YouTube Keyword Research: A Complete Guide

What Is YouTube Keyword Research?

YouTube keyword probe involves uncovering words and phrases users participate into the YouTube hunt barroom to find videos they privation to watch.

These words and phrases are known arsenic YouTube keywords, hunt terms, oregon hunt queries. 

Using these presumption to optimize videos helps you fertile higher successful YouTube's hunt results. Which tin summation marque awareness, amended your videos’ performance, and adjacent thrust postulation to your website.

For example, we utilized YouTube keywords to make our “SEO for Beginners” video. Then utilized those keywords successful the video’s title, thumbnail, and statement to assistance it look higher successful YouTube hunt results.

Conducting keyword probe for YouTube helps you recognize what your people viewers are looking for. So you tin make YouTube videos they privation to watch.

And the amended you tin tailor your videos for your intended audience, the much apt it is that your video volition amusement up successful their YouTube searches. And the much apt it is that you’ll get views and subscribers for your channel.

How to Do Keyword Research for YouTube Videos

You tin find keywords for YouTube videos by leveraging 1 oregon much of the pursuing methods:

• Use YouTube Keyword Research Tools
• Check Out the YouTube Analytics Research Report
• Use YouTube’s Autocomplete Feature
• Analyze Your Competitors’ Videos
• Determine the Search Intent of Your Keywords
• Create a Keyword Map

Use YouTube Keyword Research Tools

YouTube keyword probe tools amusement you what your people viewers hunt for connected YouTube. And besides springiness you information connected which keywords are apt to output the astir views and engagement.

The Keyword Analytics for YouTube app tells you however galore searches keywords get. And however competitory those keywords are. 

Plus, there’s a escaped trial. Here’s however to usage it:

After signing up, click “Get started” nether the “Keywords Research” section. 

Search for a keyword related to your video oregon niche (e.g., “headphones”).

And prime your state successful the apical right.

The instrumentality volition make a array of related YouTube hunt terms. Along with however galore searches they get successful the selected clip play (“Search Volume”) and however overmuch contention determination is for them (“Competitive rate”).

You tin get information for the past day, week, oregon month.

Switch to the “Fast increasing keywords” tab to probe trending topics connected YouTube.

Or “Most viewed videos” to spot blistery topics. And get inspiration.

Consider the information points for applicable keywords to marque a preliminary database of keywords.

Next, look for hunt presumption utilized successful accepted hunt engines. Because YouTube videos tin look connected modular hunt pages done assorted SERP features (special results that amusement videos successful hunt results).

Around 40% of desktop SERPs successful the U.S. featured a video carousel, video result, oregon featured video connected May 14, 2024, according to the Semrush Sensor.

For example, here’s a video carousel:

Use the Keyword Magic Tool to find these terms. To get adjacent much viewers and subscribers.

To start, unfastened the tool. Enter your effect keyword, take your location, and click "Search."

Next, click “Advanced filters” > “SERP Features.” 

And prime the checkboxes adjacent to “Video,” “Featured video,” and “Video carousel.” Then click “Apply.”

You’ll spot tons of keyword ideas that trigger 1 oregon much of the video SERP features.

If you tin find keywords astir your taxable that service up video SERP features, you tin see them successful your applicable video contented to thrust postulation from Google to your YouTube videos.

Check Out the YouTube Analytics Research Report

The Research tab successful YouTube Analytics shows you fashionable hunt presumption among your viewers.

To usage the tool, sign successful to YouTube Studio and spell to “Analytics” > “Research.”

Then, click the “Your viewers’ searches” tab.

Enter a hunt word to spot related keywords your viewers utilized successful the past 28 days.

The “Search measurement connected YouTube” volition lone beryllium listed arsenic “High,” “Medium,” oregon “Low.” (Use a instrumentality similar Keyword Analytics for YouTube for much circumstantial estimates.)

Look retired for YouTube hunt presumption marked with the “Content Gap” tag. This means the idiosyncratic struggled to find a video that satisfied their needs.

Filling these contented gaps could beryllium a large mode to get much views and subscribers.

For broader insights, usage the “Searches crossed YouTube” tab instead.

And click the bookmark icon to adhd immoderate keyword to your “Saved” tab.

Use YouTube’s Autocomplete Feature

YouTube’s autocomplete relation serves fashionable searches related to the query you’re typing. And is simply a straightforward method for uncovering viable YouTube keywords for your videos. 

Enter a taxable related to your transmission oregon a taxable you privation to marque videos astir successful the YouTube hunt bar.

YouTube’s autocomplete relation volition past service up aggregate variations of your keyword.

Jot down the applicable YouTube hunt presumption that amusement up successful autocomplete results. And marque videos that people those keywords.

Rinse and repetition with different topics and ideas. Before long, you’ll person dozens of large video ideas for your channel.

Analyze Your Competitors’ Videos

Regardless of your niche, you’re bound to person competitors who tin service arsenic large inspiration for your YouTube videos. 

Pull up immoderate of your competitors’ videos and instrumentality enactment of the following:

• Which keywords they usage successful their video titles and descriptions
• Whether they usage immoderate keyword variations
• How they usage keyword variations

While you should ne'er transcript your competitors’ content, analyzing that contented tin amusement you what it’ll instrumentality to get much views connected your videos.

You tin instrumentality this investigation further by looking into which keywords your competitors leverage arsenic tags.

Tags typically person minimal interaction connected hunt results. But galore YouTubers inactive usage them to assistance their videos rank.

To find the keywords your competitors are utilizing arsenic tags, propulsion up a rival video. Then, right-click adjacent to, but not in, the YouTube hunt bar. 

And prime “View leafage source.” 

The HTML root codification volition unfastened successful a caller window.

Type “Ctrl + F” (on a Windows computer) oregon “Command + F” (on a Mac) and benignant <meta name=“keywords” into the hunt bar. 

Then, look done the highlighted instances to find the tag. If it’s there, the video’s keywords volition beryllium listed to the right. 

You tin besides usage a Chrome hold similar Tags for YouTube to presumption a video’s tags much easily.

Determine the Search Intent of Your Keywords

YouTube is simply a elephantine hunt engine. And similar different hunt engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo), YouTube wants to guarantee it serves up contented users privation to spot erstwhile searching for something.

Which is wherever search intent comes in.

Search intent refers to what a idiosyncratic wants to spot erstwhile they hunt for a keyword. And for a video to fertile highly successful YouTube’s hunt results, it has to get the hunt intent right.

The champion mode to find the hunt intent for your keywords is to participate each word into the YouTube hunt bar. To spot what’s trending.

The intent tin beryllium precise wide for immoderate YouTube hunt terms. For example, a idiosyncratic who searches “iPad Pro Review” is astir apt looking for a merchandise reappraisal video.

But the intent of a YouTube keyword similar “iPad Pro” tin beryllium vague. Do users privation a review? Or bash they privation an instauration to features oregon a tutorial?

For vague YouTube keywords, simply benignant the keyword into YouTube. And instrumentality enactment of the top-ranking videos’ titles, descriptions, content, and thumbnails to fig retired what benignant of contented the searcher is looking for.

For the keyword “iPad Pro,” searchers look to beryllium looking for immoderate benignant of video that tin springiness them a bully overview of the product.

Now that you person the hunt intent, you tin marque much informed decisions astir the video you’re creating.

A user’s hunt intent tin besides explicate wherever they are successful the marketing funnel. And each keyword tin beryllium matched to a corresponding portion of the funnel. 

The 4 types of keywords and their corresponding selling funnel stages are:

1. Awareness: Search intent is to larn astir a merchandise (e.g., “what are sound canceling headphones”)
2. Interest: Search intent has a circumstantial extremity (e.g., “benefits of sound canceling headphones”)
3. Desire: Search intent is cognition astir a imaginable acquisition (e.g., “top sound canceling headphones”)
4. Action: Search intent is to marque a acquisition (e.g., “purchase sony wh 1000xm4 sound canceling headphones”)

To physique your power and summation your conversions, you should make contented for users astatine each stage.

Create a Keyword Map

Use your YouTube keyword probe to make a keyword map. Keyword mapping involves pairing circumstantial keywords with content—YouTube videos successful this case.

The process requires making a illustration oregon spreadsheet of your apical keywords and the circumstantial videos they’ll enactment champion with. 

Your YouTube keyword representation tin see elements like:

• A database of important keywords for your transmission (acoustic guitar music, bundle development, oregon immoderate your transmission is about)
• Monthly keyword search volumes
• The hunt intent oregon each of your keywords
• Your YouTube video URLs that people each keyword (or videos you’re readying to make)
• Each video’s existent hunt ranking for its corresponding keyword
• The magnitude of contention each keyword has

There are 2 cardinal reasons to make and support a keyword map: 

1. It helps you way which keywords you person and haven’t created contented for. You don’t privation to duplicate your efforts.
2. It acts arsenic a contented roadmap of keywords you’d similar to make videos for successful the future. If you don’t person a video for a circumstantial apical keyword, you cognize what your adjacent video should beryllium about. 

You tin optimize videos for aggregate keywords. But you shouldn’t marque aggregate videos optimized for the aforesaid keyword.

Why? Because they’ll vie with 1 different successful YouTube hunt results.

Let’s accidental you person 2 videos optimized for the keyword “target ad.” It’s improbable that some volition rank. And if they do, users are much apt to click conscionable one.

This means those videos could instrumentality clicks and views distant from each other.

How to Use Your YouTube Keyword Research

Once you cognize however to find keywords for YouTube videos, you request to make your content. And optimize it for search.

Video SEO helps guarantee that your videos really get traffic, views, and subscribers.

Let’s spell implicit a fewer ways to marque your keywords enactment for you:

Use Keywords successful Video Elements

Adding the presumption you discovered during your YouTube keyword probe to antithetic elements of your YouTube videos ensures your contented is discoverable and relevant.

Here’s wherever to see them:

Titles

The video rubric is 1 of the archetypal things imaginable viewers spot successful YouTube hunt results. And it should see your main keyword to intelligibly pass what hte contented is about.

Here’s an illustration of immoderate bully YouTube video titles:

Follow these tips to make effectual titles:

• Place your people keyword adjacent the opening of the title
• Keep titles to 60 characters oregon fewer
• Use attention-grabbing words similar "best," "top," "review," etc.
• Include numbers (like "5 tips") to marque your rubric much specific
• Avoid clickbait oregon misleading titles

Descriptions

Well-written descriptions assistance YouTube recognize what your contented is astir and tin amended your rankings.

Plus, YouTube displays the opening of your statement successful hunt results. Which helps viewers determine whether to ticker your video.

But don’t conscionable halt astatine the archetypal condemnation oregon so. A robust statement that intelligibly explains what your video is astir and includes immoderate needed discourse provides a amended idiosyncratic experience. 

Here’s a large example:

Follow these tips to constitute effectual YouTube video descriptions:

• Place your main keyword successful the archetypal 1 to 2 sentences
• Include your keyword 2 to 3 times erstwhile you tin bash truthful naturally
• Use related keywords wherever relevant
• Write astatine slightest 200 words to springiness YouTube context
• Add links to related videos, playlists, oregon your website
• Include a wide telephone to enactment (CTA) to promote viewers to like, comment, oregon subscribe

Hashtags

Inserting hashtags successful your video statement makes your video much disposable successful YouTube searches for those circumstantial tags.

While hashtags don’t straight interaction rankings, adding fashionable and applicable ones to your videos tin boost their discoverability among users who travel oregon hunt for circumstantial hashtags.

So, see hashtags astatine the extremity of your description. Like this:

They’ll amusement up similar this erstwhile your video is published:

Follow these tips to optimize your hashtags:

• Add a superior keyword arsenic your hashtag
• Use lone 2 to 3 hashtags
• Make definite they’re applicable to your video topic
• Use a premix of wide and circumstantial hashtags

Tags

Tags assistance YouTube's algorithm recognize the contented and discourse of your video. Which assists successful associating it with akin videos connected the level and categorizing your videos much accurately.

Google says that tags play a minimal relation successful video ranking and discovery. But it’s inactive a bully thought to adhd them conscionable successful lawsuit they extremity up being adjuvant for immoderate users.

To adhd tags to caller YouTube videos:

1. Sign successful to your YouTube Studio account
2. Click “Create” > “Upload Video”
3. Choose your video file
4. During the upload process, click “More Options” and adhd your tags

For videos already connected your channel:

1. Sign successful to your YouTube Studio account
2. Click “Content” successful the paper to the left
3. Choose which video you privation to adhd tags to
4. Type successful your tags successful the “Tags” field

Follow these tips to optimize your video tags:

• Include your superior keyword and adjacent variations
• Use a premix of wide and circumstantial tags
• Include synonyms for your keyword
• Add video-specific tags similar "how-to," "tutorial," and "review"

Chapters

Video chapters interruption your video up into sections with their ain titles to let users to rapidly navigate to what they privation to see. And let you to optimize your video with much keywords.

Video chapters are created arsenic portion of the description.

To add video chapters, database astatine slightest 3 timestamps successful ascending order. And springiness each conception a name. (Use your YouTube keyword probe to assistance you.)

Here’s an example:

And here’s what that looks similar successful your YouTube video statement erstwhile the video is live:

Chapters tin adjacent look successful Google SERPs, perchance expanding postulation to the video:

Follow these tips to optimize your chapters:

• Use keyword-rich titles for each chapter
• Keep section titles concise
• Make the archetypal section "0:00" and see an intro title
• Aim for astatine slightest 3 chapters, spaced 1 to 2 minutes apart

Optimize Videos to Rank connected Google

You tin thrust adjacent much postulation to your videos if they fertile connected some YouTube and Google.

Once again, see your keywords successful your video title, description, and tags. To assistance Google recognize the contented and discourse of your video.

Here are a fewer much things you tin bash to amended the chances of your videos appearing connected Google SERPs:

• Embed your video connected your website oregon blog to supply further discourse and signals to Google
• Encourage viewers to like, comment, and stock your videos to summation engagement signals
• Promote your video connected societal media and different applicable platforms to thrust engagement signals
• Optimize your video thumbnail with a clear, high-quality representation that represents your video content

Add Keywords to Your Playlist Titles and Descriptions

Including applicable keywords successful your playlist titles tin assistance your playlists fertile successful YouTube hunt results. Offering an further mode for users to observe your content.

When creating a playlist, take a rubric that accurately represents the taxable of the videos and includes your main keywords. And spot the astir important keywords toward the opening of the title.

In the playlist description, see much circumstantial keywords and summarize what viewers volition summation from watching the playlist. 

An optimized statement clarifies the playlist's contented and tin assistance it look for assorted hunt queries.

With users discovering them done searches and recommendations, playlists tin pb to much impressions and clicks.

Playlists besides promote viewers to ticker much of your contented successful a azygous sitting. Increasing their wide ticker clip connected your channel. 

Longer ticker times bespeak to YouTube that your contented is invaluable and engaging. Which tin indirectly amended your channel's hunt visibility and bring successful much views.

Optimize Your Channel with Keywords

Adding applicable keywords to your YouTube transmission statement helps YouTube recognize your channel's wide taxable and categorize it accurately. 

This tin boost your channel's visibility successful searches related to your content. But it besides has a ripple effect connected the show of your idiosyncratic videos.

When you optimize your transmission with keywords, YouTube amended understands the discourse of your videos. 

This makes your videos much apt to look successful related hunt results and recommendations, driving much views and engagement.

To adhd transmission keywords, spell to your YouTube Studio settings, click "Channel," and adhd keywords nether "Basic info." 

Choose 5 to 10 keywords that screen your channel's main topics. For example, a cooking transmission mightiness see "healthy recipes," "easy meals," "cooking tips," and "food inspiration."

Further reading: YouTube Channel Keywords: What They Are + 7 Best Practices

YouTube Keyword Research FAQs

We’ve compiled the astir often asked questions astir YouTube keyword probe and their answers below.

What Are the Best Keywords for YouTube?

The champion keywords vary, depending connected the taxable of each video. For high-level topics, you’d apt privation high-volume keywords that pull an audience. 

If you’re looking to make niche videos, your keywords should beryllium much targeted to those who privation to ticker your videos.

For example, idiosyncratic looking up “oil change” connected YouTube mightiness privation to cognize wherefore they should get an lipid change. But idiosyncratic searching for “how to bash an lipid change,” indicates they privation to execute the enactment themselves.

How Many Keywords Should You Use for YouTube Videos?

There's nary circumstantial fig of keywords to use. But purpose to see your main keyword erstwhile successful your video rubric and 2 to 3 times successful your description. You tin besides adhd a fewer keywords arsenic hashtags. 

Ultimately, absorption connected choosing the astir applicable keywords for your contented and including them naturally. 

Avoid keyword stuffing, which tin wounded your videos’ rankings.

How Do You Track Your YouTube Rankings?

Once you person your keywords mapped and your contented created, usage the Rank Tracker for YouTube app to show however your contented is performing successful YouTube searches. 

It tracks your videos’ rankings connected YouTube for the keywords you choose.