There’s a lot of data about Youtube Video Ranking and SEO. And looking for a tool for it is almost impossible. I have researched a few good tools, and could not find an article or blog post which could compare these top SEO tools to one another.
Therefore, I decided to create one myself. Those review sites are very good, but they don’t compare all of them head-to-head, so that’s why I have created this blog post.
Google Trends
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
Google Ads
Taking the time to find the perfect keyword/s for your content is probably the best investment you can make while laying out your YouTube strategy.
While we’re on the free first-hand data sources, let’s turn to Google Ads’ Keyword Planner. With a topic in mind, you can run a raw keyword research in order to identify search terms and queries with the highest potential.
Keyword Planner fetches tons of keyword ideas based on your seed keyword/phrase, search settings and filters (if any) specified. You can take a closer look at the average monthly searches and competition to single out the best fits. You can then export your keyword list in one click, with all metrics included.
Side perk: Enter up to ten keywords at a time – putting in a URL also works
Pricing: The tool is free
Kparser
Kparser is another easy-to-use paid keyword research tool that focuses on long-tail keywords. You can add keywords before and after your target keyword (similar to Keyword.io) but Kparser lets you choose the parsing depth.
YTRank
YTRank is a super simple free tool you can use to track YouTube rankings for a target keyword. Just choose the location you want, add your YouTube video URL, and add your keywords.
Research Profitable Tags
YouTube tags are words and phrases that let YouTube know what your video is about. Like keywords, tags are an important ranking factor in YouTube’s search algorithm. Here you’ll find YouTube optimization tools that will help you find the most profitable tags for your YouTube videos.
RapidTags
RapidTags is a free tool that quickly generates tags you can use for Youtube. You can apply a language filter for different locations. Just enter your target keyword into the search box and you’ll get a list of tags you can use on your YouTube videos.
Rank Tracker
For next-level keyword research, you can also use YouTube autocomplete – either on the platform itself or via a designated keyword research and analysis tool such as 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.
TubeBuddy
Optimizing your video content is just as essential as optimizing the content of your webpages – only that there’s no time to waste when it comes to YouTube SEO. Forty-eight hours after your video goes live is your metadata optimization deadline – once you miss that, the algorithm marks your content as less timely, which makes it extra hard to make a comeback.
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.
TubeBuddy also provides optimization tips, and suggestions for boosting your channel’s growth. Additionally, the tool can provide automated checks to ensure that your videos are set up correctly (i.e. meeting YouTube’s recommendations).
Side perk: Utilize the ‘Vid2Vid’ feature to promote your older videos in the descriptions of new uploads
Pricing: Paid plans start at $9/mo (Pro), $19/mo (Star), $49/mo (Legend) – a free version is also available.
VidIQ
VidIQ is another channel management toolkit which operates as a browser extension, displaying crucial stats for all the YouTube videos you open – which means effortless competitor research and advanced analytics for each and every video you can find.
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/mo (Pro), $39/mo (Boost); free and Enterprise versions available.
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.
Google Keyword Planner
Google offers tons of free tools that creators can use to find just the right keywords to include in their content. Google Keyword Planner is a great tool. You can access Google Keyword Planner from your Google Ads dashboard (you don’t have to run ads to use it). It will help you find the keywords that are worth the most for Google searches so you can plug those keywords into your YouTube descriptions and titles.
Keyword Tool (Keywordtool.io)
Keyword Tool is a freemium tool you can use to find topics that your viewers might be interested in based on what they’re likely to search for. Just enter a high-level keyword or topic and Keyword Tool will give you suggestions in the form of questions, prepositions, and even hashtags. The paid version starts at $69/month and gives you access to search volumes, cost-per-click, competition data, and trends.
SE Ranking
SE Ranking is a keyword tracking tool that lets users run daily checks on YouTube rankings for any location and device. You can even set a target URL for each search and all of the non-target URLs will show up in red. You can track rankings on five search engines and up to five competitors.
SerpStat
SerpStat is a keyword research tool that gives you insight into what your competitors are doing. You provide one target keyword and SerpStat will provide suggestions that you can rank for as well as finding search terms that potential leads are looking for.
TagsForYouTube
The free TagsForYouTube Chrome extension lets you see the video tags for any video by clicking show more under the video description. This is a great way to find out what tags your competitors are using in their videos so you can use them, too.
Keep Your Comments Clean
Moderating your YouTube comments is important. Not only do comments play into YouTube’s algorithm, but keeping your comments clean helps to keep the information your audience receives accurate and improves your brand’s reputation and credibility. Here you’ll find YouTube optimization tools that will help keep your comment sections safe.
Conclusion
There are hundreds of YouTube tools that can help you analyze and improve your channel’s SEO, watch time, interactions with viewers. Keyword research is also a place where you can use YouTube tools with most interesting data and most interesting interviews with most popular YouTubers.