Before we jump into 2022, the Google for Creators team is looking back at some of our favorite moments from this year. Check out our top five highlights from 2021.

1. Launching Google for Creators

In October, we launched Google for Creators, a hub for content creators looking for information and inspiration. Along with guides for creating a content strategy, expanding your audience and choosing a monetization approach, you’ll find upcoming events, tips from seasoned creators and blog posts with the latest updates from the creator economy.

2. Celebrating women of color creators

On November 19, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we launched The Conversation, a new video series celebrating women of color creators. Guests, like beauty and lifestyle creator Tyla-Lauren Gilmore and fashion model and creative director Hannah Mussette, talk about how their backgrounds have shaped their brands and share their personal successes and struggles as full-time creators. Stay tuned for more episodes of The Conversation in 2022.

3. Interviewing inspiring creators

We’ve interviewed so many fascinating people on our blog, including the editor in chief of the longest-running Asian American women’s online magazine; a queer automotive educator, journalist and influencer who started an inclusive car blog; a former lawyer who became a full-time vegan food blogger; and a ceramicist whose content showcases her artistic process. Their stories show the endless topics, communities and niches that you can create content for and about on the web.

4. Tapping into expert insights

For our Creator Insights YouTube series, we asked some of our favorite creators — like Eden Hagos and Elle Asiedu of BLACK FOODIE, and beauty blogger Keiko Lynn — to share their top insights and strategies for creating content, building a brand and making money as a creator. Some topics included how to find your niche, avoid burnout and pitch yourself to brands.

5. Connecting with creators on social

We hope you’ve been following Google for Creators on Twitter and Instagram, where we share everything we’re up to. We also love connecting with the creator community on our social channels. If you’ve ever wanted to ask us a question, or answer one of ours with your own tips, that’s where to do it!

We had a blast sharing stories and insights from all the creators we spoke to in 2021, and we can’t wait to connect with even more next year. See you in 2022!

Google for Creators is partnering with Google Trends to share some of the top searches every December. With the holidays upon us, we hope this helps creators put together any last-minute gift guides, listicles or other seasonal content your audience might be searching for.

What foods are people searching for during the holidays?

Seasonal eats are (of course) on people’s minds. Top food searches in December include mulled wine, hot cocoa, hot toddy, fudge and cookies. Speaking of cookies, the top-searched types are sugar, gingerbread, peanut butter, chocolate chip and shortbread. Stomach grumbling? Us, too.

What are the top-searched holiday movies in the U.S.?

When December comes around, people are ready to curl up on the couch with a holiday movie. “Die Hard” is the top-searched holiday movie in the U.S., and other favorites include “Gremlins,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Home Alone” and “Lethal Weapon.” Fun fact — the U.S. is the only country where searches for “Elf” rank higher than “Love Actually.”

What are people in the U.S. curious about during the holidays?

You’re sure to hear a lot of Mariah Carey this time of year — which explains why one of the top-searched questions about her in the U.S. is “How much does Mariah Carey make every Christmas?”

Another insight that might help with last-minute gift guides: “Gifts for boyfriend” is searched two times more than “gifts for girlfriend,” while “gifts for wife” gets more searches than “gifts for husband.” Two gift ideas you might also want to cover, based on top-topic searches, are socks and sweaters.

Food and drink-focused creators, take note: The top day for cocktail searches is December 31, so be sure to line up some content about your favorite drink recipes in time for New Year’s Eve. Some other, not-so-surprising insights: Every December, search interest in “resume” goes down, while “champagne” goes up; and the top day for “hangover” searches is January 1.

What is everyone else in the world searching for in December?

Every December, people all over the world search for cheese and wine, baking, mince pie, tamale, candle, snowman, scarf and beanie. Certain countries see interest spike in particular seasonal goodies. In Japan, where eating fried chicken on Christmas Day has become a tradition, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is the top food search. In Israel, latkes are always number one — but this year, searches for the fried potato fritters are at an all-time high. In France and Italy, the most-searched foods in December are Yule log and panettone, respectively.

What are some other top global seasonal trends?

Ever wonder what Boxing Day is all about? You’re not alone — it’s the top-searched question worldwide in December. People around the world also start searching for snowman-related topics, like how to draw and make a snowman. Another insight that might help family-focused content creators: This year, searches for “elf” and “the Elf on the Shelf” are at all-time highs.

We hope you enjoyed these insights from the Google Trends team, and that they help you spread even more holiday cheer to your audiences.

Lily Chou and Chris Anderson, the married duo behind Wild About You Photography, have captured a lot of people in love. The California-based wedding photographers started their business in 2012, and have become known for their dramatic shoots of unconventional engagements and nuptials — like ones in forests, at amusement parks or with a sci-fi fantasy theme.

The Wild About You website hosts a vibrant portfolio of the couple’s work, along with a blog that shares behind-the-scenes stories from the celebrations they photograph. Although Lily and Chris admit it can be tough to regularly update the site with fresh content, they say their business couldn’t exist without an engaging hub online.

“You can’t have a business without a website,” Lily says. “For random people to find you, a web presence is crucial in this day and age.”

And because most of their clients find them through a web search, Lily and Chris know it’s worth the time and effort to make sure the content they post on their site looks good, represents what they do, stands out from their competition and is easily discoverable.

Here are some tips Lily shared for photographers, small businesses and other creators to maximize their web presence.

Use a website builder that speaks to your needs

Thanks to platforms like Squarespace, Wix and Weebly, most people can build a website without knowing how to code — but it’s important to find the right match. When Chris and Lily first launched their website, they used a general template from a standard website service. It did an OK job, but it wasn’t quite the right fit for uploading and displaying images. After a few years of “just making do” with two websites built from general templates, they built a new site using Good Gallery, a platform specifically geared towards photographers.

“The photo-focused website builder made everything easier, like uploading photos, organizing them into galleries and presenting them,” Lily explains.

Get to know SEO

Lily credits the marketing and business strategy classes she’s taken with helping her understand the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) in growing a business. “It’s all about SEO when you’re trying to be found on the internet,” she says.

The couple says a big selling point that convinced them to try Good Gallery is its baked-in SEO-optimized features. For example, when they upload photographs onto the site, each image is clickable and opens as its own URL, which Lily and Chris customize with a string of keywords that potential clients might search for — like “Bay Area wedding photographer” or “elopement photographer San Francisco City Hall.”

Boost your visibility with a blog

Adding a blog to a website is another way to beef up a site’s discoverability. “More words, more SEO opportunities,” Lily explains. But she stresses that writing a blog purely for SEO purposes isn’t going to work. You have to make good content that speaks to what readers want and need.

Lily says the main reason they write their blog is to give clients a “rounder, richer experience” about their services and provide helpful resources. Each post gives a backstory about the event they shot, including how and why a couple chose the location, historical details about a venue, what the decor looked like and even what the weather was like that day. “The photos can only tell you so much,” Lily says. “The backstory is helpful for whoever is planning a wedding.”

Stand out in a crowd

Those personal backstories are especially important for Wild About You, which caters to a diverse clientele looking for creative engagement and wedding photo experiences. Lily says their website helps clients see how Wild About You stands out from other wedding photographers.

If you make online video content, you’ve probably heard of VidCon, an event where creators, brands, industry experts and fans from around the world converge to celebrate the latest and greatest in digital media. The next VidCon takes place December 3-6 in Abu Dhabi featuring panel discussions, meet and greets and performances with some of the world’s most influential video content creators.

Google for Creators will speak at two sessions at VidCon Abu Dhabi, both of which will focus on helping creators build their brands and monetize their content. On December 3, Head of Creator Relations at Google Paul Bakaus and cosplay designer Yaya Han will discuss how creators can have more control over their futures and businesses. Later that day, Google for Creators writer Crystal Lambert and creator Kaya Marriott will speak at Get the Most from Your Post — How to Create Powerful and Efficient Content Bundles.

On the Google for Creators team, Crystal writes the educational guides for Creators.google. A liaison between the creator community and Google’s expert sources, Crystal researches, compiles and organizes vast troves of information into digestible, easy-to-follow and fun-to-read guides.

We spoke with Crystal to hear more about her upcoming VidCon appearance, and why content bundling is such an important strategy for creators.

Why focus on content bundling at VidCon?

We’re giving two talks at VidCon, and we wanted to focus both of them on the biggest needs in the creator economy. What we’ve learned from creators is that many want to know how to continuously make content without burning out. Content bundling — creating multiple pieces of content on one topic for different formats and platforms — is about tackling content creation in a holistic way. It’s not about approaching all these platforms as individual entities, but grouping what you’re doing together and building on it. It’s one of the easiest and most effective things a creator can do. It’s about content strategy, cross promotion and dealing with brands. Content bundles give you more visibility as a business and credibility when you reach out to brands, or when brands reach out to you.

Who is your VidCon co-presenter?

Kaya Marriott is the founder and content creator behind lifestyle and beauty blog Comfy Girl with Curls. I was super excited to connect with her because she’s on her way to becoming a successful, full-time content creator, and her journey has been so inspiring. She started Comfy Girl with Curls as a natural hair blog, but because so many other creators have come to her for advice, she also shares tips about creating content.

Kaya’s built her own business and she’s been very proficient and proactive about it. She brings a lot of credibility and first-hand knowledge about how and why content bundles work. We’re both excited to speak together.

What else are you excited to see at VidCon?

VidSummit was the first creator-geared conference I went to, and it was inspiring to see how helpful the video creator community is and how enthusiastic they are about what they do. They’re willing to help other creators by teaching them what they’ve learned. I’m excited to see that community at VidCon.

I’m also excited to experience VidCon in another country. I’ve never been to Abu Dhabi, and I’m looking forward to seeing who will be there and what the Abu Dhabi creator community is like.

If you won’t be in Abu Dhabi for VidCon, learn more about content bundles and cross promotion on Creators.google and the Google for Creators YouTube channel.

Creativity can be a messy process. Great ideas and inspiration don’t come easily on command, or in any organized way. And even when we’re in the creative zone, our brains can sometimes get too overloaded and overwhelmed to actually get anything done. That’s why some people use mind mapping, or visual brainstorming, to stay on top of their game.

Markus Müller-Simhofer, founder of the digital mind mapping app MindNode, saw major changes when he started visualizing his creative process. He recalls the first time he realized what a powerful tool mind mapping could be. While developing an app, Markus found that although he had tons of ideas, he wasn’t making any progress. “Out of this frustration, I started to look into techniques to sort my ideas and find focus. Mind mapping best fit how my brain works,” he says.

Mind mapping worked so well for Markus that he eventually scrapped his original app idea and started developing MindNode. “This was 14 years ago and today, I am still working on it — together with a team of 10 people.”

We recently chatted with Markus about how creators can use mind mapping to make better content.

How would you describe mind mapping to someone who's never used the technique before?

Mind mapping is a simple visual brainstorming technique. Every mind map has a main idea or topic at its center. From this, other thoughts branch out, forming a tree representation of your idea. Let me give you an example: when you start thinking about starting a new photography blog, your head is spinning with ideas like “what should I write about?” or “how should I start?” A mind map is perfect in this situation. Start with “My Photography Blog" as the central topic, and start collecting all of your thoughts and ideas around it. Reorganize them as you go to create a clear picture out of that fuzzy thought in your head.

Are there any creative fields that are especially drawn to visual planning?

We have heard from many people — scriptwriters, novelists, bloggers, photographers, artists, developers, beekeepers, wedding planners, students, teachers — who have used MindNode to help them visualize their thoughts, plan their projects and brainstorm ideas. There are no limitations to what mind maps can be used for, and who can create them.

How can mind mapping help disorganized people find order?

If you’re disorganized, you might miss an important puzzle piece or connection to the bigger picture. That is simply not possible with a mind map. The process of putting your thoughts down, and forming them into a structure creates an overview and allows you to look at things from different perspectives. It helps you create a road map, prioritize what's important and let the organization happen organically.

What are the advantages of mind mapping on your computer or phone rather than using pen and paper?

Digital mind maps have the added advantage of no page size restrictions. Your document — and your idea — can grow in any direction. On a digital mind map, you can also easily move your thoughts around, or use features to highlight parts of a mind map. Usually, a mind map is only the start of your idea’s journey. With an app, you can easily export it to other tools to organize your projects or write an article.

Beyond brainstorming new content, how else can mind mapping help content creators?

Mind maps can go far beyond brainstorming. You can use them to take structured notes, study a new topic, keep track of a project, or create your own personal library of information to reference in the future. They're great tools to capture a spark of inspiration, and develop it down the line.

What are some specific MindNode features that are especially helpful for bloggers or other digital content creators?

We have put a lot of thought and effort into MindNode so it’s simple to use and offers users all of the features they might need to bring their ideas to life. Outlining lets you write out your thoughts in a linear, more organized fashion. Focus Mode helps you concentrate on a single area of your mind map by fading out the rest. And with Visual Tags, you can add more context to your map and keep track of your projects by transforming them into tasks.

For many creators, YouTube is a go-to learning resource. That’s why we’ve created a series of entertaining and educational videos for the Google for Creators YouTube channel. Through interviews, hosted shows, tutorials and roundups, you’ll hear from successful creators sharing useful tips, strategies and best practices for making and monetizing content.

Here’s a little about each of our video series to help you get acquainted with the Google for Creators YouTube channel.

Creator Insights

Creator Insights taps into the expertise of successful content makers sharing their top insights and advice. Featured creators host a series of episodes, each one diving into a specific topic. Whether you’re interested in the value of evergreen content or the importance of setting boundaries to achieve work-life balance, you’ll get advice and easy-to-follow strategies to help you on your own creative journey. Recent Creator Insights contributors include lifestyle and beauty blogger Keiko Lynn, holistic wellness influencer Andi Eaton, and Black food and culture digital content makers Eden Hagos and Elle Asiedu — with many more to follow.

Creator Spotlight

Through one-on-one interviews, Creator Spotlight pulls the curtain back on interesting people creating unique online content. Learn from creators like fashion blogger Tokes of Tokes’ Take on Style about engaging your audience through live streaming; CityGirl Meets FarmBoy’s Kelly Ballard on growing an audience through Pinterest; Laughing Squid creator Scott Beale on curating viral content; and blogging expert Ryan Robinson on the ins and outs of creating online courses.

Storytime

Follow along with Storytime, a weekly video series with guides for making and sharing compelling Web Stories — Google’s tappable visual stories format. Storytime gives step-by-step tutorials on Web Stories tools and features, including layout, design and monetization, to help you become a Web Stories master.

The Creator Update

If you’re having trouble keeping up with the latest trends in the creator economy, you’re not alone. Google for Creators recently launched its weekly video series, The Creator Update, to help with just that. This hosted show shares trending topics in a bite-sized format, with a quick rundown of the latest tools, websites and people making a buzz in the creator community.

Check out all of these series by subscribing to the Google for Creators YouTube channel.