Google Trends is not a precise as Microsoft AdCenter but I noticed some addtional refinements that could help with measuring PR and Buzz.

If there was a specific news story you might be able to detect a lift, but in Ashlee Simpson’s case the tie in with Google News does not really detect any search lift from a news story.

But if we could tie in News Lift with a Search Lift, we’d have something - a way to drive search traffic; we can if we look at the DaVinci Code and some of it’s stars.

Dan Brown, the author of The DaVinci Code, has the most Search Lift from news stories about the DaVinci Code; see event E below - Tom Hanks is talking with Japan’s PM yet it’s Dan Brown that gets the Search Lift.

Tom Hanks swaps jokes with Japan‘s movie buff PM Leading The Charge - Apr 7 2006

We get down to the news story itself, in this case from Leading the Charge, but in this case it’s really an AP story that’s been syndicated into an Path Publishing Group, an AdSense Affiliate site.    

Recently I was asked to connect news and advertising to Search Lift and Brand Lift - with Google Trends you have a way to do it in some cases.