YouTube Keyword Research: The ultimate guide you need in 2024

Published on: Jun 9th, 2024 10 min readWritten by:

Last Updated on June 9, 2024 by Admin

YouTube remains the second most used search engine globally, with over 2.7 billion monthly users searching for content in different categories. This huge audience base is a great boon for content creators as it allows them to present their content to the world.

However, given that daily uploads of new videos are in millions, the challenge for any content producer is how to get their material to be viewed. The key to overcoming this problem is identifying the keywords users use when searching for videos on YouTube. In this way, you’ll be able to boost your videos’ visibility and receive more views, engagement, and subscribers to the channel by selecting and using the right keywords.

In this post, you will learn all you need about YouTube keyword research, from its importance to the tools and techniques you need to get the best of it.

What is YouTube Keyword Research?

YouTube keyword research entails identifying the specific words and phrases used by the target market in search of videos on the social platform. These search terms, commonly referred to as keywords, are important as they give you an idea of what the potential viewers are searching for. Thus, associating your videos with these keywords enhances the chances of the videos being recommended to the users interested in your videos, which will help gain more views, comments, and subscribers on your channel.

Why is YouTube Keyword Research Important?

It is essential for anyone who is using YouTube to understand YouTube keywords and research them. YouTube handles more than 3 billion searches monthly, thus the need to access potential viewers. Managing keywords in your videos is a way to increase the chances of your videos being ranked higher and thus get more views and engagements. That is why keyword research shows you what your audience is interested in and may need, thus helping your videos find the right viewers.

Best YouTube Keyword Research Tools

Regarding YouTube keyword research, several steps need to be taken, as well as essential tools that you should have at your disposal. Here are some of the best options:

  • Google Trends: Google Trends is a relatively simple tool for identifying trends in terms of the popularity of a particular word. By entering your target keywords, you can see how many people are searching for them and filter for any trends or popular topics within your niche. This information can assist you in developing content that matches the current topics of discussion and thereby appeals to the audience.
  • YouTube Search Predictions: The autocomplete function of the search bar as a tool can provide useful information on YouTube. It was very helpful to see that when you type in a keyword, YouTube provides you with suggested search terms. These phrases are based on actual user searches and can be helpful for ideas for videos and keywords to go after.
  • YouTube’s Trending Page: The YouTube trending page provides viewers with the most popular videos on the platform. It is advisable to visit this page frequently to notice trends, formats, and keywords that can be useful in your niche. By covering the trends, you can create content that will capture such viewership, increasing the probability of your channel being viewed.
  • Ahrefs’ YouTube Keyword Tool: Ahrefs, an established tool for SEO analysis, includes a specific feature called YouTube Keyword Tool, which contains additional information about the search frequency, CTR, and keyword competition. With the help of your focus keywords, you can find many keywords with huge traffic but little competition for your video optimization.
  • Keyword Tool Dominator: Keyword Tool Dominator is a simple and efficient YouTube keyword research tool that provides a list of keywords to target after you enter them. The basic version is completely free and allows for up to three searches per day, which makes it a great tool for those who are just starting their research and those who cannot afford to pay for a subscription.

Step-by-Step Ways to Do Keyword Research for YouTube Videos

Keywords play a vital role in ranking your videos in YouTube search results, and hence, YouTube keyword research is very important. It refers to identifying the relevant keywords your target viewers are likely to type into the search engine. It improves your video’s discoverability, ensures that it gets the views it deserves, and contributes to a flourishing YouTube channel.

Utilize YouTube Keyword Research Tools

Remember, YouTube keyword research tools are your best friend when finding the keywords many people use, but few competitors target. Begin with SPLA, YouTube’s search operator tool. The most effective tools include Google Trends, YOUTUBE Keyword Tool by Ahrefs, and Keyword Tool Dominator. It includes information on the volume and trends of the search queries, as well as the competitiveness of the keywords, which will help you to pick the right keywords for your videos.

  • Google Trends: Study the trend of the search terms used to determine their level of popularity. To enhance the search for videos, use the YouTube search option under the trend categories available.
  • Ahrefs’: YouTube Keyword Tool provides detailed information about the number of searches and competition level of a keyword, giving you a picture of its strength.
  • Keyword Tool Dominator: Creates keyword clusters for better recommendations on long-tail keywords that can help you rank your website high on the search engine results.
  • Check for the YouTube Analytics Research Report: You will find much information about your audience using the YouTube search feature here. This report discloses the popular search terms among your existing viewers, which is important for targeting their interests and preferences.

Use this information to generate content that meets the audience’s needs. Find the most used search terms and check for similarities and recurring terms to discover more about possible video content and other keyword versions.

Here’s how you can use it effectively:

  • Identify High-Performing Keywords: Consider which keywords lead people to the channels you have already established.
  • Discover New Opportunities: Identify the keywords that will bring you traffic even if you have not optimized your content for them.
  • Refine Your Strategy: Here are some tips to help you improve your keyword approach and focus on more meaningful terms that target your audience.

Use YouTube’s Autocomplete Feature

YouTube’s auto-suggest, or the search suggestions that appear when a user starts typing a search query into the YouTube search bar, is a great help in identifying keywords. For example, some keywords appear just below the YouTube search bar as you start typing your search phase.

These are the most accurate and closest estimations of the actual user searches, which give an idea of the most trending and related topics around your subject. Make a list of the phrases that have been suggested above and try to use them in the video’s title, description, and tags.

Analyze Your Competitors’ Videos

By watching your competitors’ successful videos, you can identify the keywords they are targeting. Analyze the titles, descriptions, and tags of their popular clips to find out what keywords and tags they employ to generate attention.

Think about how you can enhance and employ keyword strategies to get better results and deliver more engaging and valuable content to the target audiences. Keywords are not best copied directly from similar videos; instead, they should be used only as a reference to create new metadata for your video.

Follow these steps:

  • Select Competitor Channels: Select the channel within your size and specialization range.
  • Review Their Popular Videos: Organize them by the number of views to find out which uploaded videos are watched most.
  • Extract Keywords: Check the words used in the titles, descriptions, and tags of the videos they have uploaded. A few common tools, including TubeBuddy and VidIQ, can help in this regard.

Determine the Search Intent of Your Keywords

Knowing the search intent associated with your keywords is equally important if you want your content to match your visitors’ expectations properly. Improve users’ understanding of what they want when they type a specific word in the search bar.

  • Is it a tutorial or guide they are looking for?
  • What do they want, product reviews or comparisons?
  • Are they searching for fun or motivation?

When your video content is well synchronized with the search intent, you are more likely to capture the audience’s attention and retain them, which, in the long run, will translate to a pool of loyal subscribers.

Here’s how:

  1. Categorize Keywords: If they are looking for information, they are informational. If they are looking for a specific video or channel, they are navigational, and if they are ready to take action, they are transactional.
  2. Match Content to Intent: Make sure your videos meet the purpose of the keywords you have used. For instance, when creating tutorial videos, informational keywords should be targeted, while when creating product reviews, transactional ones should be targeted.

Create a Keyword Map

As part of your YouTube keyword research and analysis, develop a keyword map to help you stay organized and focused. This can be a spreadsheet or document that contains the list of target keywords you want to rank for, along with the particular topics of the videos and certain optimization aspects.

Include columns for:

  • Target keywords
  • Related keyword variations
  • Video titles
  • Video descriptions
  • Tags
  • Chapters or timestamps

Finally, consider how you can promote your YouTube channels to increase their reach and support from the audience.

How to Use Your YouTube Keyword Research?

Once you’ve conducted your keyword research, it’s time to put it into action:

  • Use Keywords in Video Elements: Include your target keywords wherever possible, for instance, in the:
    • title,
    • description,
    • hashtags,
    • tags,
    • chapters of your videos.

    This helps YouTube make sense of the content and its environment so that the videos can be easily found on the site.

  • Optimize Videos to Rank on Google: Ensure you include your SEO keywords in your video’s title and description tags to increase your chances of ranking on YouTube and Google searches. If you want your videos to be indexed by Google, then you should add your target keywords in the metadata of the videos. You can also write blog posts or transcriptions containing keywords to help your videos rank highly in the search engine.
  • Add Keywords to Your Playlist Titles and Descriptions: Group your videos into some playlists and follow the playlist titles and descriptions with proper keywords. This can assist in the ranking of your playlists for searches and increase the probability of viewers watching more than one video at a time.
  • Optimize Your Channel with Keywords: Ensure that you incorporate keywords in the section of your channel that describes the content to help YouTube understand your channel’s content in general. This can boost your channel in terms of search results and recommendations that people see.

Conclusion

Keyword research is one of the most important factors for any YouTube video and is a real game changer. Thus, it becomes apparent that the right keywords can increase the visibility of your video and attract more viewers. However, it is important to note that the process’s crucial aspect is evaluating performance information and making necessary adjustments consistently. To achieve this, it is important to have a proper strategy for developing content that can easily be noticed on the YouTube platform. What sets AlgoSaga apart is that we support social media marketing service any creator and help them achieve their goals on YouTube.