Think about the last time curiosity struck. You went straight to Google, didn’t you? Now consider this: Where did you turn when you needed to learn a new skill? Imagine needing to fix your dishwasher, master a trendy makeup look, or cook a dish so adventurous it required a safe word. You likely found yourself on YouTube. You’re not the only one: 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every day. Its users represent almost a third of the internet. For marketers, YouTube is a goldmine. With a massive pool of potential viewers, your target audience is undoubtedly searching for how-to videos and other content. However, you need video SEO and keyword research to ensure your ads reach them. Here’s how to do it effectively.

The Importance of Keyword Research for YouTube

Put simply, video marketing is too expensive not to be strategic about your content creation and distribution. For cost-effective video marketing with a high ROI, you need every advantage possible. Keyword research can mean the difference between your efforts vanishing into the abyss or achieving remarkable success. your audience to find you_ are more likely to find you with the help of keyword research. Increased visibility translates to more sharing opportunities. 76% of users are willing to share your video, even branded content, as long as it’s engaging.

(Image Source) Branded YouTube videos often achieve significant popularity. Keyword research is about more than just increasing shares; it’s about identifying customers and gaps where your competitors aren’t outspending you. Through strategic keyword research and a dedication to quality, one e-commerce company saw their channel grow to 3 million subscribers. Brian Dean of Backlinko employed YouTube SEO to help Buffer expand their YouTube channel by 59% in 30 days.

(Image Source) That’s a remarkable increase, primarily driven by just five videos! The takeaway is clear: keyword research is non-negotiable. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. Here are three effective strategies for conducting faster and better YouTube keyword research.

#1: Utilize Free YouTube Keyword Research Tools

Unlike traditional SEO, which boasts sophisticated tools and fierce competition, YouTube SEO is still in its early stages. Despite the smaller playing field, there are dedicated tools for YouTube keyword research, many of which are affordable or even free. Let’s explore a few I’ve found useful.

Kparser

Kparser offers a free version, but like most tools, its full potential is unlocked with a paid subscription. The free version allows you to search specifically for YouTube terms and provides a proprietary ranking factor in its suggestions based on the frequency range of each word in the search term.

While the basic version is limited, offering only keyword suggestions without data on search volume or cost, its ease of use and zero cost make it worth exploring.

Hypersuggest

Similar to Kparser, Hypersuggest has a free version with limited features. This visually appealing YouTube keyword tool allows you to search by country, but the free version only displays the top 10 results. It does, however, include potential search volume and expands your results using suffixes, prefixes, and modifiers.

It’s a solid option, but the next tool is my top choice for free YouTube keyword research. Here’s why.

Wordtracker

Wordtracker is a valuable tool that offers a free version. If you decide to upgrade, you can take advantage of a free trial before committing, and the paid plans are reasonably priced. Wordtracker allows you to search its own databases (including YouTube) or Google. Here’s an example query:

The free trial version of Wordtracker provides search volume, competition level, and information about keyword appearances in anchors and titles. It’s hard to beat free and powerful. While I wish they paid me to use it, Wordtracker is an excellent option for budget-conscious users. If you’re willing to invest, all three tools offer affordable premium versions. Other options include KeywordKeg and YtCockpit, but their significantly higher price tags make them less suitable for beginners or those with limited budgets. Considering the many factors influencing a video’s success, adding unnecessary expenses is unwise. Leverage free tools to find keyword suggestions, sort them by volume and relevance, and upgrade if needed.

#2: Install Chrome Plugins for Competitive Analysis

Similar to traditional keyword research, analyzing your competitors is crucial for identifying relevant terms to target. A competitor’s high-ranking video indicates they’ve already done the groundwork, figuring out which tags, thumbnails, and titles attract clicks and appease the YouTube algorithm. (The YouTube algorithm, often compared to the Greek pantheon, is known for being unpredictable, mysterious, and unforgiving.) Unfortunately, YouTube tags, which act the same way keywords on the SERP and help categorize your video, are not easily visible. Can you spot them in this top-ranking video for vegetarian food?

It was a trick question! Tags aren’t displayed by default. While complex HTML methods exist for finding tags, I prefer control+f keyword research solutions, like Chrome extensions. Tags for YouTube and TubeBuddy are two free and user-friendly extensions that reveal a video’s tags. Here’s how the video appears with the former installed:

(Image Source) While not the be-all and end-all of YouTube keyword research, tags are crucial for informing YouTube and Google about your video’s content, ensuring it appears in relevant search results and related video views. Analyzing competitor tags provides valuable insights into their strategies and helps you identify opportunities to outperform them. Install these plugins, analyze your competitors, and uncover their high-ranking tags, missed opportunities, and areas where you can gain an advantage.

#3: Utilize Autocomplete for Long-tail Keyword Discovery

Long-tail keywords are a favorite among SEO professionals. Compared to head terms, long-tail keywords are more cost-effective to rank for, face less competition, and attract more qualified leads. Why do long-tail keywords attract better leads? Long-tail keywords often align with users in the later stages of the the marketing funnel.

(Image Source) While shorter, more competitive terms like “men’s clothing” might target users in the awareness phase, long-tail keywords like “gray tweed sport coat Brooks Brothers” or “men’s L.L. Bean wicked good slippers brown” are more likely to attract users in the interest stage or beyond. The same principle applies to YouTube keywords. Short head terms, consisting of one or two words, are excellent for brand awareness. However, if your goal is to convert viewers into customers, longer keyword terms can help you narrow your focus. The vast majority of searchers use at least three or more words.

(Image Source) Dylan Swain, a YouTube comedian with just over 4,000 subscribers, has uses long-tails to rank several of his videos ranked in the coveted number one position.

Here’s the best part: YouTube excels at helping you discover relevant long-tail keywords. In fact, YouTube is so adept at this that it often spoiled video games for unsuspecting searchers. It employs a familiar method: search suggestions. By typing in a keyword, you can uncover popular long-tail suggestions. Here’s what you get for “marketing”:

For a more consumer-specific example, here are the suggested keywords for “kitten toys”:

These suggestions provide a wealth of ideas for new videos or for adding popular tags to existing content. It’s a simple, free, and efficient process. Give it a try.

In Conclusion

YouTube videos, while entertaining, can also be a drain on your budget. YouTube keyword research enables you to optimize your videos and ensure they reach the right audience. Remember, this process doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive. Here’s a recap of the key takeaways:

• Leverage free YouTube keyword research tools.
• Utilize Chrome plugins for competitive analysis.
• Explore long-tail keywords using YouTube search suggestions. Creating videos takes time; thankfully, keyword research doesn’t have to.