Searching for something on the internet is not that difficult nowadays. Keyword research for youtube is very crucial when doing video SEO. You can solve your daily issues super easily with the help of search engines like Google and youtube. You just type in the search box and in no time the solution is in front of you.
Similarly, if you have to learn something like you have to learn how to fix a certain windows default or how to make a recipe at home or you had to make a new item. You’ll go straight to YouTube, right?
And you are not the only one. Almost a third of the internet users in the world watch a number of videos daily on YouTube. Youtube is a rapidly growing platform with billions of users creating and uploading videos on daily basis. So, there is a huge competition among Youtubers in this era due to which it is very difficult for new users to compete with already ranking popular content creators.
So, how do you stand out in such a competitive environment?
There are several things you can do to rank your videos high and to appear at the top of search results. But, one thing that will never put your content down is keyword research. Doing proper keyword research for youtube videos is the first and ultimate factor for your videos.
So, how to do proper keyword research for youtube videos?
Researching for keywords is not a tough job. The main thing is to keep an eye on the search intent. And the best way is to choose those keywords in your videos that have a high search volume and low competition.
1- Finding high volume keywords
The first step in doing proper keyword research is to search for those keywords which have high volume and low competition. For it, you can use an online tool that is specifically made for YouTube. But, remember, there is a lot of difference between a Google search and a YouTube search so you can’t use every Keyword Research tool for this purpose. You’ve to use a tool specifically made for YouTube.
i. Youtube autosuggest
The first tool I will suggest is to use the YouTube Auto Suggest. It’s a FREE and the most reliable tool to do keyword research for youtube – By typing your topic into the search bar you’re given a set of auto-completed suggestions which means these are the popular relevant searches. And you can easily see the top-ranking keywords in the search overlay.
ii. TubeBuddy
The 2nd tool you can use is TubeBuddy. TubeBuddy is a browser extension for Chrome having free as well as paid plans. It is the best tool for new YouTube creators as it comes with additional keyword data and adds to the YouTube User interface. I’ve explained the Tubebuddy interface in our YouTube SEO course as well. The keyword research for youtube can be done through keyword explorer overlay which can be seen from the search results. This keyword explorer shows a number of valuable terms like estimated global search volume, overall competition, and a keyword score out of 100. This keyword score tells the users which keyword should be used according to the search volume and competition.
iii. Ahrefs keyword explorer
The third tool is Ahrefs YouTube keywords tool which is free for limited use but has paid plan too but I won’t recommend the paid one for starters. It’s a planning tool focusing on YouTube specifically to discover search volume, clicks, word count, and more.
iv. Google keywords planner
Another tool you can use is Google Keyword Planner but since it’s for Google and not YouTube specifically so use it only if you plan on advertising your videos using Google Ads, or simply want them to appear in Google search results.
2- Check the competition
The 2nd step is to check Out the Competition around the keyword or phrase you want to focus on.
It’s a simple tactic but a very important one. Search for your focus keyword on YouTube, sort the videos by ‘Most Popular’ so you can check the top players around that keyword, and simply check out the keywords they used in their title, description, and tags. By looking at the keywords they’ve used, you’ll get great insight into what worked for them, and by using those techniques, there are chances that it may work for you too.
3- Pick important keywords
The 3rd step is to pick approximately 7-10 most important keywords and use them.
As you are well aware of the saying that ‘’Excess of everything is bad’’. In the same way, using too many keywords can destroy your video SEO. To know more about whitehat SEO, read this article first. A bulk of keywords in one place can dull the importance of each keyword used. That’s why it is recommended to stick to around 5-7 keywords (which is approximately 50-75 characters).
4-Utilizing Your Own Metrics
Utilizing your own metrics is the best way to do keyword research for youtube videos. Check the data of your own video to find out which video has worked well and which doesn’t. By analyzing your own data, you can optimize your keywords according to the video analytics. Keep viewing your channel analytics to know about your audience’s interest.
To view your channel analytics, open your YouTube Studio. Go to dashboard and click on analytics in the left-hand. Then click on reach and go to traffic source types. From here, click on the see more option and you can now see the keywords that your viewers searched in the last 28 days.
This doesn’t end here. You can also use your audience’s interest to increase your rankings. Use the comments section to find suggestions from your audience.
Remember, the goal is to provide the audience with what they really want to see. Doing so will give you more and more views and high rankings on YouTube.
With that said, try to follow all these steps when doing keyword research and you will not be disappointed in terms of views and YouTube engagement.
