YouTube is extremely competitive. According to Tubics, there are 38 million active channels. 15 million of them are content creators, and 22,000 have already crossed the 1 million subscribers mark. In this context, creators must use multiple tools to attract viewer attention and rank well on YouTube’s search engine.
YouTube works similarly to Google, it ranks videos according to their relevance and value and requires a mindful SEO strategy. One tool that has proven to be really useful for this job is Youtube Research Insights. Basically, it allows you to perform keyword research for video SEO and you can use it directly from Youtube Studio.
The new YouTube keyword research tool displays data from all searches on YouTube and from your viewers. In other words, it provides valuable information so that you can create better content that ranks.
If you want to learn more about how Youtube Research Insights can help you develop your video SEO strategy, then this post is for you.
We’ll explain:
- YouTube Analytics at a glance
- What the YouTube keyword research tool for video SEO is
- How Youtube keyword research works
- Why use it to improve your video SEO strategy
Let’s dive in!
Understanding the Youtube Research Tool for Video SEO
Video is one of the most relevant types of content marketing. Videos are perfect for optimizing brand communication to the fullest. That’s why so many businesses are using YouTube as part of their strategy!
According to John Latimer, Head of Content at CoachHub:
“Video content matters most for two reasons: first, videos keep users engaged on your site longer which is valuable to Google. Second,videos are a great way to build backlinks because they can be shared easily and often go viral.”
However, it’s fair to say that just because your numbers are looking good on Instagram or on your website, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get the same results on YouTube. Each platform will require unique strategies to maximize discoverability.
YouTube Studio offers an ideal feature for this task, called YouTube Analytics. With Youtube Analytics you can get an overview of your channel, and the interactions your viewers have with it. This data can help you further understand user preferences and optimize your content accordingly.
Last April, a new and interesting tool was added to Analytics: YouTube Research Insights.
We’ll dig deeper into it later in this article. But first let’s take a closer look at the YouTube Analytics tab, where you’ll find Research Insights.
Getting started: YouTube Analytics at a glance
Understanding a channel’s activity is crucial to developing an audience on YouTube. That’s what Google says, and it simply makes sense.
According to Marc Stitt, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at FMX:
“Search data is a valuable source of consumer intent and behavior insights. Literally, it consists of people discussing their interests. These data, when aggregated, can indicate trends and shifting preferences, which can inform content production for your websites and other online platforms. These insights can also provide information that can be utilized to help other marketing campaigns.”
You can get key user insights by looking at the YouTube Studio dashboard’s analytics tab.
There, you’ll find:
Your channel’s basic performance metrics → The Overview section provides watch time, views, and subscribers.
The number of users you reach and the way they discover your content → The Reach section provides information on how the public finds you.
Your audience’s participation rate → The Engagement tab shows the average number of views, what elements viewers find more interesting in your video, and the likes and dislikes.
Insights into your viewership → The Audience tab shows visitors who have watched your videos, average views per user, and subscribers.
How much money do you make from your channel → The Revenue tab shows which videos are most profitable and how much money they bring in.
And, of course, the new feature:
What your target audience searches for on YouTube → The Research tab shows what users are looking for on the platform, and it’s great to get content ideas.
If you want to learn more about YouTube Analytics, take a look at this short video from the YouTube team:
Now, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the new YouTube keyword research tool, YouTube Research Insights.
What Are YouTube Research Insights?
Research Insights is a research keyword tool for YouTube that shows users’ search behavior in the last 28 days. It’s specifically designed to help you tailor your video content to your target audience’s current interests.
YouTube Research Insights lets you know:
- What search queries are trending on the platform
- What your audience is looking for
- What the estimated search volume for each query is
- Content gaps for a particular search term
How Does YouTube Research Insights Work?
Youtube Research Insights is very easy to use:
- Log in to YouTube Studio.
- Once you’re there, go to the Analytics section.
- Next, click on the Research tab.
Inside the Research tab, you will see three new sub-tabs:
- Searches across YouTube, where you can see what users are searching for across a wide range of topics and keywords.
- Your viewer searches, which provides insight into what your audience or competitors’ audiences are searching for on YouTube.
- Saved, which shows all the search terms you have saved.
Let’s examine each one briefly.
Searches across YouTube
As the tab’s name implies, Searches Across YouTube covers all users’ searches across the platform.
How does it work? Well, if you search “Tips“, you’ll see the most relevant results based on popular searches. Linus tech tips, hair growth tips, beauty tips, and more.
By having a general overview of what’s going on on Youtube searches, you can find trending topics in your niche, and come up with new ideas for future videos.
Your Viewer Searches
The Your Viewer Searches tab shows the most relevant search engine results based on your target audience. In other words, here you will find keywords related to the content you provide on your channel. YouTube Research Insights classifies the search volume of these keywords into high, medium, and low. Plus, they are filtered by geographic areas and content gaps.
But wait, what is a content gap? Content gaps happen when users perform a search and:
- They don’t find any results for what they are looking for
- The search results aren’t accurate
- The search results are of poor quality
In short, the Content Gap feature makes it possible for you to detect opportunities in your niche and make the most of them. This is probably one of Research Insights’ best tools.
According to John Latimer, Head of Content at CoachHub:
“The Content Gap feature has a lot of potential. There is a chance for content creators to fill in the gap and deliver content that is not currently covered by the videos on the platform.”
Saved
Under the Saved tab, you can see all the keywords you saved during previous searches:
Run out of ideas? You may have already found a relevant search term before and now you can use it as a starting point for your new content. Organizing your video content inspiration is easy with this tab.
Why use YouTube Research Insights to improve your video SEO strategy
A consistent, user-focused SEO strategy is crucial to building your audience and generating a steady stream of qualified leads. Similar to ranking a website in the SERPs, choosing the right keywords for SEO should be an essential step in your YouTube content strategy.
Through YouTube SEO, you can:
- Learn more about your users’ interests
- Build better content that resonates with them
- Increase your discoverability
All in all, your video SEO strategy can benefit from YouTube Research Insights because:
- You can use it to brainstorm keywords and topics with traffic potential. What keywords do people look up? What are the most popular videos associated with that search?
- You can use your saved list to find the right keywords for your future content, and evaluate Are these keywords highly competitive? Do you want to start there?
- You can broaden your thinking and strive to deliver better content without constantly competing with the giants. Which keywords are less competitive but have high search volumes?
In addition, it’s important to note that all data is aggregated, so it’s not possible to track single users.
Key Takeaways
YouTube Research Insights is a new analytics tool that lets you optimize your content, and gain new insights to improve your search rankings.
Aside from the info, we shared about YouTube’s new SEO tool, if there’s one idea we’d like you to take from this article is that your SEO efforts shouldn’t be exclusive to just one platform.
Google SEO isn’t enough. And likewise, YouTube SEO works best when complemented with efforts beyond the video streaming platform. And SEO isn’t just about content. Your website’s code could severely affect your content’s discoverability.
SEORadar is a technical SEO tool that monitors your website’s code so you don’t have to. We’ll let you know if we find changes that may affect your SERP positioning, so you can take action before your traffic drops.
Curious? Start a free trial or schedule a demo today.
