Struggling to figure out what your audience actually wants to watch on YouTube? It’s a common challenge, especially with 2.49 billion monthly users making YouTube the second most popular social media channel and visited website in the world. That’s a huge crowd, and if you want your videos to stand out and get noticed, you absolutely need a smart strategy. That’s where Semrush YouTube keywords come into play. It’s not just about making great videos. it’s about making great videos that people are actively searching for.

Think of it this way: YouTube isn’t just a video platform. it’s a massive search engine, much like Google. And just like Google, it uses algorithms to decide which videos to show. So, if you’ve ever done SEO for a website, you’ll feel right at home with YouTube SEO. Semrush, usually known as an SEO powerhouse for websites, has some seriously powerful tools tailored specifically for YouTube. These tools can help you uncover exactly what your target viewers are typing into that search bar, analyze what your competitors are doing, and ultimately help your videos rank higher, get more views, and grow your channel. By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to leverage Semrush to boost your YouTube SEO for better rankings and more views, turning your channel into a discovery engine for your content.

Table of Contents

Why YouTube Keyword Research Matters Seriously!

You might be thinking, “Can’t I just make videos about what I like?” And sure, you can! But if you’re looking to actually grow your channel and reach more people, you need to understand what your potential audience is looking for. This is where YouTube keyword research becomes your best friend.

Here’s why it’s so important:

Visibility in a Crowded Space: With so many creators, standing out is tough. Keyword research helps you find niches and topics where your videos can actually get seen. It’s about finding those sweet spots where demand meets less competition.
Understanding Audience Intent: When someone types something into the search bar, they have a goal in mind. Are they looking for a tutorial, a review, entertainment, or information? Understanding this “search intent” is crucial for creating content that truly resonates and keeps viewers engaged. If you deliver relevant content, your video is more likely to appear in YouTube searches and you are more likely to gain views and subscribers.
Generating Content Ideas That People Actually Want to Watch: Instead of guessing, keyword research gives you data-backed ideas. You’re making videos about topics that already have an audience, which is a must for content planning.
YouTube as a Search Engine: It’s worth repeating: YouTube is the second largest search engine globally. Its algorithm prioritizes relevance, engagement, and quality. By using the right keywords, you’re directly telling YouTube what your video is about, making it easier for the algorithm to match your content with relevant searches.
Driving Traffic from Google Too: Around 40% of desktop SERPs in the U.S. featured a video carousel, video result, or featured video on May 14, 2024. By optimizing your YouTube videos, you’re not just aiming for YouTube search results. you’re also setting yourself up to appear in Google search results, drawing in even more viewers.

Getting Started: Semrush’s Dedicated YouTube Tools

Alright, let’s talk about how Semrush, this incredible SEO toolkit, can directly help with your YouTube game. You might be familiar with its web-based SEO tools, but Semrush has some specific applications that are built right into its App Center, specifically for YouTube.

To get going, you’ll head over to the Semrush App Center. Here, you’ll find specialized tools like “Keyword Analytics for YouTube” and “Rank Tracker for YouTube.” These are your go-to places for direct YouTube insights. Crushing YouTube SEO: Your Ultimate Semrush Tutorial

Your Secret Weapon: Semrush Keyword Analytics for YouTube

This is the primary tool within Semrush that gives you direct insights into YouTube search behavior. It’s designed to help you optimize your videos to reach more viewers by providing keyword metrics specific to YouTube.

Finding Top Keywords: Uncovering What People Search For

Once you’re in the Keyword Analytics for YouTube app, you’ll likely start with the “Top Keywords” tab. This is where the magic begins. You can input a seed keyword related to your niche and then see a list of popular, relevant keywords that people are searching for on YouTube.

What you’ll want to pay close attention to here are two main metrics:

Search Volume: This tells you roughly how many searches a specific keyword gets on YouTube over a given period daily, weekly, or monthly. More searches mean more potential eyeballs on your video!
Competitive Rate: This metric gives you an idea of how difficult it might be to rank for a particular keyword on YouTube. When you’re starting out, or if you have a smaller channel, you’ll ideally want to look for keywords that have a decent search volume but a relatively low competitive rate. This gives your videos a better shot at showing up in search results.

You can also filter these results by country, which is super helpful if your target audience is in a specific region. Don’t force keywords that don’t fit naturally, though. your title should accurately describe your video and be engaging. Unlock Your YouTube Growth: A Deep Dive into the Semrush YouTube Channel and Beyond

Spotting Trends: Fast-Growing Keywords

The “Fast-growing keywords” tab is an absolute goldmine for content creators. This section highlights keywords that are seeing a recent upward tick in search volume, meaning they are trending topics.

Keeping an eye on these can help you:

Jump on Trends Early: If you can create relevant content around a fast-growing keyword before it gets saturated, you could ride that wave of increased interest.
Adapt Trends to Your Niche: Even if a trend doesn’t directly fit your channel, you might find a way to “newsjack” it, creating a unique angle that ties back to your content. For example, if a popular song is trending, and you run a podcast production channel, you could analyze its production style.

This tab lets you discover YouTube keyword trends in various countries and even shows the most popular videos related to each one, giving you some serious content inspiration.

Learning from the Best: Analyzing Top Videos

Another really cool feature within Keyword Analytics for YouTube is the ability to check “Most viewed videos” for hot topics and inspiration. When you enter a keyword, the tool can link you to popular videos related to that topic.

Looking at these top-ranking videos can teach you a lot: Mastering YouTube with Semrush Analytics: Your Ultimate Guide

Understand Search Intent: What kind of videos rank for a particular term? Are they tutorials, reviews, vlogs, or explainers? This helps you tailor your content to what users expect.
Get Format Ideas: How are these successful videos structured? What kind of thumbnails do they use? What’s their video length? You don’t have to copy them, but you can definitely learn what works.
Spot Content Gaps: Are there angles or questions that top videos aren’t fully addressing? That could be your opportunity!

Leveraging Other Semrush Tools for YouTube Gold

While the dedicated YouTube tools are fantastic, other core Semrush features can also be incredibly useful for your YouTube strategy.

The Keyword Magic Tool: Expanding Your Horizon

This is one of Semrush’s most comprehensive keyword research tools, and it’s not just for Google SEO. You can absolutely use it to brainstorm ideas for YouTube.

Here’s how to make it work for you:

Broad Keyword Ideas: Start by typing in a broad seed keyword related to your niche. The Keyword Magic Tool will generate tens of thousands of related keywords.
Filter for Video SERP Features: A powerful trick is to use the “Advanced filters” and specifically look for keywords that trigger “Video,” “Featured video,” or “Video carousel” in Google’s search results. Why? Because if videos are ranking for these terms on Google, there’s a good chance people are also looking for video content on YouTube for those same topics. This can drive viewers from Google directly to your YouTube videos.
“Questions” Filter for Video Topics: People often go to YouTube looking for answers to specific questions. Use the “Questions” filter in the Keyword Magic Tool to find popular “how-to,” “what is,” and “why” queries. These are perfect for tutorial or explainer videos.
Long-Tail, Low-Competition Keywords: Especially if you’re a newer channel, focus on long-tail keywords more specific, usually longer phrases with lower Keyword Difficulty KD. These are often easier to rank for and can bring in highly targeted viewers. Semrush allows you to filter by keyword difficulty e.g., “Very Easy” or “Easy” to find these opportunities.

Topic Research Tool: Uncovering Content Gaps

Ever feel stuck for new video ideas? The Topic Research Tool is fantastic for breaking through that creative block. Unleashing Your YouTube Potential: Mastering Keyword Research with Semrush

Find Content Clusters: Input a broad topic, and Semrush will show you a mind map of related subtopics, popular questions, and even compelling headlines that are resonating with audiences.
Develop Video Series: This tool can help you identify a central “pillar” topic for your channel and then suggest many subtopics that you could turn into individual videos, forming a cohesive series. For example, if your pillar is “cooking for beginners,” subtopics could be “easy weeknight meals,” “basic knife skills,” or “pantry staples.”
Identify Popular Questions: Just like the Keyword Magic Tool, the Topic Research Tool highlights questions people are asking, giving you direct prompts for video content that provides value and answers.

Competitor Analysis: What Your Rivals Are Doing and Missing!

Learning from your competitors is a fundamental part of any successful strategy, and Semrush gives you multiple ways to do it.

Direct YouTube Competitor Insights via Keyword Analytics for YouTube: As mentioned, the “Top Videos” feature within Keyword Analytics for YouTube helps you see which videos are performing well for specific keywords. By looking at these, you can identify which channels are dominating certain topics and understand their successful strategies for titles, thumbnails, and content.
Indirect Competitor Insights using Domain Overview/Organic Research: Here’s a clever workaround: many successful YouTubers also have websites or blogs. You can often find a competitor’s website linked in their YouTube channel description.
- Take that website URL and plug it into Semrush’s Domain Overview or Organic Research tool.
- Here, you can see their top organic keywords for Google search.
- Look for video-related terms they rank for on Google. This can give you clues about the kinds of video content they are prioritizing, or topics where they might be successfully driving traffic from Google to their YouTube videos.
- This approach helps you uncover their broader content strategy, which often includes their video efforts.

Optimizing Your YouTube Videos for Maximum Reach

Finding the right keywords is just the first step. The next crucial part is actually using them effectively to optimize your videos.

Titles: Your video title is one of the most important elements for both the algorithm and potential viewers. Always include your main keyword, ideally towards the beginning of the title often called “frontloading”. Keep it engaging and accurately descriptive of your video’s content.
Descriptions: Don’t just write a couple of sentences. Aim for a description of 200+ words that naturally incorporates your main keyword and related terms. Think of your description as a mini-blog post for your video. It helps YouTube understand the context and content of your video, and it also gives viewers more information.
Tags: While YouTube itself has indicated that tags might have a minimal direct impact on search results compared to titles and descriptions, many creators still use them, and they can help with discoverability. Include your primary keyword, close variations, and a mix of general and specific tags. Add video-specific tags like “how-to,” “tutorial,” or “review” if applicable. Semrush’s tools can help you identify popular tags used by top-performing videos in your niche.
Thumbnails: A captivating, high-quality thumbnail is critical for click-through rate. It needs to reflect the search intent and accurately represent your video. Semrush doesn’t directly create thumbnails, but by analyzing top videos, you can see what kind of thumbnails grab attention in your niche.
Closed Captions CC and Timestamps: Adding closed captions not only improves accessibility but also gives YouTube more text to understand your video’s content, boosting SEO. Timestamps or video chapters enhance user experience and engagement, as viewers can easily navigate to specific parts of your video.
Focus on Engagement and Watch Time: YouTube’s algorithm loves engagement signals like likes, comments, and shares, as well as watch time. The longer people watch your videos, the more YouTube promotes them. This means creating high-quality, valuable, and engaging content is paramount.
Cross-Promotion: Embed your videos on your website or blog, and share them across your social media channels. This expands your reach and can drive more initial views, signaling to YouTube that your video is popular.

Tracking Your YouTube Performance with Semrush

Once you’ve optimized and published your videos, you don’t want to just forget about them. Tracking your performance is essential to understanding what’s working and what needs adjustment. Cách xài semrush for content marketing

Semrush’s Rank Tracker for YouTube tool is specifically designed for this. It allows you to monitor the search rankings for your videos on YouTube.

Here’s what it can show you:

Average Ranking: Get an overview of how your videos are performing for their target keywords.
Keyword Distribution: See a breakdown of how many of your keywords rank in the “top 3,” “top 10,” “top 20,” and so on. This helps you identify your strongest content and areas for improvement.
Keyword Movement: Track keywords that have gained rankings, lost rankings, or stayed the same over time. This helps you react quickly to changes in performance.

You can easily import your target keywords into the Rank Tracker from YouTube Studio or Semrush’s Keyword Manager, making the setup process smooth. Regularly evaluating this data and adjusting your strategies like updating old video metadata with new keyword research is how you truly master YouTube SEO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Semrush show YouTube search volume directly?

Yes, Semrush’s “Keyword Analytics for YouTube” app is specifically designed to provide estimated search volume and competitive rates for keywords directly on YouTube. While Google doesn’t release exact search volume figures for YouTube, Semrush uses its own data aggregation, which often includes clickstream data and other methodologies, to provide these valuable insights.

Cách Xài Semrush “Xịn”: Hướng Dẫn Từng Bước để Thống Trị SEO

Can Semrush track YouTube video rankings?

Absolutely! Semrush offers a “Rank Tracker for YouTube” tool within its App Center. This tool allows you to monitor your videos’ performance by tracking their keyword rankings on YouTube, showing you metrics like average ranking and keyword distribution e.g., how many rank in the top 3, top 10, etc..

How accurate is Semrush’s YouTube data?

Semrush calculates its search volume by analyzing various data sources, including search engine results and user behavior patterns. It aggregates data from multiple sources and uses algorithms that account for historical data, real-time statistics, geographic differences, and seasonal trends to provide a reliable picture of keyword popularity. While no third-party tool can provide exact search volume numbers directly from YouTube as Google doesn’t release them, Semrush’s figures in its “Keyword Analytics for YouTube” app are generally considered reliable estimates for strategic planning.

Is Semrush worth it for small YouTube channels?

Yes, Semrush can be incredibly valuable for small YouTube channels. It helps you identify low-competition keywords with decent search volume, which is crucial for newer channels trying to gain visibility against larger competitors. By finding these “easy wins,” small channels can build authority and slowly target higher-volume keywords over time, making it an excellent investment for growth.

How do I find trending YouTube topics using Semrush?

To find trending YouTube topics, use the “Fast-growing keywords” tab within Semrush’s “Keyword Analytics for YouTube” app. This feature highlights keywords that are experiencing an upward trend in search volume, allowing you to quickly spot emerging topics and create timely content. Similarweb vs. Semrush vs. Ahrefs: Which SEO Powerhouse is Right for You?

Can Semrush help with YouTube competitor analysis?

Definitely! Semrush offers several ways to analyze competitors. Directly, its “Keyword Analytics for YouTube” can show you top-performing videos for specific keywords, giving you insight into what successful channels are doing. Indirectly, you can use Semrush’s Domain Overview or Organic Research tools to analyze a competitor’s website often linked from their YouTube channel. This helps you understand their broader content strategy and identify keywords they target, which can inspire your video content.

0.0

0.0 out of 5 stars (based on 0 reviews)

Excellent0%

Very good0%

Average0%

Poor0%

Terrible0%

There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write one.

Amazon.com: Check Amazon for Cracking the YouTube
Latest Discussions & Reviews:

BestFREE.nl

Cracking the YouTube Code: Your Guide to Semrush Keyword Research