Want to know what the best keyword tools are for YouTube? The web giant is a video-based search engine that selects videos to show to certain audiences.
Like most search engines, YouTube uses algorithms (sets of instructions that tell computers how to convert information) to serve the appropriate videos to the right audiences.
As a digital marketing specialist, to work in concert with YouTube’s algorithm, you need to be using YouTube keyword tools and ensuring that your content incorporates the right keywords.
YouTube keywords
Per YouTube, adding descriptive keywords (or tags) to your videos is a way of helping viewers find your content.
In a nutshell, keywords provide YouTube with information and context about your video content. Then, the algorithm considers those keywords and uses them to deliver your content to the right audience.
YouTube favors videos that are well-liked. According to YouTube Creator Academy, the algorithm follows the audience by paying attention to things like:
- What they watch
- What they don’t watch
- How much time they spend watching a video
- What they like and dislike
- What they’re not interested in
YouTube recommends that creators consider what their target audience likes. You should learn how to advantage of relevant search terms that your audience uses to find content.
YouTube keyword research
YouTube keyword research is an SEO practice that you can perform to find the most relevant search terms and discover alternate phrases that people use when looking for information.
YouTube keyword research refers to the process of learning what search terms people use when looking for video content.
This reveals exactly what your target audience is searching for and how they’re phrasing things, which enables you to incorporate those keywords directly into your video’s name, tags, transcript, and description.
Through keyword research, you can be confident that the content you’re producing aligns with what your target audience is searching for.
Using the keyword tool on YouTube
There’s a keyword tool already built into the YouTube platform and using it is fairly straightforward.
All you have to do is select your preferred language and countries, then enter your keyword or phrase. From there, click “Get Keyword Ideas,” and you will be presented with a lengthy list of keyword suggestions.
Keyword planner for YouTube
Although Google Ads offers a free keyword planner tool that allows you to research and discover new keywords, there isn’t a version specifically for YouTube. We recommend using one of the YouTube keyword tools mentioned above to plan your YouTube keyword strategy.
Best YouTube keyword research tools
1. TubeBuddy
TubeBuddy is a video SEO nerd’s best friend. This tool was designed to discover tags that are related to your search terms.
In the below example, when exploring the search term “san diego surfing,” TubeBuddy shows users that there are many other popular video search terms like “san diego surfing beaches” and “san diego surfing season” that are trending. But the tool shows much more than that.
TubeBuddy’s dashboard also shows the overall score of your search terms, how competitive that term is, the total number of times that term was searched and more. And since it’s a light-weight Chrome extension, TubeBuddy isn’t just easy to use – it’s easy to install too. The best part: you can use the whole thing for free!
2. VidIQ
VidIQ helps video content creators determine the best keywords for improving searchability.
When you research a search term, VidIQ pulls data from YouTube to give you a look at what’s going on with that term. You’ll be able to see helpful information like recommended tags and what top-performing videos are currently displayed in SERPs.
If you want to get more granular, you can also use VidIQ to explore additional related keywords and look at search volume reporting in the past month or year, or even since YouTube was created.
This tool is great for helping marketers confirm whether they’re using the right keywords, explore new keyword options, and assess who they’re competing against for higher search rankings.
VidIQ comes with dozens of other features designed for video creators, but the keyword research tool requires a subscription. However, at only $7.50 per month, it’s pretty affordable for even small businesses on tight budgets.
3. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a marketing analyst’s best friend. This tool has a huge collection of SEO, competitor analysis, keyword research and keyword identification functions to help you optimise your digital content.
With clients like Facebook, Netflix, and Uber, you know it’s big time. We’re really impressed with the platform’s YouTube Keyword Tool, which pulls YouTube search volumes for keywords from up to 243 countries.
The tool is managed in a sleek, easy-to-use dashboard. Simply type your keyword in the search bar and Ahrefs pulls data from around the world to show you the total search volume for each term and how many clicks that search phrase earned.
If clicks are low, it might mean that users aren’t happy with the results they’re seeing; maybe they need an engaging video from you to be satisfied with their search results.
Low clicks could also mean a video’s thumbnail, title, and description aren’t interesting enough for people to bother clicking on them; for more on that, check out this post.
Ahrefs also pulls a few other interesting data points, including relevant search phrases that use your keyword and other keywords or phrases that are relevant to your term, making this tool not just a research platform but a keyword generator, too.
Ahrefs offers four pricing tiers, ranging from $99 per month for a single user to $999 per month for 5 users.
It’s one of the more expensive options on this list, but if you’re serious about keyword research, it might be worth the investment. You should definitely take advantage of the tool’s 7-day trial for $7 to see whether you like it before you subscribe.
4. Keywordtool.io
When you search for a video on YouTube, the platform gives you a longer list of recommended results based on what other people searched for in the past. Keyword Tool leverages that data to help marketers like you improve your YouTube SEO.
Keyword Tool is a YouTube autocomplete keyword program that generates popular search phrases from base terms. For example, a company that makes clothes for toddlers and infants might regularly use the term “baby clothes” as a keyword.
After using Keyword Tool, that company could improve its keyword strategy with additional phrases like “baby clothes diy” and “baby clothes quilt,” both of which rank high as common search terms.
You can also use the platform’s trend data to see what times of the year certain keywords perform best to change your strategy depending on consumer habits and holidays.
You can access Keyword Tool’s most basic features for free, but it has plenty of other features that are worth paying for, like cost-per-click data and competitor keyword analysis.
Keyword Tool’s monthly plans range from $69 to $159 a month depending on the volume of keywords you plan to analyze.
5. Keyword Keg
Keyword Keg is a 5 tool suite focused solely on keyword research, which collects data from 12 APIs in total. Where YouTube is concerned, Keyword Keg’s main use is as a tag generator.
All you need to do is pop your keyword(s) into the search bar and wait for the tool to populate a list of suggested keywords. You can then use these to help you decide which keywords to use in your titles, descriptions and tags.
Pretty standard so far, right? Well, there’s a neat little trick on offer – you can filter the results to only show keywords related to buyer intent, allowing you to shortlist keywords that are more likely to convert. Cha-ching!
Another handy bit of info can be found in the ‘Trend’ column – here you’re able to see whether a keyword is trending up or down based on search volume. Anything trending sharply downwards might not be worth your time.
Packages range from $38 per month for website owners and entrepreneurs to $762 per month for agencies, but you can save up to 40% on these prices with an annual package.
6. Keyword Tool Dominator
With a name like Keyword Tool Dominator, our expectations for this platform were high. While it isn’t quite as mind-blowing as its moniker would have you believe, it is a pretty easy-to-use tool for keyword research newbies.
Simply type a term into the search bar, and voila – Keyword Tool Dominator generates a lengthy list of the suggested YouTube search phrases that incorporate your term.
You can pick and choose which keywords you want to add to a custom list, and export your list all from the same screen. This tool keeps keyword research – and its pricing model – simple.
Keyword Tool Dominator is free for up to two searches per day. If you want to search more terms more frequently, you can get stuck in for a one-time price of $29.99. Keyword Tool Dominator also works with other major search engines, like Amazon, Etsy, eBay and more.
7. Keywords Everywhere
Keywords Everywhere is a Chrome and Firefox extension that has a very specific set of features. Unlike the other tools on this list, it doesn’t focus on suggesting new phrases or tags. Instead, it’s all about cold hard data.
Search for a term on YouTube and you’ll immediately be shown monthly search volume, cost per click, competition level and trend data:
Another cool feature is the Search Insights Widget, which presents you with more handy data for each search you make. This sort of information should give you a good idea of what your video(s) will be up against in your chosen niche:
Keywords Everywhere is by no means the only keyword research tool you’ll need, but it’s a great addition to add to your arsenal.
Some but not all of the data is free to access. Unlike the other tools we’ve covered so far, Keywords Everywhere uses a credits system – basically, you pay for a package ranging from $10 to $1000, each one coming with a certain amount of credits. You then spend these credits whenever you carry out a search (1 credit = 1 keyword).
8. YouTube Autosuggest
Another great YouTube keyword tool is simply taking advantage of YouTube autosuggest. After you type a keyword into the YouTube search box, a dropdown menu appears suggesting additional phrases.
These suggested terms come directly from relevant search queries that users have previously searched for, making them a great resource for optimizing your content.
Although YouTube doesn’t reveal the volumes of these search terms, manually typing in the search box for autosuggestions is tedious but completely free.
9. Google Trends
Google Trends is another free resource for YouTube keyword research. When searching for keywords, you can narrow the results to only YouTube searches, which is perfect for creators.
Use Google Trends to compare the relative popularity of keywords, or use its Trends feature to discover new potential topics.
10. Kparser
Kparser is another YouTube keyword search tool that can be used to find keywords and suggestions for long-tail keywords in specific fields. This is an especially great tool for international users as it allows you to generate keywords based on geography or location.
Kparser’s basic features are free, or you can pay $4.99/month to see all the data.
The final verdict
TubeBuddy is at the top of our list for the best YouTube keyword tool, and here’s why:
- It’s easy to use. The extension operates using a simple system that’s ideal for beginners. Compared to more complicated, harder-to-use options, this tool is designed to make your keyword research painless.
- It’s comprehensive. The extension combines many different features in a single program, making it a great all-in-one keyword research tool.
- It’s free. Although you can pay for more advanced versions, you don’t have to. You can get started with TubeBuddy at no cost.
