Many people don’t realize that searches on Google and the other search engines aren’t static. The search terms people “google” change with the seasons. They change based on breaking news. They change based on the latest fashions, “what’s hot” and what holidays are approaching.

As a business owner, thinking three or four months in advance means you can be ahead of the curve with your search engine optimization (SEO) marketing efforts. Staying abreast of the latest developments allows you to scoop up “trend-based” traffic.

One of the best tools for identifying short- and long-term opportunities is a little-known link: http://www.google.com/trends. This Google Labs page lists the 100 top searches – trends in the past 24 hours. When you scour the list, which can also be sorted by country and region, you can find all sorts of juicy terms to optimize with press releases or landing pages (or both). It’s a way of capturing an opportunity quickly and getting it out onto the search engines far faster than with traditional SEO methods.

Recently, one of the hottest Google search trends was “IRS tax refund.” If you’re a tax professional, that’s a huge opportunity. Thousands of people are searching for information that falls squarely in your area of expertise. So, create a Q&A page on your Web site or write a series of blog posts that answer all the most pressing questions surrounding the potential IRS refund (tied into the Stimulus Package now moving through Congress).

What can people expect? … How long will it take for the refund to get to them? … What will the amounts be? … Is it taxable?

Utilize your expertise and become a resource for all those searching for this trendy search term – especially with tax season rolling around. It’s a great way to talk directly to your client base without sounding too “salesy.”

In our Bay Area Search Engine Academy workshops we teach you about “filling a need.” People searching on Google (and beyond) have a need for more than information about a product or a service. If you can fill that void for them, you’ll get the clicks and the traffic.

In our current “IRS tax refund” example, people are looking for answers. They have so many questions regarding the tax rebate in their minds. Answer those questions. Help them. And in doing so, you’ll raise your level of authority and credibility with them. Then, just maybe, the searcher will take that positive experience and choose to call or e-mail you (the tax professional) to take care of this year’s taxes for them.

You can fill that void and answer those questions in many different forms. See what seems most appropriate. Try a press release and/or a site landing pages. Just find the best fit and optimize your content around the “trendy” term being searched.

And when you’re crafting a press release for something “hot” in the news cycle, it’s essential you work the high-traffic phrase into the beginning of your headline.

So, it’s more than just putting out a press release; it’s actually thoughtfully putting out a press release with the intent that it will become search engine optimized for specific “trendy” keyword phrases. The headline is the most important element of accomplishing that goal.

During the same time period that “IRS tax refund” was a hot term, so was “Where’s My Refund?” Now, we see a perfect opportunity for an optimized press release headline: “Where’s My IRS Tax Refund? Find All the Answers Here”

When you weave the trends together, you get twice the clicks for your effort. Tie that into a press release headline. Get it out the door while the trend is still hot. Take advantage of all the traffic waiting for someone attuned with some answers.