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YouTube Tips Finding That Perfect Keyword

Stanley | Team TB

Amazingly Decent and Not-At-All Terrible Fishing
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We've all been there; you are working on your latest and greatest creation, the video that is going to define the content that you make and the work of art that is going to propel you into the top of the YouTube search ranks. There's just one problem... you have no idea what keywords you need for your video.

Fear not, because even on the worst days and the weirdest niches there is a keyword phrase waiting just for you and I in this thread I am going to explain some easy ways to figure it out.

Emulate The Pro's
There is absolutely nothing wrong with emulating your favorite creators. Now, you do not want to start your journey on the wrong foot and begin blatantly copying what others do in order to game the system. But if your favorite creator just made a rad planking video and you too are making a planking video it is ok to to study how they did what they did and to try and improve on it. What title did they use, what keywords did they mention in their description and how can you do it better? What can you add?

Google It
No kidding, the easiest solution is exactly the one everybody tells you to do but there is a trick! You see Google tells you exactly what people are searching for on a certain topic. When you go to type 'offshore fishing' into Google it will populate a list of various other things that people typically type after they type 'offshore fishing.' These are immedaite keyword phrases that you need to look into using.
Screenshot_20201022-094459_Google.jpg
Screenshot_20201022-094459_Google.jpg

Go Search Your Own Video
This is one of the best options out there, and yet it is one that so few people attempt or even think about. Go search your own video and see what happens.

"But I haven't made the video yet."

That's the point. You want to search for your video before you ever publish it (and likely before you even edit it). This will give you an immediate glimpse of your competition. It lets you know what the most winning thumbnails are (which is a great opportunity to see what you need to do with your own thumbnail) but it also lets you know what keyword phrases other people are using in their titles and even hiding on their thumbnails. Is this the list of videos that you want to compete with? Or maybe the search isn't exactly right for this video and you should consider other options? If so take a look at the list of videos here, see what other phrases they have used in their titles and thumbnails and do a search for that.

Accountability Partners
Finally it never hurts to have an accountability partner. That person who you hate to ask because they are going to tell you everything that is wrong with your work. This is the perfect person to ask in advance in regards to what they would search for when looking for your video. If you do not have an accountability partner there are other options available; the TubeBuddy forums here and on Discord being obvious outlets for you to bounce ideas around. But having one or two creator friends who not only are in need of an equal-value bit of criticism in their own right but whom are also willing to give it and are familiar with your content is invaluable.
 

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We've all been there; you are working on your latest and greatest creation, the video that is going to define the content that you make and the work of art that is going to propel you into the top of the YouTube search ranks. There's just one problem... you have no idea what keywords you need for your video.

Fear not, because even on the worst days and the weirdest niches there is a keyword phrase waiting just for you and I in this thread I am going to explain some easy ways to figure it out.

Emulate The Pro's
There is absolutely nothing wrong with emulating your favorite creators. Now, you do not want to start your journey on the wrong foot and begin blatantly copying what others do in order to game the system. But if your favorite creator just made a rad planking video and you too are making a planking video it is ok to to study how they did what they did and to try and improve on it. What title did they use, what keywords did they mention in their description and how can you do it better? What can you add?

Google It
No kidding, the easiest solution is exactly the one everybody tells you to do but there is a trick! You see Google tells you exactly what people are searching for on a certain topic. When you go to type 'offshore fishing' into Google it will populate a list of various other things that people typically type after they type 'offshore fishing.' These are immedaite keyword phrases that you need to look into using.
View attachment 7852View attachment 7852

Go Search Your Own Video
This is one of the best options out there, and yet it is one that so few people attempt or even think about. Go search your own video and see what happens.

"But I haven't made the video yet."

That's the point. You want to search for your video before you ever publish it (and likely before you even edit it). This will give you an immediate glimpse of your competition. It lets you know what the most winning thumbnails are (which is a great opportunity to see what you need to do with your own thumbnail) but it also lets you know what keyword phrases other people are using in their titles and even hiding on their thumbnails. Is this the list of videos that you want to compete with? Or maybe the search isn't exactly right for this video and you should consider other options? If so take a look at the list of videos here, see what other phrases they have used in their titles and thumbnails and do a search for that.

Accountability Partners
Finally it never hurts to have an accountability partner. That person who you hate to ask because they are going to tell you everything that is wrong with your work. This is the perfect person to ask in advance in regards to what they would search for when looking for your video. If you do not have an accountability partner there are other options available; the TubeBuddy forums here and on Discord being obvious outlets for you to bounce ideas around. But having one or two creator friends who not only are in need of an equal-value bit of criticism in their own right but whom are also willing to give it and are familiar with your content is invaluable.

This is great... You CAN also do all of this for free in TubeBuddy keyword explorer drop down as you type which is free and shows more YT focused results. Google is good, but make sure You're focusing on the right platform. Google gives you what people are searching there, and YT gives what they want on YouTube.
 
OP
OP
Stanley | Team TB

Stanley | Team TB

Amazingly Decent and Not-At-All Terrible Fishing
Administrator
TubeBuddy Staff
2,641
25
Subscriber Goal
250000
You are absolutely right... I wrote this from the perspective of someone with TubeBuddy and therefore neglected to mention how much easier and more efficient it is to do this same research via the TubeBuddy Keyword Explorer. Anyone who isn't doing so for every single video is missing out on what I consider to be the single greatest tool available to content creators.