How to Do Keyword Research for YouTube

If you think keyword research is only for blogs, you couldn’t be more wrong.

Your viewers use certain terms – keywords – to find videos on YouTube.

But researching keywords on YouTube is not that simple.

Most YouTube SEO tools are not that accurate.

The search volume and keyword difficulty scores they suggest are just predicted values – which can often be wrong.

Look at this example. For the same keyword “how to tie a tie,” VidIQ and Tubebuddy suggest very different scores.

However, SEO tools for Google have refined over the years – making them much more accurate than the tools for YouTube.

So, if you want to reach your target audience better, Google should also be a part of your YouTube SEO strategy.

In fact, many “how to” queries on Google show YouTube results.

By nailing keyword research, you can attract YouTube search traffic and get viewers from Google SERPs.

In this post, I’ll explain how to do YouTube keyword research to rank on both YouTube and Google.

How to do Keyword Research on YouTube as the Main Search Engine

A. Brainstorm Keyword Ideas

What is your video about?

Write a few terms and phrases that convey its broad idea.

For example, if your video is about beginner yoga for stress relief, your keywords could be like:

➜ Beginner yoga poses for relaxation

➜ Stress-relieving yoga sequences

➜ Simple yoga stretches for stress

➜ Relaxation yoga for beginners

➜ Yoga for unwinding after work

➜ Calming yoga practices

➜ Yoga for mental health

➜ Easy yoga for anxiety

➜ Yoga for stress relief

Start putting them in a Word/Google doc.

Step 1: Use GPT for Inspiration. [FREE]

Simply use this prompt:

Create seed keywords for a video about [Your Video Topic].

The keyword ideas you get with it are not always very relevant.

But it gives you somewhere to start.

Do note that you should only use it for inspiration.

Step 2: Then, Use YouTube Search Autocomplete. [FREE]

One of the best ways to find relevant keywords is to use YouTube’s autocomplete feature.

It’s simple, absolutely free, and it suggests terms that people are actually searching for.

Just start typing a broad term about your video into YouTube’s search bar.

It will show popular searches related to the query you’re typing.

The keywords you find here are a lot more reliable.

It also helps you find hot topics to make videos about.

Step 3: See What Your Viewers are Searching for [FREE]

If you have an established YouTube channel, you can also find valuable keyword insights in your YouTube Studio.

Just open your YouTube Studio and go to Analytics (on the left).

Click Research > Your viewers’ searches.

Type any term related to your Channel/topic and hit enter.

This will show you keywords related to your term, which your viewers have actually used in the past one month.

Pay special attention to keywords that have a Content Gap tag, which means the searcher couldn’t find a good enough video for it. Targeting such keywords and creating videos on these topics can help you get more views and subscribers.

To get more insights related to your term on a larger level, also check the Searches across YouTube section.

If you find any keyword relevant, click the Bookmark icon next to it. You can find it later in the Saved tab.

Step 4: Generate Keywords Ideas with vidIQ’s AI Keyword Generator. [FREEMIUM]

vidIQ’s AI keyword generator is the best tool to find keywords for your YouTube videos.

It analyzes YouTube search data to show you best keyword suggestions based on factors like search volume, relevance, and competition.

Just open the AI Keyword Generator, enter a broad term about your video, and hit Generate.

I typed in “beginner yoga for stress relief” and these are the results I got:

It suggests keywords and tells you how valuable they actually are.

The numbers in green bubbles show the Relevance Score of a keyword.

Higher the score, the more valuable a keyword is.

No more guesswork!

B. Research Your YouTube Competitors

You know what’s the best way to find prevalidated ideas? Just see what your competitors are doing!

Search your topic on YouTube and open the top ranking videos with massive views.

Step 1: Check Out Video Titles and Descriptions to Find Relevant Keywords.

For example, this video about stress relief yoga has 4.2M+ views.

I opened it and was immediately able to find useful keywords.

This will help you find keywords that actually work, within seconds!

Step 2: Sometimes, I find keyword ideas in the comments section as well.

While these exact phrases might not make a lot of sense, you can get some keyword ideas from it.

For example:

➜ Relaxing yoga

➜ Refreshing yoga

➜ Yoga for tired people

➜ Yoga to breathe better

➜ Yoga routine that’s not boring

This not only gives me relevant keyword ideas but it’s also a great source for topic ideas.

Now, it’s time to dig deeper.

Step 3: Find Out the Tags Your Competitors Use

How tags actually impact the visibility of a YouTube video is debatable.

What we know for sure is that they are a great source for keyword research!

To find tags your competitor is using, open one of their YouTube videos.

Right-click close to (but outside) the Search Bar.

Select View page source.

This will open the HTML source code of the video in a new window.

Now, press CTRL+F on Windows or Command+F on Mac.

Copy-paste this exact text into the search bar pop-up:

meta name=”keywords”

The tag keywords will be listed right next to the highlighted text.

Copy-paste these keywords to your Word document.

Now we have a broad list of keywords.

C. Use vidIQ’s Keywords Tool to Validate Your Keywords [FREEMIUM]

Earlier, we used vidIQ’s AI Keyword Generator to find related keywords.

Now, we’ll use its Keywords Tool to see how popular and competitive the keywords are in our list.

vidIQ is a complete suite of tools for YouTube SEO and Content Strategy. Other than finding high-performing, low competition keywords, you can use vidIQ to analyse your video’s performance and competitors’ videos.

You can also audit your YouTube channel, generate video ideas, optimized Titles, Descriptions, Tags, Thumbnails– and even video Outlines with it.

To access vidIQ’s Keywords Tool, make sure you have vidIQ Pro.

Open vidIQ dashboard and click Keywords on the left.

Type in your seed keyword and hit Enter.

Right below, you will see the keywords Search Volume (that is, how often this term is searched on YouTube) against its Competition (telling how hard or is the competition is for this keyword).

Such metrics help you find out whether a keyword is worth the effort or not.

For example, you wouldn’t want to waste your time and energy on a keyword that has a very high Competition score or low Search Volume.

On the left, you can also see keywords related to the term you have entered, along with their overall scores.

You can also click Matching terms and find different versions of your keyword.

Run all the keywords on your list through vidIQ’s Keywords tool and lose the keywords with poor score.

You will then be left with a list of highly valuable keywords with a higher chance to attract your target viewers on YouTube.

Create a spreadsheet and copy-paste the final keywords along with their Search Volume and Competition scores, like this:

Pro tip: Focus on long-tail keywords. They attract viewers genuinely interested in your content, who are more likely to engage with your video.

For example, competing for a broad term like “iPad Pro” on YouTube is tough, and search intent is unclear. In contrast, a long-tail keyword like “iPad Pro 11 review” has less competition, decent search volume, and aligns with specific viewer intent.

That’s all about keyword research on YouTube.

How to Do YouTube Keyword Research on Google

At the beginning of this post, I talked about how a lot of Google queries trigger YouTube results.

Also, Google’s Video search filter almost always shows YouTube videos.

According to Semrush Sensor, about 40% of desktop SERPs feature some or the other kind of video results.

So, if Google is not a part of your YouTube keyword research, you’re simply missing out on A LOT of potential views.

In fact, even if you don’t rank on YouTube for a certain term, you could still rank on Google and enjoy a great flow of views.

To find video-triggering keywords on Google:

Step 1: Look at Google SERP Video-Features [FREE]

Search any query relevant to your niche/topic on Google and look at video results.

Also click the Video filter and see what videos are ranking.

You may also find videos in the What people are saying section.

Now, analyze these videos, check out their titles, descriptions, tags, and comments like we did in the A section of the post.

The keywords you find here can help rank your YouTube videos on Google.

For more keyword and topic ideas, you can also explore the People Also Ask and People Also Search For sections on Google SERP.

Step 2: Find YouTube Keywords on Google Trends [FREE]

Google Trends is the best free tool to find reliable popular keywords– even for your YouTube videos.

Just open Google Trends, search any term related to your niche/topic.

Change the filter to YouTube Search to see the popularity of the term on YouTube recently.

Scroll down to find keyword ideas in the Related topics and Related queries sections.

This way, you can find popular terms used and topics searched by your target viewers on YouTube.

Step 3: Research YouTube Keywords on Google with Semrush [Paid]

When it comes to keyword research on Google, Semrush is one of the best tools to get the most accurate data.

I use its Magic Keyword Tool to find keywords that can help increase the visibility of my YouTube videos.

Go to Semrush > Magic Keyword Tool (on the left).

Enter your seed keyword, select your desired location and hit Search.

To find results relevant for YouTube, select Advanced filters > SERP Features.

Select the following SERP features:

→ Video

→ Featured video

→ Video carousel

Click Apply.

This will show you all the keywords related to your seed keyword that trigger video SERP features.

Now, you can use different features and filters to refine your keyword research:

1. Volume: For selecting a range of search volume for keywords.

2. KD%: For selecting a Keyword Difficulty percentage.

3. Keyword Category: For selecting a keyword category to get focused data.

You want to look for keywords that have a high Volume but low KD%.

Select relevant keywords, click Export > XLSX.

This will download an Excel sheet containing your selected keywords, along with their Volume and KD%.

Copy-paste these keywords to your master spreadsheet.

Organize your YouTube keywords mastersheet like this:

→ Keyword

→ Volume

→ Competition / KD%

→ Notes

How to Apply YouTube Keyword Research?

Now you have a well-researched list of valuable YouTube keywords. How do you use them?

I’ll show you how to implement your keyword research strategically to attract the right audience, rank higher in search results, and maximize engagement on your YouTube videos.

Optimize Your Video Elements

To make your content more relevant and discoverable, use your researched keywords in the core elements like:

➥ Titles

Your video title is the first thing potential viewers see, both on YouTube and Google SERP.

➜ Place your main keyword near the beginning of the title.

➜ Keep the title under 60 characters for better visibility.

➜ Use attention-grabbing words like “best,” “top,” or “guide,” and numbers (e.g., “5 Tips”) to make people want to click.

➥ Descriptions

A strong, keyword-rich description helps YouTube and Google understand your video content. Here’s how you use keywords to optimize it:

➜ Use your primary keyword in the first sentence.

➜ Add the keyword naturally 2–3 times throughout the description.

➜ Write at least 200 words to provide context.

➜ Include related keywords and a clear CTA for better engagement.

➥ Hashtags

Adding relevant hashtags at the end of your description can help boost your video’s visibility.

➜ Use your primary keyword as a hashtag.

➜ Add 2–3 hashtags that align with your video topic.

➥ Tags

While their impact is limited, tags can still help YouTube categorize your video.

➜ Include your primary keyword, close variations, and synonyms.

➜ Add video-specific tags like “how-to” or “review.”

➥ Chapters

Adding chapters with keyword-rich titles improves user experience and can also help make your videos more visible to your target audience.

➜ Use your keywords in chapter titles.

➜ Add at least three chapters, spaced 1–2 minutes apart.

Don’t Forget Your Channel– Optimize it with Keywords

Your YT keyword research isn’t just for individual videos—it can also improve your channel’s overall presence.

Channel Keywords signal YouTube what your channel is about. Right keywords help make your channel visible to the right audience.

➜ Choose 5–10 keywords that reflect your channel’s core topics.

➜ Avoid generic terms. Focus on specific, descriptive keywords (e.g., “beginner yoga tutorials” instead of “yoga”).

Playlist Keywords are also important as playlists can rank in search results. This can help drive traffic to your multiple videos at once.

➜ Add your main keywords to playlist titles and descriptions.

➜ Summarize the playlist’s value while using specific keywords.

Boost Your YouTube Presence With Keyword Research

Using tools like vidIQ makes YouTube keyword research much simpler and effective. But don’t overlook Google. Use keyword research tools like Semrush’s Keyword Magic to find keywords that can help you appear in Google’s video SERP features.

Frequently Asked Questions