You do not need a paid tool to find out what people type into YouTube. The search box already suggests phrases as you type. The Keyword and Tag Suggestions tool collects them for you in one list.
Where the suggestions come from
YouTube's search predictions help page says predictions come from what other people are searching for (including trending searches), the searches and watch history of a signed-in user who has activity turned on, and the words you have typed. YouTube adds that predictions are not answers and not statements by YouTube.
The tool asks for these suggestions without your account, so you see the general suggestions rather than ones shaped by your own history.
How to do keyword research with YouTube search suggestions
- Enter a broad topic, such as "video editing".
- Read the list. Look for phrases that show a real need, such as "video editing for beginners on phone".
- Pick the phrase that matches your video most closely. Do not stretch it to fit.
- Put it in your title, in the first lines of your description, and say it in the first part of the video.
- Check the real search results on YouTube. If the top results are all huge channels, make your angle more specific.
What suggestions can and cannot tell you
They can tell you that people actually search for a phrase, and how they word it.
They cannot tell you how many people search for it, how many videos compete for it, or whether you could rank. The tool does not show search volume or competition, and it does not make any up.
YouTube's search help page says its ranking looks at relevance, engagement and quality. Relevance includes how well the title, tags, description and video content match the search. Engagement includes things like the watch time of a video for a particular query. A keyword gets you into the conversation. The video still has to keep people watching.
Hashtags: the rules that matter
The tool also builds a hashtag list. From YouTube's hashtag help page:
- Hashtags cannot contain spaces. Join words together, like
#VideoEditing. - Out of all the hashtags you add to the description, up to three of the most engaging ones appear by your video title.
- Do not over-tag. If a video has more than 60 hashtags, YouTube says it will ignore every hashtag on it, and over-tagging can lead to removal from search or uploads.
- Do not use hashtags that are unrelated to the video. That falls under misleading metadata.
For almost every video, three to five relevant hashtags is plenty. More does not help.
What about the tags field?
The tool can also build a comma-separated tag list that stops before 500 characters, which is the limit YouTube's API documents for tags. But YouTube's video settings page says tags can help if your topic is commonly misspelled and otherwise "play a minimal role." Your title, thumbnail and description matter more. See the tags guide.
Limits of the tool
- Suggestions can change by country, language and time of day.
- Sometimes the lookup fails because the upstream service is not responding. Try again after a moment.
- A suggested phrase is a starting point. Always write for the viewer, not for the list.
FAQ
How do I find keywords for YouTube videos?
Type your topic into YouTube's search box and read the suggestions, or paste the topic into the Keyword and Tag Suggestions tool to get them all at once. Pick the phrase that fits your video honestly.
Does the tool show search volume?
No. YouTube does not publish search volume in autocomplete, and the tool does not estimate it.
How many hashtags should I use on YouTube?
Three to five relevant ones is a practical number. YouTube shows up to three above your title and says it ignores all hashtags if a video has more than 60.
Do YouTube tags still matter?
A little. YouTube says tags can help with commonly misspelled words and otherwise play a minimal role in discovery.
Why are suggestions different for me and someone else?
Signed-in suggestions can use your own search and watch history. The tool shows the general suggestions.