http://gtrends.w-shadow.com Researching Niches the Lazy Way Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:19:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en GTrends SE 1.6 has a new feature that, when used in conjunction with the TOR proxy, makes it much easier to get around Google bans. This tutorial will explain how to enable that feature. First, set TOR's authentication method to "Password". If you have installed TOR as part of the Vidalia ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/making-tor-switch-identities-automatically/ The author of the Russian SEO/IM site ProfitHunter.ru has created a free PHP script that calculates competition/searches for a list of keywords - nTrendsMaster. Details and a download link can be found here. The script is fairly basic, but it might be useful for those interested in a web-based, free alternative ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/something-like-gtrends-a-free-google-trends-php-script/ In the beginning, GTrends SE was intended for those who participated with TDC 2007. So I didn't describe the algorithm here, as TDC'ers would already be familiar with it. However, now I've gotten some inquiries from new users as to how, exactly, is the number in the "Searches" column calculated. ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/how-the-search-volume-is-calculated/ Google has banned the default reference keyword used by GTrends SE from Google Trends. Damn. Therefore, I just uploaded a new version, which uses a different keyword. Note that if you already have GTrends SE installed, downloading the new version will not automatically change your ref. keyword (this is by design). You ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/google-blocks-another-keyword/ Some GTrends SE users have emailed me asking why they sometimes get "Forbidden" results and how to get rid of them. In a nutshell - you will get a "Forbidden" result when Google decides to ban your IP address (temporarily) because they detect that you are using an automated tool ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/how-to-prevent-google-blocks-and-avoid-forbidden-results/ This tutorial explains the new Negative Threshold feature of the GTrends SE keyword research tool, and how to use it. What It Is This feature allows you to set a threshold (both for searches and competition) and apply special treatment to keywords that are below that threshold. You can make GTrends SE ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/using-the-negative-treshold/ After lots of coding and some lots of days of testing, I proudly present GTrends SE 1.5. You can read about the new features below, or go ahead and get the update. On a related note, make sure you sign up for the GTrends SE newsletter (on the same page)! ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/gtrends-major-update/ Looks like Google have gotten a bit trigger happy lately - some GTrends SE users have been getting errors in the "Competition" column yesterday, me included. This is because Google doesn't want any automated tools checking their search results. I looked around for a solution and made a few minor ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/getting-google-errors-try-using-a-proxy/ New version is out, get it here! I implemented two new features that were suggested by users - Launch new instance Now you can open more than one GTrends SE window. You can do this using the aptly named "Launch new instance" Start Menu shortcut. Note that as a tradeoff windows opened ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/gtrends-update-two-new-features/ To configure GTrends SE to use a proxy, open the Settings window by clicking the "Settings" button from the toolbar (it's the next-to-last button). Then locate the "Proxy Settings" section. Check Use a proxy and enter the proxy's address in the Proxy box. The address should be in the form IP:PORT. ... http://gtrends.w-shadow.com/using-a-proxy-with-gtrends-se/