I’m trying to grow a new YouTube channel and keep hearing that keyword research is crucial for ranking videos and getting more views and subscribers. I’ve tried a few free tools, but most have strict limits or confusing data, so I’m not sure which ones are actually reliable for YouTube SEO. Can anyone recommend the best truly free keyword tools for YouTube, and explain how you use them to find video ideas, titles, tags, and descriptions that actually bring in search traffic?
For pure free YouTube keyword work, I’d start with this stack:
-
YouTube search bar
Type your main topic.
Grab the autosuggest phrases.
Those are real user queries.
Example: type “how to lose belly fat” and collect all A–Z suggestions.
Use them in titles, descriptions, and as content ideas. -
VidIQ free Chrome extension
The free plan is limited, but still useful.
You get:
- Search volume estimate
- Competition score
- Related keywords
Treat their numbers as rough, not precise.
Aim for medium volume, lower competition.
For a new channel, “how to lose belly fat fast for beginners at home” beats “how to lose weight”.
-
TubeBuddy free version
Also has a keyword explorer.
Use it to cross check VidIQ.
If both say “too competitive”, skip it.
If both show ok volume and lower competition, it is worth testing. -
Google Trends
Set “YouTube Search” in the filter.
Compare topics over 12 months.
Pick topics trending up, not down.
This helps you avoid dead topics. -
Free Google Keyword Planner
Use a Google Ads account.
Check monthly searches on Google.
If a keyword has stable or growing search on Google, it often has demand on YouTube too.
Not perfect, but better than guessing.
How to put it together for your channel:
-
Start with your niche
Example, “budget tech reviews”. -
Use YT autosuggest to list 20 to 50 ideas
“best budget phone 2025”
“best phone under 300”
“best budget gaming phone” -
Run each through VidIQ and TubeBuddy
Score them fast.
Pick 10 with lower competition. -
Make focused videos, one main keyword per video
Main keyword in:
Title near the start
First 2 lines of description
First spoken sentence in the video
One or two tags -
Add 3 to 5 related keywords as supporting tags and in the description
Do not stuff.
Write normal sentences that include them.
Most important thing from my own channel
I spent months chasing “best keyword tool” instead of fixing thumbnails and retention.
Views started growing only when:
- Titles matched viewer intent
- Thumbnails made the benefit clear
- First 30 seconds were tight, no rambling
So use free tools to find topics with demand.
Then spend more time on click through rate and watch time.
Keywords help people find you.
Retention makes YouTube keep showing you.
Honestly, the “best free keyword tool” for YouTube is not really a single app, it’s a combo of data + your own testing.
@techchizkid already covered the obvious stack (YT autosuggest, vidIQ, TubeBuddy, Trends, Keyword Planner). I agree with most of that, but I think people lean way too hard on those “scores” and end up paralyzed.
Couple of other angles that help a ton and don’t get mentioned enough:
-
Use YouTube Analytics as your real keyword tool
- After you have even 5–10 videos, go to:
Analytics → Reach → “Traffic source: YouTube search” - Look at the exact phrases people are already using to find you.
- Those are gold because:
- You already have some authority for them
- They reveal variations you never typed into any tool
- Turn the best ones into new, more focused videos.
- Example: You posted “how to edit on capcut,” but people are searching “how to edit capcut velocity on phone.” That’s your next video.
- After you have even 5–10 videos, go to:
-
Steal ideas from top videos’ metadata
This is where I slightly disagree with relying on tools first. I’d start with winners in your niche:- Search your main topic on YouTube.
- Open 5–10 top performing recent videos (last 6–12 months).
- Check:
- Words & phrases in their titles
- Words repeated in first 2–3 lines of description
- Chapters / timestamps (lots of creators stick keywords in there)
- You don’t need a tool to see they’re all using stuff like “for beginners,” “no experience,” “at home,” “without spending money.” Those are modifiers you can stack on your own topics.
- Pattern > software. If all winning titles use “in 5 minutes” and yours says “long form detailed tutorial,” you already lost the click.
-
Use “People also watched” behavior as a keyword guide
This is more subtle than vidIQ scores:- In Analytics → Content → “Suggested videos,” look at which videos send you traffic.
- Then go to those videos and see what target keyword they seem built around.
- Make a video that naturally fits as the “next watch” after that.
- Example: traffic comes from “best budget mic for streaming.” You make:
- “Best settings for that exact mic”
- “How to make this $30 mic sound like a $300 mic”
- You’re not just chasing keywords, you’re chaining viewer intent.
-
Use Reddit and real questions as keyword ideas
This is where tools kinda suck. They show volume, not frustration.- Check subreddits related to your niche.
- Sort by “Top” or “Hot” or search your main topic.
- Look for repeated questions or pain points.
- Take their exact wording, THEN plug into YT search for autosuggest variations.
- Often there’s low competition because no one titled their video like a real human question.
Example: someone posts “Why does my OBS recording look blurry even though my settings are high?” Your title: - “OBS looks blurry even with high quality settings? Fix this.”
-
Use your comments as mini-keyword research
Super low tech, but crazy useful:- Every time someone asks “Can you also show X?” or “What about on Android?” that’s a long tail keyword trying to be born.
- Collect them in a note.
- Make dedicated videos for the questions that repeat.
The “tool” here is literally your viewers spelling out search intent.
-
Ignore “perfect keyword” and ship more tests
This is where I disagree slightly with heavy tool usage. On a new channel, spending an hour finding a “perfect” keyword for each video is kinda cope. You’ll learn faster if you:- Pick a reasonable keyword + long-tail modifier
- Make the video
- Watch: CTR, average view duration, and which search terms actually bring views
The alg cares more about “do people stick around” than “did you hit the ideal keyword difficulty 43 score.”
If you really want a single “tool” answer, I’d say:
- Best pure free “tool”: YouTube search bar + your own analytics
- Everything else is just nice-to-have seasoning
Most creators stuck in keyword tool hell don’t have a keyword problem, they have:
- Boring thumbnails
- Vague titles (“Let’s talk about this…” instead of “How to fix X in 5 minutes”)
- Slow intros (“In this video I’m gonna…” for 30 seconds)
So yeah, use the tools like @techchizkid outlined, but treat them as hints, not gospel. Your real keyword machine is: publish → read Analytics → publish again slightly smarter.
And if it makes you feel better, everyone wastes the first 20 videos anyway.