What Keywords Should Small YouTubers Focus On? (Strategy Guide)

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What Keywords Should Small YouTubers Focus On? (Strategy Guide)

As a small YouTuber, you pour your heart and soul into creating content, but getting it discovered feels like shouting into the void. You've probably heard that keywords are important for YouTube SEO, but figuring out which ones to target – and whether focusing on them is even the right strategy – can be incredibly confusing. You're facing uncertainty about effective keyword research and targeting, and it directly impacts your ability to get videos found in YouTube search and recommendations.

This guide is designed specifically for new and aspiring creators like you. We'll cut through the noise and give you a clear, actionable strategy for using keywords effectively as a small channel, focusing on what actually helps you get discovered and start building momentum.

Why "Traditional" Keyword SEO Isn't Enough (But Still Has a Place for Small Channels)

Let's get one thing straight: YouTube's algorithm is incredibly sophisticated. It's not just a simple keyword matching system like Google search from 15 years ago. While keywords play a role, especially for initial discovery, they are far from the only factor determining whether your video gets seen.

For most large, established channels, the majority of their views come from YouTube's "Browse Features" (videos shown on the homepage) and "Suggested Videos" (videos shown alongside or after the video currently being watched). These rely heavily on viewer behavior – watch time, engagement (likes, comments, shares), and how well a video satisfies the viewer's intent. The algorithm learns which videos keep people watching and recommends them to similar viewers.

However, when you're just starting out, YouTube doesn't have a lot of data on your channel or audience. This is where search can be a valuable starting point. By optimizing your videos for specific search terms, you explicitly tell YouTube what your content is about. This allows the algorithm to test your video with viewers who are actively searching for that topic. If those viewers watch and engage, it signals to YouTube that your video is relevant and valuable, potentially leading to more views from browse and suggested features over time.

So, while you shouldn't base your entire strategy on ranking #1 for a broad keyword, strategically targeting keywords can be a crucial step for initial discovery and helping the algorithm understand your content's topic and target audience.

Finding Your Discovery Keywords: The Long-Tail Advantage

If you try to target broad, highly competitive keywords like "cooking" or "fitness," your small channel videos will likely get buried under millions of videos from massive channels. This is where the concept of long-tail keywords becomes your best friend.

Think of keywords like this:

• Broad Keyword: "cooking"
• Mid-Tail Keyword: "beginner cooking recipes"
• Long-Tail Keyword: "easy healthy chicken breast recipes for beginners"

Long-tail keywords are typically three, four, or even five words long. They are much more specific and target a narrower audience. While fewer people might search for "easy healthy chicken breast recipes for beginners" compared to just "cooking," the people who do search for that phrase know exactly what they're looking for.

Why are long-tail keywords ideal for small channels?

1. Lower Competition: Far fewer channels, especially large ones, are specifically optimizing for these highly specific phrases. This gives your video a much better chance of ranking higher in search results.
2. Higher Conversion: Viewers using long-tail keywords have a strong intent. If your video directly addresses their specific query, they are more likely to watch it completely and engage, sending strong positive signals to the algorithm.
3. Building Topic Authority: Consistently creating high-quality videos around a cluster of related long-tail keywords helps YouTube understand your channel's niche and expertise. This builds 'topic authority,' making it more likely for your videos to be suggested to viewers interested in that broader subject.

How to Find Low-Competition, High-Search-Volume Keywords

The goal is to find long-tail keywords that have a decent amount of search volume but relatively low competition from large channels. Here’s how you can approach this:

1. Use the YouTube Search Bar: Start typing topics related to your niche or video idea into the YouTube search bar. Pay close attention to the auto-suggested terms that appear. These are actual queries people are searching for.
   • Example: If your channel is about fitness, start typing "beginner fitness" and see suggestions like "beginner fitness routine at home no equipment," "beginner fitness workout plan," etc.
2. Analyze Auto-Suggest Results: Look for longer phrases in the auto-suggest list. These are potential long-tail keywords.
3. Search the Long-Tail Keywords: Type the full long-tail keyword into the search bar and analyze the results page.
   • Are the top-ranking videos from massive channels with millions of subscribers?
   • Are the videos directly addressing that specific long-tail query, or are they broader topics?
   • Are the videos relatively old or low quality?
   • If you see an opportunity where there are few high-quality, recent videos from large channels directly targeting that specific long-tail keyword, you've likely found a good target.
4. Analyze Existing Content: Watch some of the top videos for your target long-tail keyword. How comprehensive are they? Is there a way you can create a better, more in-depth, or more engaging video on that exact topic?
5. Leverage AI-Powered Research Tools: Platforms like Subscribr offer integrated research capabilities. Subscribr's Research Assistant can help you explore topics, analyze existing content, and identify potential keyword opportunities. By using tools like Subscribr's channel and video analysis features, you can get insights into what's performing well in your niche and adapt successful concepts (idea transfer) to your own content angle, which often aligns with specific search queries.

For small channels, focusing on keywords with at least a few thousand monthly searches can be a good starting point, especially if the competition is low. If your channel's monetization relies more on selling products or services (rather than just ad revenue), even lower search volume keywords can be valuable if they attract highly qualified viewers interested in your specific offering.

Place your target long-tail keyword naturally in your video title, ideally towards the beginning. Include it in the first few lines of your video description. While tags are less critical than they used to be, including relevant keywords there doesn't hurt. Remember, YouTube's AI transcribes your video and analyzes your thumbnail, so ensure your content, visuals, and spoken words align with your target keyword and topic.

Beyond Keywords: Building Authority and Getting Discovered

Finding the right keywords is just the first step. To truly get discovered and grow on YouTube, you need a holistic strategy that extends far beyond just keyword optimization.

1. Content Quality is King: Your video needs to deliver on the promise of your title and thumbnail. Is the information valuable? Is it presented clearly and engagingly? Does it keep viewers watching? High watch time and audience retention are powerful signals to the algorithm that your content is good and should be recommended to others. Use tools like Subscribr's AI Script Writer and Smart YouTube Script Writer to help structure your content for maximum engagement and retention, ensuring you go from a blank page to a compelling script quickly.
2. Compelling Packaging: Your title and thumbnail are your video's advertisements. They need to be clickable and intriguing to stand out in a crowded feed or search result page. Focus on creating curiosity or clearly stating the benefit of watching the video. Subscribr's title generation system and thumbnail brief creator can assist you in developing packaging that grabs attention while remaining true to your content.
3. Audience Engagement: Encourage likes, comments, and shares. Respond to comments and build a community. Engagement signals to YouTube that your content is sparking conversation and is valuable to viewers.
4. Consistency: Regularly uploading videos, even if it's just once a week, helps you stay on your audience's radar and gives the algorithm more data to understand your channel.
5. Niche Domination: As you consistently create high-quality videos around your target long-tail keywords and related topics, you start building authority in a specific niche. YouTube will recognize you as a go-to channel for that subject, making your videos more likely to appear in browse and suggested feeds for viewers interested in that niche. Subscribr's Niche & Video Ideation features can help you identify profitable sub-niches and analyze top-performing content within them to refine your content strategy.

Building topic authority and dominating your niche is a long-term strategy that pays off. It moves you beyond relying solely on search traffic to getting discovered through YouTube's powerful recommendation engine.

Using Subscribr to Master Your Strategy

Subscribr is designed to help creators like you navigate the complexities of YouTube and implement effective growth strategies. Here's how specific features can assist with the keyword strategy and broader growth goals we've discussed:

• Research Assistant: Explore topics, analyze existing videos (without mentioning competitor tools), and identify potential long-tail keyword opportunities. Subscribr's Research Agents can even prepare detailed reports on niches and topics.
• AI Script Writer & Smart YouTube Script Writer: Go from idea to a structured, engaging script quickly. These tools help ensure your content delivers value and keeps viewers watching, boosting those critical watch time and retention metrics that tell YouTube your video is good.
• Title Generation System & Thumbnail Brief Creator: Develop clickable titles and effective thumbnail concepts that grab attention and improve your click-through rate (CTR), a key factor in YouTube recommending your videos.
• Channel & Video Intel: While you won't get your specific channel data until you link it, you can use these features (like Outlier Score and Velocity Scoring concepts) on your own linked channel within Subscribr to understand which of your videos are performing best and why. This data helps you refine your content strategy based on what resonates most with your audience.
• Niche & Video Ideation: Analyze successful content patterns and identify underserved topics within your niche, helping you discover opportunities that align with both viewer interest and potential keyword targets.

By integrating these tools into your workflow, you can move beyond just guessing about keywords and build a data-informed content strategy focused on creating high-value videos that YouTube's algorithm wants to recommend.

Conclusion

For small YouTubers, keywords are not a magic bullet, but they are a valuable tool for initial discovery and helping YouTube understand your content. Focus on finding low-competition, high-search-volume long-tail keywords that you can genuinely rank for.

However, true YouTube growth comes from creating compelling, high-quality videos that keep viewers engaged. Prioritize delivering value, crafting clickable titles and thumbnails, and consistently publishing content within a defined niche. By combining smart keyword targeting with a strong focus on audience satisfaction and leveraging platforms like Subscribr for research, planning, and optimization, you can overcome the challenge of getting discovered and start building a loyal audience on YouTube.