Google Trends API

There’s no official Google Trends API so many businesses rely on third-party APIs, but most of these are notoriously unreliable—very often failing to return data or returning results that don’t match the Google Trends webpage—and don’t offer absolute search volume data. Glimpse’s API is the exception; it’s used by 38% of the Fortune 50 for its reliable and accurate Google search data.

In this post, we’ll explain why Glimpse is the top choice for enterprises and how it solves the challenges that come with using third-party Google Trends APIs.

The problem with most third-party APIs

Developers are increasingly facing issues pulling Google Trends data, with API calls failing unpredictably. And while some developers receive empty results, an even more alarming concern is that others are receiving inaccurate data—often inconsistent with the data shown on the Google Trends webpage, with random patches of 0’s appearing where there should be actual data. This issue can often go unnoticed, leading to wildly faulty signals and incorrect business decisions.

These types of critical issues reported on GitHub for PyTrends, the most popular unofficial Google Trends API

The benefits of Glimpse’s API

The Glimpse Google Trends Chrome extension, which uses the same infrastructure as our Glimpse API, is trusted by over 130,000 users and rated 4.9 stars, is proof of our commitment to reliability. Leading global brands, including Amazon, The New York Times, and Unilever use Glimpse to ensure they have the most accurate, reliable trend data.

1. Enterprise-grade reliability

The Glimpse API will always return data that matches the Google Trends webpage. Other APIs often return data that is missing chunks of data–often replaced by patches of ‘0’s, or is empty altogether.

2. Absolute search volume – the missing piece for data-driven decisions

While Google Trends provides real-time search interest, it lacks absolute search volume, a key metric for assessing the true scale of a trend. Without this, businesses are left guessing at the real impact of a trend.

For example, in January 2023, ChatGPT was everywhere—featured in every major newspaper and mentioned hundreds of thousands of times on platforms like Reddit and Twitter. It became one of the most talked-about topics on the internet. Yet, tools like SEMrush still showed zero search volume for ChatGPT for weeks, missing this critical surge in interest. Glimpse, on the other hand, captured the spike in real-time, accurately reflecting the trend’s true magnitude.

Glimpse combines the real-time advantage of Google Trends with absolute search volume, allowing you to track trends accurately across keywords and markets.

• Minute-by-Minute Granularity: Track trends as they happen, not just month by month.

• Historical Data: Analyze search interest all the way back to 2004.

Request a demo to see how Glimpse can transform your trend analysis with accurate, real-time data and actionable insights.

Third-party API comparison

When comparing APIs, it's crucial to assess features like reliability, data accuracy, and scalability. Here's how Glimpse excels:

Glimpse offers superior reliability and accuracy, making it the go-to choice for enterprise clients. While other solutions struggle with downtime or inconsistent data, Glimpse is trusted by leading global brands for its data accuracy and scalability.