When you think of search engines, it’s usually Google, Microsoft Bing, and Yahoo. Yet YouTube is one of the largest search engines in the world, with more than 2 billion monthly active users.

1. Find a topic with Google Trends

Most people consider YouTube a social media platform. And it is, but it also behaves a lot like a traditional search engine. Visitors enter a query and get a list of videos ranked by relevance.

Optimizing your video content is critical for ranking in search so the audience can find you on YouTube. Fortunately, many of the traditional SEO rules apply to YouTube, too: Find the right keywords to communicate relevance, design a good user experience to drive engagement, and use analytics to find and fix whatever is not working.

Nothing helps YouTube optimization quite as much as the audience’s genuine interest in the topics you cover. 'YouTube-able' content comes in all shapes and sizes - the trick is to find yours.

Start exploring with Google Trends. To do this, type in your focus topic, specify 'YouTube Search', then pick a geographical region, category, and time period at which to narrow down the results.

You can take this a step further by adding a topic to compare your focus topic to, in order to see how they compare against each other.



Google Trends also offers a list of related queries for each topic, as well as maps which highlight audience interest across regions. You can also download, embed and share all of this data if needed.

Side perk: Spot breakout trends as part of related queries to boost your videos ranking potential

Pricing: Absolutely free

 

2. YouTube autocomplete

The first place to look for the right keywords is YouTube’s autocomplete feature – start typing your seed keyword into the search bar and see how YouTube interprets it by showing autocomplete suggestions:



Side perk: Start typing your seed keyword 

Pricing: The tool is free

3. Step up your keyword research with Rank Tracker

Rank Tracker lets you pull keyword ideas from YouTube’s suggestions, and highlights vital metrics, such as search volume, expected visits, competition, etc.

You can also use Rank Tracker to run a quick ranking check, and yield the keywords that deliver video results in featured snippets. Take note of the keywords with the highest search volume - those are most likely to help you rank in organic search.  


Side perk: Set YouTube as the search engine to track your videos' rankings once they’re up and running

Pricing: Paid versions start at $124 (Professional) and $299 (Enterprise) - free version and trial available

4. Do your metadata homework with TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is one of the most feature-rich apps for running and optimizing your YouTube channel. You can use it to analyze your channel’s stats and perform competitive research. You can also use it to edit your video data (thumbnails, annotations, and descriptions).


Tool up with TubeBuddy, a browser extension which eases channel maintenance, and lends a helping hand with things like titles, descriptions, tags, annotations, cards and more.


Once integrated into YouTube, the tool will provide you with valuable insights on all the YouTube videos that you open. Maximize your organic reach by fetching any videos' tags, and save tons of time you’d spend looking for the best fits within the 500-character limit.






Side perk: Utilize the 'Vid2Vid' feature to promote your older videos in the descriptions of new uploads

Pricing: Paid plans start at $9/month (Pro), $19/month (Star), $49/month (Legend) - a free version is also available

Tubics and Quintly

Try tubics for keyword research, channel audit, and more. A similar tool, quintly, provides a convenient reporting feature in addition to data on subscribers, engagement, watch time, and so on. Though quintly wasn’t specifically created for YouTube, it’s easy to integrate.

5. Manage like a pro with VidIQ

VidIQ is another channel management toolkit which operates as a browser extension, analyzes videos on the go and provides a summary on the page, complete with tags and other information.


The tool’s 'Most Viewed' feature lets you identify and match YouTube’s best performing videos against each other. For further intelligence, you can add specific competitor channels, and compare them against your own. With your own 24/7 channel audit on hand, you can see which practices you should consider implementing to boost performance.





You can take it a step further and set up email alerts to keep an eye on trending topics within your field (or your competitors’ channels). And for enhanced outreach, you can use the 'Facebook Syndication' feature, and share your video instantly across platforms (though you should exercise caution when cross-posting).

Side perk: Bulk copy cards and end screens, bulk edit end screens.

Pricing: Paid plans start at $7.50/month (Pro), $39/month (Boost); free and Enterprise versions available.


6.  Introspect your channel with YouTube Analytics

YouTube Analytics is simply the best when it comes to identifying your channel’s strengths and weak points.

Learning more about your audience, the content that grabs their attention - and makes them stay - as well as the videos they want to share, gives you crucial insights for maintaining and growing your YouTube presence.

We know for a fact that longer videos perform better. We also know that all YouTube algorithms are focused on watch time, so it makes perfect sense to have a closer look at Watch Time and Realtime reports to examine your average view duration, average percentage viewed, as well as audience retention.



Being aware of which of your videos drive subscribes is also a must, since new subscribers give you a significant advantage in YouTube search. Encouraging your audience to subscribe, like and comment - when executed successfully - is a sure way to get a ranking boost.

Side perk: Study your Interaction reports from the last six months to spot patterns in likes, favorites, comments, or sharing

Pricing: The tool is absolutely free.

7. Research your competitors

Several tools can give you a rich profile of your competitors’ YouTube presence. Use this information to create more effective videos and text-based content.

Rival IQ

With Rival IQ, you can see a general outline of a competitor’s growth, what works, what doesn’t, what tags they are using, and so on.


8. NoxInfluencer

This tool helps you evaluate your channel and shows you the best-performing videos in a category or location. That makes it indispensable in SEO research.

9. Mix up your visuals with Canva

Channel art may not be the first thing on your mind when laying out the course of your YouTube optimization strategy. However, in a world of tools like Canva, getting creative has never been easier - so why miss out?

A freemium graphic design app, Canva is there to help you manifest your inner designer, via all sorts of visuals - be it a logo or a mind map. As part of your YouTube SEO efforts, expressing your artistic self can be done through developing channel art and thumbnails to increase your click-through rates.

You can start from scratch or browse through the categories and pick any of the templates the app has to offer: Canva’s drag-and-drop interface lets you use professionally designed layouts to further customize them, creating unique and compelling visuals, and re-inventing your channel’s looks.



Side perk: You can also use Canva’s mobile app to create designs and collaborate on projects while on the go

Pricing: Canva Pro comes at $12.95/month, Enterprise is available on request. There's also a free plan.