15 years of research on Google Trends: A bibliometric review and future research directions

Abstract

Google Trends is a free analytic tool for measuring and monitoring web search data. Since its introduction in 2006, it has been widely used in research in a variety of academic fields. In this study, we conducted a bibliometric study of the first 15 years of Google Trends research (2007–2022). We extracted bibliometric data from the Scopus database which were then analyzed quantitatively using the Bibliometrix software package. In the paper, two types of analyses are carried out: 1) a citation-based analysis that focuses on the overall publication trends and the identification of the most prolific authors, documents, journals, and countries, and 2) a mapping of themes in GT research and how these have evolved. Overall, the results show that the research on Google Trends has grown considerably in recent years, particularly since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Research on GT has also become more diverse in terms of themes, with finance, Covid-19 and other health-related topics being the new dominant areas of research. On the basis of the findings, several areas for future research are outlined.