategies come directly from Alston Godbolt’s walkthrough of trends.google.com, with real store numbers, real channel sizes, and real affiliate programs he found live on camera. Nothing invented. Nothing padded.

What You’ll Walk Out With

A clear understanding of how to read the Google Trends dashboard and the difference between daily trending searches and real-time trending searches
A step-by-step approach to finding trending topics that translate into Etsy products people are already buying
A realistic YouTube strategy for small channels to get recommended video placement alongside major trending events
A Facebook group approach to build an audience around a trend for longer-term monetization
A list of sports and event affiliate programs (Fanatics, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Under Armour, Adidas) you can join through ShareASale or Impact Radius
The Fiverr-to-Etsy arbitrage method for getting SVG files created for as little as five dollars and selling them for profit
Honest drawbacks of trend-chasing so you know what you are getting into before you spend a dollar
A way to find out which of these five paths fits your actual situation using finder.platformproof.com

Why Google Trends Beats Keyword Tools for Beginners

Most keyword research tools show you search volume from the past. They are useful once you know what niche you are working in, but they give you no signal about what is heating up right now. Google Trends works the opposite way: it shows you what people are searching today, this hour, in real time. That is an enormous advantage if you are a beginner with no existing audience, no domain authority, and no product catalog.

When a topic spikes in Google Trends, it spikes across every platform at once. People search it on Google, they look for content on YouTube, they look for products on Etsy, they post about it in Facebook groups. If you can get a product or a piece of content in front of those people while the search volume is rising, you get the traffic the same way a major brand would, without their budget or their head start. The window is short, but for a first-time seller or a new YouTube channel, short windows are exactly what you need.

There is also a skill-building reason to start here. Trend-based projects teach you the full loop fast: find demand, create or source something, put it in front of buyers, and see what happens. You learn more in one trend cycle than you will in months of planning inside a static niche.

Step 1: How to Read Google Trends Like a Pro

Go to trends.google.com. At the top of the page is a search bar where you can type any keyword or phrase to see how interest in that term has moved over time. That search bar is useful for validation once you have a trend idea, but the real gold mine for beginners is the hamburger menu in the top left corner. Click it and scroll down to Trending Searches.

Trending Searches shows you what is popular right now across all categories, not just the verticals you already know. On any given day you might see sports (March Madness, Villanova basketball, Duke), news events (Ukraine), entertainment (Wordle, Netflix), and seasonal events (Easter, graduations). Each of those is a potential entry point into a market where real buyers are already active.

You can also toggle between Daily trending searches and Real-time trending searches. Daily trending searches give you the biggest movers from the past 24 hours, which is useful for product and content ideas with a slightly longer shelf life. Real-time searches show you what is breaking right now, which is better for news-adjacent YouTube content or social posts where speed matters.

Once you spot a trend you want to work with, click on the Explore tab and type the topic in. Google will show you related queries and breakout terms that are growing even faster than the main keyword. Those breakout terms are often where the real Etsy and YouTube opportunity sits, because fewer sellers have spotted them yet.

Strategy 1: Sell SVGs and Digital Products on Etsy

Etsy is one of the best places to sell trend-based digital products because people use it as a search engine. They type in what they want, they browse results, and they buy. If your product shows up when a trend is peaking, you do not need an existing audience or any paid advertising to get your first sale.

When Alston searched “March Madness” on Etsy during the NCAA tournament, one shop called Shop Victory Store appeared with 22,600 total sales. That single store was creating content around trending events: March Madness brackets, Easter designs, graduation printables, and Ukraine-related items. They were not specialized in one topic. They followed whatever was trending and put products out quickly.

Searching “March Madness SVG” revealed sellers moving individual digital files for two dollars each, some with 112 five-star reviews. These are tiny price points, but when hundreds of buyers are purchasing the same $2 digital file during a one-week tournament window, the math adds up fast. And because it is a digital product, there is no inventory, no shipping, and no cost per unit after the file is created.

Villanova was another example from that same search session. Typing “Villanova” into Etsy’s search bar surfaced listings with 526 five-star ratings, including vintage Villanova SVGs and sweatshirt designs. People were not just watching the tournament; they were buying gear and printable artwork around their team.

Wordle was the non-sports example. At the time of filming, Wordle was the breakout trending game everybody was talking about. A search for “Wordle” on Etsy immediately showed SVG files, mugs, birthday-themed cards, and printable word puzzles. One shop had 422 reviews on Wordle-themed items, and the Wise Guy Design Shop was built almost entirely around SVGs tied to trending topics, mixing wordle designs with seasonal and current-events content.

The pattern is consistent: spot the trend in Google Trends, confirm there is buying activity on Etsy by searching the keyword, then create or commission a product and list it. Because most Etsy buyers are not searching by creator name or brand, a brand-new shop with a relevant listing can show up right next to a shop with thousands of sales.

Strategy 2: Build a YouTube Channel Around Trending Topics

YouTube is a harder play than Etsy for beginners because it takes time to build watch hours and subscribers. But there is one specific opportunity that levels the playing field: recommended video placement. When you create content about a trending topic, YouTube surfaces new and small-channel videos in the “upload date” filter and, more importantly, alongside the big channel results as suggested content. You are not trying to outrank the major sports networks. You are trying to appear next to them.

When Alston filtered YouTube results for “Duke basketball 2022” by upload date, he found a channel with 1,500 subscribers pulling 783 views in 12 hours from a two-to-three minute video about the game. Another channel had 4,000 subscribers and 382 views on a similar piece of commentary content. Neither of those channels would rank for a competitive evergreen keyword, but on a trending topic, they were in the mix.

One important legal note from the video: the phrase “March Madness” is widely believed to be trademarked by the NCAA, and searching YouTube for it shows one dominant official channel. You can create content about the tournament without using the exact phrase in your title. Instead, title videos around specific matchups, teams, or moments. “Duke vs. North Carolina 2022 breakdown” or “Villanova Final Four reaction” will get you into the right search and recommendation environment without the copyright risk.

Once you hit 4,000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers, the YouTube Partner Program places ads at the beginning, middle, and end of your videos. That is one income stream. But you do not have to wait for monetization to make money. You can put affiliate links in the description from day one, which leads directly into the next strategy.

Strategy 3: Create a Facebook Group Around a Trend

A Facebook group is the longer-term play in this set of strategies. It takes more time to build, but it gives you a recurring audience you own rather than one that is rented from an algorithm. The idea is straightforward: if a trend or topic is big enough to sustain ongoing interest (college basketball, a specific sports team, a hobby category that keeps generating news), you create a group around it and start posting content that attracts fans.

For the NCAA basketball example from the video, you could create a group about college basketball broadly or focus it on a specific conference. As members join and engage, you have a built-in audience for affiliate promotions (team apparel, gear, streaming subscriptions), for promoting your own Etsy listings, or for driving traffic to your YouTube channel when you post new content. The three strategies layer on top of each other, and the Facebook group becomes the distribution hub.

You do not need to be a subject-matter expert to run a group like this. Curating the best news, sharing game highlights, and asking members for their opinions creates enough activity to build a real community. The key is picking a trend that has enough ongoing depth to sustain engagement for months, not just one week.

Strategy 4: Monetize with Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is where trend-based content and audiences convert into reliable commission income. If someone is searching for Duke basketball or following the NCAA tournament, they are already in a buying mindset. They are watching games, talking about teams, and spending money on apparel, tickets, and streaming. You want to be the person who connects them to those products and earns a cut.

Alston typed “affiliate programs for NCAA basketball” directly into Google and found a list of programs immediately. Among the most useful were:

Fanatics – officially licensed sports merchandise for every team. Fanatics pays commission when your audience buys jerseys, hats, and gear. When Alston clicked through to Fanatics and searched Final Four merchandise, he found fans already buying Final Four Minneapolis gear during the tournament window.
Dick’s Sporting Goods – one of the biggest sporting goods retailers in the country, with an affiliate program through major networks.
Under Armour – athletic apparel with a strong affiliate program for sports content creators.
Adidas – another major brand that appeared in the search results for NCAA affiliate programs.
ShareASale and Impact Radius – affiliate networks where you can find additional sports, fitness, and lifestyle programs all in one dashboard.

One angle that most people miss: when a major sporting event is happening, people also buy electronics. Specifically, they buy TVs. If you are creating content about a big game or championship weekend, you can include Amazon affiliate links to high-rated TVs in your YouTube description or your blog post. The pitch writes itself: “Upgrade your watching experience before tip-off.” The commission on a $500 TV is meaningfully higher than the commission on a $30 team hat, and the buying intent is just as strong during a major event.

To find even more affiliate programs in the “Top 12 Basketball Affiliate Programs for 2022” style roundups, simply search Google for “[sport or event] affiliate programs [year].” These lists update regularly and give you a fast way to see which programs are active and paying commissions right now.

Not sure which of these five strategies matches your current situation?

Answer a few questions and get a clear recommendation at finder.platformproof.com.

Strategy 5: Outsource on Fiverr and Flip on Etsy

If you want to sell products on Etsy but you cannot design SVG files yourself, Fiverr closes the gap. The arbitrage is simple: you identify a trending topic using Google Trends, you confirm that buyers are active on Etsy by checking existing listings, and then you hire a Fiverr designer to create the file for you.

When Alston searched “Etsy SVG” on Fiverr, he found designers starting at five dollars per file. One listing with a small review count was offering SVG bundles at that price. A more established seller with 519 five-star reviews was charging twenty dollars for a bundle. Even at twenty dollars, if you price your Etsy listing at eight to fifteen dollars and sell it twenty or thirty times, the math works in your favor. And unlike physical products, every copy of the file costs you nothing after the initial commission.

The skill in this strategy is speed. You want to get the Fiverr gig ordered and the Etsy listing published while the trend is still climbing, not after it peaks. Some trends last a week (a tournament, a news story), and some last months (a hit game like Wordle, a seasonal event like graduations). Identifying which type you are working with helps you decide how much to invest in production quality and how many listings to create.

One practical note: when selecting a Fiverr designer, look for sellers with at least 50 reviews and a 4.8 or higher rating. A designer with only a few reviews is fine if the price is very low and you are testing, but for listings you plan to run repeatedly, reliability matters more than saving two dollars.

Honest Drawbacks of Trend-Chasing

Every strategy has a downside, and trend-based income is no exception. Here is what you are actually signing up for:

Short income windows: A tournament-based SVG listing might earn well for one week, then go cold for eleven months. You need to keep finding new trends to keep revenue flowing, which means this model requires ongoing attention rather than a set-it-and-forget-it setup.
Copyright risk: As the video specifically calls out, “March Madness” is potentially trademarked by the NCAA. Using trademarked phrases in product listings or YouTube titles can get your listings pulled or your channel penalized. Always research whether a trending term carries trademark or copyright restrictions before you build a product around it.
Competition spikes fast: When a topic blows up on Google Trends, thousands of other sellers and creators notice at the same time. On Etsy, the best early listings get the most reviews and become the default choice for buyers. Getting in first matters. Getting in third day one is still good. Getting in after the trend has peaked usually produces nothing.
YouTube takes time: Unlike Etsy, where a new listing can appear in search results the same day it goes live, a new YouTube channel needs consistent content before it gets meaningful recommended placement. Trend-based YouTube works best as a strategy layered on top of an existing small channel, not as a way to start from zero with a single video.
Scaling requires systems: Once you find a trend that works, the temptation is to do everything manually. The sellers and creators who build real income from this model treat it like a process: Google Trends check, Etsy validation, Fiverr order or content creation, listing or upload, affiliate links, repeat. If you keep it manual and informal, growth stalls.

A Step-by-Step Action Plan for Your First Week

Here is a concrete sequence for getting your first trend-based income attempt off the ground this week, using the methods from this video:

Open trends.google.com and click Trending Searches. Write down five topics that are currently spiking. Ignore anything political or news-adjacent unless you understand that space well.
Take your five topics to Etsy and search each one. Count how many listings appear and look at the review counts. Pick the topic where you see active buying (reviews in the last 30 days) but where the total listing count is under 200. That is your target.
Check the Google Trends “Explore” page for your chosen topic. Look at the related queries section. Find the breakout terms with rising arrows next to them. Those are your listing titles and keywords.
Go to Fiverr and search “Etsy SVG [topic]” or just “SVG cut files.” Order a gig from a seller with 50 or more reviews, using the breakout terms you found as your design brief. Set a clear deadline so the file arrives while the trend is still active.
Create your Etsy seller account if you do not have one. Set up your first listing using the design you received, write a keyword-rich title using the exact phrases people are searching, and price your file competitively based on what you saw in the market.
While the Fiverr order is being filled, search for one relevant affiliate program tied to your trend topic. Sign up through ShareASale or Impact Radius, or apply directly through the brand’s website. Add your affiliate link to your Etsy listing description or your social profile.
Post about your new listing in at least one place where the trend audience gathers: a Facebook group, a Reddit community, or a Twitter thread. Do not spam. Add genuine value and mention your product naturally.

Seven steps, seven days. By the end of the week you will have gone through one complete trend cycle. Whether the listing sells or not, you will understand the process well enough to move faster on the next trend.

Find Your X

The five strategies in this post work. They are not theory. The sales counts, review numbers, and channel sizes Alston walked through on camera are real. But not every strategy fits every person. Whether you are better suited to Etsy products, YouTube content, Facebook groups, affiliate promotions, or the Fiverr arbitrage model depends on your current skills, available time, and starting budget. The fastest way to figure that out is to take a short quiz at finder.platformproof.com. You answer a few questions about where you are right now, and you get a clear recommendation on which path fits your situation best.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Google Trends show exact search volume numbers?

No. Google Trends shows relative interest on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 represents the peak search volume for that term in the selected time period. It does not give you raw monthly search numbers the way tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush do. For absolute volume estimates you would need a separate keyword tool, but for spotting what is trending right now, the relative scale is all you need.

Is it safe to sell March Madness products on Etsy?

As the video points out, “March Madness” may be trademarked by the NCAA, and using it in a product listing carries risk. The safer approach is to use team names, player imagery that is not rights-protected, and more general tournament terms. Check Etsy’s intellectual property policy and do a trademark search before listing anything tied to a major sporting event name.

How much does it cost to start selling SVGs on Etsy?

Etsy charges $0.20 per listing and takes a 6.5% transaction fee on sales. If you are outsourcing the design to Fiverr, budget between $5 and $20 for the file depending on the seller you choose. Your total startup cost for one listing is roughly $6 to $21. You do not need a premium Etsy plan to start.

How do small YouTube channels actually get views on trending topics?

YouTube surfaces new content in two places: search results filtered by upload date, and the recommended/suggested sidebar next to popular videos. For trending sports or news topics, both of these work in favor of small channels because the window is short and everyone is uploading at the same time. The key is publishing quickly, using the exact phrase people are searching in your title, and creating a video long enough (at least 5 to 8 minutes) to generate meaningful watch time signals.

What affiliate networks have sports and event programs?

ShareASale and Impact Radius both carry sports and lifestyle affiliate programs. Fanatics has its own direct affiliate program for licensed sports merchandise. Amazon Associates covers electronics, including TVs, which sell well around major sporting events. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Under Armour, and Adidas all appeared in Alston’s search for NCAA-related programs. A Google search for “[sport or event] affiliate programs [year]” will surface updated lists for whatever trend you are targeting.

Can I use Google Trends for topics outside sports?

Yes, absolutely. The video uses NCAA basketball as the main example because the video was filmed during March Madness, but Google Trends covers everything: entertainment, technology, news events, weather events, games (Wordle was a breakout trend at filming time), seasonal events like graduations and Easter, and more. The method works the same way regardless of the category. Scroll through Trending Searches, find something that fits your interests or skills, and follow the same validation steps on Etsy or YouTube.

Do I need a website to make money with these strategies?

No. All five strategies in this post work without a personal website. Etsy is your storefront, YouTube is your content platform, Facebook hosts your group, and affiliate links go into your video descriptions or Etsy listing descriptions. A website adds options (more SEO, more affiliate link placements, email list building), but it is not a prerequisite to starting. Most beginners do better by launching on a platform that already has traffic than by building their own site from scratch and waiting for organic visitors.

How do I find a reliable Fiverr designer for SVG files?

Search “Etsy SVG” or “SVG cut files” on Fiverr. Filter by seller rating (4.8 and above) and look for gigs with at least 50 completed orders. Read the most recent reviews to check for speed and communication quality, not just final product quality. Message the seller before ordering to confirm they can deliver within your timeline. The $5 to $20 range covers most basic SVG gigs; more complex multi-file bundles run higher but give you more listings per dollar.

Sources

Google Trends – trends.google.com
Etsy search results for March Madness, Villanova, and Wordle SVGs referenced in the video
Fiverr search results for “Etsy SVG” gigs referenced in the video
YouTube search results for Duke basketball 2022 and March Madness filtered by upload date, referenced in the video
Fanatics – fanatics.com – officially licensed sports merchandise
ShareASale and Impact Radius affiliate networks for sports programs
Alston Godbolt, “How To Make Money With Google Trends In 2022,” Platform Proof YouTube channel