What Is Keyword Search Volume? + 5 Tools to Check It

Feb 26, 2026 06:45 PM - 1 month ago 52796

Uncovering keyword hunt measurement helps you find keywords pinch imaginable to thrust hunt visibility and moreover postulation to your site.

Today, we’ll show you really to usage free devices to find keyword hunt volumes for position group hunt connected Google and YouTube. You’ll besides study really to find the champion keywords for your site.

What Is Keyword Search Volume?

Keyword hunt measurement is simply a metric that estimates really galore times group hunt a circumstantial keyword successful hunt engines (like Google aliases YouTube).

For example, the monthly measurement for the keyword “what is keyword hunt volume” is 40 searches per period successful the U.K. and 410 searches per period globally.

Keyword Overview dashboard showing UK hunt measurement 40, world measurement 410, and country-level measurement distribution by barroom chart.

You tin find a keyword’s hunt measurement utilizing circumstantial devices (we’ll item immoderate devices shortly).

And arsenic much group hunt utilizing AI platforms for illustration ChatGPT and Gemini, immoderate devices person AI measurement estimates for hunt topics.

Prompt Research dashboard showing AI hunt volume, intent mix, brands mentioned, and root domains for the taxable “ballet.”

AI measurement is abstracted from accepted hunt volume. And this article focuses connected keyword hunt measurement successful hunt engines for illustration Google and YouTube.

Why Is Checking Search Volume Important?

Checking hunt measurement is important because it helps you place really galore group you tin perchance scope via your paid ads and integrated contented if you show for the corresponding keywords.

But hunt measurement unsocial doesn't show you the afloat image of whether a word is worthy targeting. That's why astir devices show measurement alongside metrics for illustration keyword difficulty (how difficult it is to rank for each keyword) and search intent (the logic group are searching for a definite keyword).

5Tools to Check Google Keyword Search Volumes

You tin cheque a keyword’s hunt measurement for Google pinch immoderate of the free devices below.

Tool	Free Requests	Additional Data
Semrush Keyword Overview	5/day	Keyword difficulty, hunt intent, costs per click (CPC), related keywords, SERP overview
SE Ranking	5/day	Keyword difficulty, CPC, SERP overview, related keywords, advertisement history
Searchvolume.io	Unlimited	None
SpyFu	Unlimited	Keyword difficulty, CPC, advertisement history, related keywords, backlinks, ranking history
Google Keyword Planner	Unlimited	CPC, advertisement competition, trends

Semrush Keyword Overview

Semrush's Keyword Overview instrumentality shows the entered keyword’s hunt measurement alongside keyword difficulty, hunt intent, cost per click (CPC), and more.

To usage the free Keyword Overview, participate the word you want to research, take your country, and click "Check Keyword." You tin tally up to 5 requests per day.

Semrush free Keyword Overview instrumentality pinch keyword entered.

You’ll spot the mean number of monthly searches for your keyword on pinch different information needed to guideline your content strategy.

Keyword Checker results showing monthly hunt volume, world hunt volume, intent, keyword difficulty, and CPC data.

A adjuvant characteristic of Keyword Overview is the “SERP Analysis” conception that shows the apical ranking pages and each page’s Authority Score—a metric that calculates a page’s value and SEO strength.

Knowing a site’s Authority Score helps you understand really apt your tract is to rank successful hunt motor results pages (SERPs).

SERP Analysis array showing apical 10 Google results pinch Page Authority Score file highlighted adjacent to referring domains, backlinks, and hunt postulation columns.

Upgrading to a paid Semrush SEO Toolkit scheme gives you higher hunt limits. Plus further accusation for illustration personalized metrics and imaginable postulation estimates to thief you prioritize keywords.

Keyword Overview for “socks” pinch personalized metrics widget highlighted showing measurement 90.5K, Personal KD 78%, imaginable traffic, and CPC $2.20.

SE Ranking

SE Ranking's free keyword tool provides hunt volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC information for up to 5 keywords per day.

I for illustration really SE Ranking besides highlights “Related Keywords” and “Questions” to thief you place different applicable keywords to see successful your content.

Searchvolume.io

Searchvolume.io lets you participate up to 800 keywords astatine erstwhile to get monthly hunt volumes for each of them.

Searchvolume.io doesn’t springiness further accusation for illustration CPC aliases trouble metrics, but being capable to upload 800 keywords astatine a clip makes it useful for quickly validating ample keyword lists.

Searchvolume.io keyword hunt measurement instrumentality pinch keyword input field, location selector, and results array showing mean monthly searches.

SpyFu

SpyFu’s keyword tool shows you monthly hunt volumes and metrics for paid ads—like the related keywords advertisers usage successful their campaign.

A free SpyFu relationship gets you unlimited regular keyword searches pinch constricted data.

I for illustration really SpyFu’s keyword instrumentality gives users an “Estimated Clicks” metric. Knowing a keyword’s postulation imaginable tin thief prioritize contented creation astir keywords that are much apt to thrust traffic.

SpyFu keyword overview for “socks” showing monthly volume, estimated clicks, difficulty, akin keywords, and questions.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is Google's charismatic keyword investigation instrumentality that you tin usage pinch a free Google Ads relationship (you don't request to beryllium moving campaigns to usage the tool).

You tin upload up to 10,000 keywords successful Google’s “Get hunt volumes and forecasts” characteristic to cheque metrics for illustration mean monthly searches, changes successful hunt volume, and title levels for paid ads.

Users who aren’t moving campaigns will spot measurement ranges for illustration “1K-10K,” and those who are moving campaigns pinch capable advertisement walk will spot much meticulous hunt volumes, making Keyword Planner much useful to users moving Google Ads.

Google Keyword Planner keyword ideas array showing mean monthly searches, competition, and bid ranges for sock-related keywords.

One unsocial facet of the Keyword Planner is the "Three period change" column. This file shows which keywords are increasing aliases declining to thief you find rising keywords to capitalize connected and declining ones that you mightiness want to avoid.

How to Check YouTube Keyword Search Volumes

You tin cheque YouTube keyword hunt volumes utilizing circumstantial devices that attraction connected position users participate into YouTube.

YouTube hunt volumes tin disagree from Google hunt volumes—a keyword pinch 375,100 Google searches mightiness only person 6,700 YouTube searches. This intends without YouTube-specific data, you could target keywords for your videos pinch different hunt measurement than expected.

Side-by-side keyword overview and YouTube keyword analytics comparing hunt measurement and title for “compression socks.”

Here are immoderate of the champion YouTube keyword tools for uncovering hunt volume:

Keyword Analytics for YouTube ($10/month): This YouTube-specific instrumentality shows hunt volumes, competitory rates, and related keywords. It besides shows links to celebrated videos connected your topic.
TubeBuddy (starts astatine $15/month): TubeBuddy’s Keyword Explorer provides information for illustration hunt volumes, trends, mean video views for first-page videos, and keyword scores based connected your transmission to thief you find really difficult it will beryllium to show for definite terms
vidIQ ($19/month): vidIQ displays metrics for illustration YouTube hunt volumes, related keywords, trends, and commonly searched questions

How to Choose Keywords

You tin take keywords to target by balancing measurement against factors for illustration competition, intent, and your site's existent authority to place realistic opportunities.

Balance measurement pinch competition. A keyword pinch precocious hunt measurement and trouble requires important link-building and contented finance to rank. A keyword pinch little hunt measurement and trouble will beryllium easier to rank for pinch coagulated content.
Consider low-volume keywords. Targeting galore low-volume keywords often delivers much postulation than competing for a azygous high-volume keyword wherever you rank connected page 2.
Consider the hunt intent (the searcher’s goal).Aligning your contented pinch a keyword’s hunt intent improves your chances of ranking and driving postulation to your site. If you’re moving ads, you’ll usually want to target keywords pinch a transactional intent
Prioritize rising keywords complete declining ones. Check inclination information successful your keyword instrumentality aliases successful Google Trends. A keyword that’s steadily getting much monthly searches signals increasing interest—create contented now earlier title increases. A keyword connected a downward inclination mightiness not warrant caller contented unless you tin seizure the remaining request easily.
Identify immoderate important changes to a keyword’s volume. Some searches align pinch seasonal events for illustration holiday-specific keywords (plan to person seasonal contented fresh earlier request spikes). Other keywords mightiness person mislaid measurement complete clip owed to AI, truthful appearing for them mightiness beryllium amended for driving marque consciousness than traffic.

Monitor Your Keyword Rankings

Monitoring your keyword rankings for the position you take to target shows whether your SEO and PPC strategies are working

Use Semrush's Position Tracking instrumentality to reappraisal your paid and unpaid Google positions for your target keywords. You tin moreover way really visible you are successful ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode.