Short answer: YouTube does not publish a keyword competition score. The scores you see come from third-party tools such as TubeBuddy and vidIQ, which estimate how hard a term is from search volume and the strength of the videos already ranking. To judge competition yourself, search the keyword on YouTube, study the top 10 videos (exact-match titles, channel size, age, views) and pick terms where demand is steady but the results are weak, old or off-target.
This guide is for creators and marketers who want to choose YouTube topics they can realistically rank for, rather than going head to head with channels a hundred times their size. You will learn what a competition score actually measures, how to check competition by hand in ten minutes, which tools are worth using, and how to turn a chosen keyword into a title, description and video that YouTube can match to the search.
What a YouTube keyword competition score actually is
A competition score is an estimate, made by a tool, of how difficult it would be for your video to appear near the top of YouTube search for a phrase. YouTube itself does not show one, and it does not publish search volumes either. Every number you see is a third-party model built from things like:
- Estimated search volume for the phrase on YouTube.
- How well optimised the top results are, for example whether the exact phrase is in their titles, descriptions and tags.
- The authority of the channels ranking: subscribers, views and how often they publish on the topic.
- Engagement on the ranking videos, such as views relative to age.
Different tools weight these differently, so the same keyword can score “low competition” in one and “high” in another. Treat a score as a shortlist filter, then check the real results yourself. This is the same habit I recommend for website keyword research: tools give you candidates, the results page gives you the truth.
How YouTube decides which videos rank
Understanding what YouTube rewards tells you what “competition” really means. According to YouTube’s own explanation of search, it looks at three main elements:
| Element | What YouTube says it checks | What it means for competition |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well the title, tags, description and video content match the query | Results that do not match the query closely are beatable with a well-targeted video |
| Engagement | Overall user engagement, such as watch time for a video on that query | A video people watch to the end can outrank one with more views |
| Quality | Which channels show expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness on the topic | Channels with a track record on the topic are harder to displace |
YouTube also personalises results using search and watch history where that is turned on, so two people can see different results for the same phrase. When you check competition, use a private browser window so your own history does not colour what you see.
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How to check keyword competition by hand
When I assess a YouTube keyword for a client, I do this before trusting any tool score. It takes about ten minutes per phrase.
- Search the exact phrase in a private window and look at the first 10 videos (ignore ads and Shorts shelves for now).
- Count exact-match titles. How many of the 10 have the phrase, or a close variant, in the title? If most do, creators are deliberately targeting it.
- Check channel size. How many of the 10 come from channels far bigger than yours (say, ten times your subscriber count or more)? This is a quick version of the competitor analysis I do for websites.
- Check age. How many are more than two years old? Old videos on a changing topic (software, prices, rules) are a sign YouTube has nothing better to show.
- Check fit. Do the top videos actually match the intent behind the search? A query like “how to file tax return Pakistan” answered by a general finance vlog is an opening.
- Check demand. Use autocomplete, tool volume estimates and the Trends tab (below) to confirm people actually search it.
Enter what you found into the calculator to turn it into a rough score.
Manual YouTube competition score
How to read it: this is my own rule-of-thumb weighting for a manual check, not a YouTube or tool metric. Channel size carries the most weight because it is the hardest factor for a small channel to overcome; older results lower the score because they suggest YouTube lacks fresh options. Always combine it with a demand check.
Tools that give a competition score
TubeBuddy Keyword Explorer
TubeBuddy’s Keyword Explorer gives an overall score out of 100 with separate readings for search volume, competition and optimisation strength of the top results. Its most useful feature is the weighted score, which adjusts the rating to your channel’s past performance; the unweighted score judges the keyword in isolation. For a small channel, the weighted figure is the one to use.
vidIQ
vidIQ’s keyword tool shows estimated volume, a competition rating and an overall score, plus related keyword suggestions and the top-ranking videos. It is good for finding variations quickly. As with TubeBuddy, the free tier is limited and the numbers are estimates.
Keywords Everywhere and other extensions
Browser extensions that add volume estimates directly to YouTube search are useful for scanning many ideas at once. I compare the main options, including free alternatives, in my guide to Keywords Everywhere and its alternatives.
Free sources that come from YouTube and Google
- YouTube autocomplete: type your topic slowly in the search bar and note the suggestions. They reflect real searches, and adding letters (a, b, c) after the phrase surfaces more long-tail variations.
- YouTube Studio Trends tab: under Analytics, the Trends tab shows your audience’s top searches and an audience interest measure over the last 28 days. Its Trends tab help page defines a content gap as a search where viewers cannot find enough quality results, which is exactly the low-competition signal you are looking for.
- Google Trends with the YouTube Search filter: shows whether interest is rising, falling or seasonal, which matters as much as volume.
- Google Keyword Planner: its competition column measures advertiser competition for Google Ads, not YouTube ranking difficulty. I would not use it for YouTube competition at all; at most, use it for Google search demand on the same topic.
Reading the results: a decision table
Once you have a score and a demand signal, the decision is usually one of four:
| Demand | Competition | What I would do |
|---|---|---|
| Steady or rising | Low | Make the video now. This is the target you are looking for. |
| Steady or rising | High | Pick a narrower variation (audience, year, location, tool, problem) and link it to the broad topic later. |
| Very low | Low | Only worth it if the few searchers are valuable to you, for example buyers of a high-ticket service. |
| Very low | High | Skip. There is no reason to fight for a search nobody makes. |
Worked example: narrowing a high-competition keyword
Say a new channel wants to rank for “keyword research”. The top 10 are dominated by large marketing channels and most titles contain the exact phrase, so the manual score lands in the high band. Narrowing by audience gives “keyword research for small business”, by tool gives “keyword research with free tools”, and by market gives “keyword research for Pakistani websites” or “keyword research in Urdu”. Checking each one, the last two show older videos, few exact-match titles and smaller channels, so they score in the low band. That is where a new channel should start. The broad term can be targeted later, once the channel has several well-watched videos on the topic. The same idea applies on websites, and my guide to long-tail keywords explains why.
A local angle that is often missed
In Pakistan many people search YouTube in Roman Urdu or mix English and Urdu (“laptop price in Pakistan”, “online earning kaise kare”, “SEO course in Urdu”). Tools often under-report these phrases, but autocomplete shows them clearly, and the results are frequently thinner than their English equivalents. If your audience searches this way, check both versions before you decide a topic is too competitive.
Optimising your video once you have chosen a keyword
Picking a low-competition phrase only helps if YouTube can match your video to it and viewers stay. For the full process, see my guide to video search optimisation; the essentials are below.
Title
Put the main phrase near the start, in natural wording, and make the promise clear. Keep the important part early, because long titles are cut off on mobile.
Description
YouTube says the title, thumbnail and description are more important metadata for discovery than tags. Write the first two lines as a plain summary that includes the phrase, then add chapters (timestamps), related links and a short explanation of what the video covers.
Tags
According to YouTube’s help page on tags, tags play a minimal role in discovery and are mainly useful when your topic is commonly misspelt. Add a few accurate ones and move on; adding excessive tags to the description is against YouTube’s spam policies.
Say the keyword in the video
YouTube checks whether the video content matches the query, and auto-generated captions give it a transcript. Saying the topic clearly in the first 30 seconds helps both relevance and viewers who want to know they are in the right place.
Thumbnail and engagement
Thumbnails do not rank videos, but they decide whether people click (the same idea as click-through rate in search), and watch time on the query is part of how YouTube judges engagement. A focused, well-paced video that keeps its promise does more than any keyword placement. My tips on getting more views on YouTube cover retention in more depth.
Use related terms naturally
You will see advice to add “LSI keywords”. YouTube has never said it uses latent semantic indexing; what matters is covering the topic fully, so related terms appear naturally. My post on LSI and related keywords explains the myth and the useful part of the idea.
Mistakes I see creators make
- Choosing a keyword only because a tool shows a green score, without looking at the actual results.
- Targeting the broadest possible phrase on a new channel.
- Using Google Ads competition data as if it measured YouTube ranking difficulty.
- Stuffing 30 tags and a block of keywords into the description.
- Writing a title that matches the keyword but a video that does not deliver it, which hurts watch time on exactly the query you targeted.
- Ignoring the topic’s money potential; it is worth checking the most profitable YouTube niches before investing in a series.
Frequently asked questions
Does YouTube show keyword competition?
No. YouTube does not publish search volumes or competition scores. The Trends tab in YouTube Studio shows your audience’s top searches, an audience interest measure and content gaps, which you can use as competition signals, but numeric scores come from third-party tools.
What is a good keyword score in TubeBuddy or vidIQ?
Each tool uses its own scale and method, so there is no universal good number. In general, higher overall scores mean a better balance of volume and competition. For a small channel, use TubeBuddy’s weighted score and confirm by checking the top results by hand.
Are low-competition keywords worth targeting if search volume is small?
Often, yes. A small, specific search that you can rank first for usually brings more views than a big search where you sit on page three. Several small wins also build the channel authority you need for broader terms later.
Do tags still matter for YouTube SEO?
Only a little. YouTube says tags play a minimal role in discovery and are mainly useful for commonly misspelt topics. Your title, thumbnail, description and the video itself matter much more.
Can I use Google Keyword Planner for YouTube keywords?
Use it with care. Its volumes are for Google search and its competition figure measures advertiser bidding, not how hard a YouTube ranking is. It can confirm general interest in a topic, but check YouTube itself for competition.
Sources
- YouTube Help, “How YouTube search works” (accessed 2026).
- YouTube Help, “Add tags to your videos” (accessed 2026).
- YouTube Help, “Explore trends on YouTube” (Trends tab in YouTube Studio, accessed 2026).
- Pew Research Center, “Many Turn to YouTube for Children’s Content, News, How-To Lessons” (November 2018).
If YouTube is part of a wider search strategy for your business, my SEO services cover keyword research across Google and YouTube together, or you can send me a question about your channel.
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