Since YouTube doesn't publicly give out # of search volume numbers, we originally provided a "relative" search volume calculation where we tried to compare search terms to one another.
The History of Our Tool
In the beginning, we had the calculation first. Then TubeBuddy users asked if there was a way they could see # of searches per month. We partnered with our third party provider to add that in. So our calculation is done first, and then we cross-reference with our third party provider to see if we can pull # of searches per month estimate.
If we can't pull the # of searches, we still stand by our calculations that have helped MILLIONS of creators before we had the # of searches estimate. That's why we say to focus on the graphs too. We are doing our best to give out more # of searches per month estimates.
How Our Process Works
The “Search Volume” red/yellow/green bar is a score relative to other search terms that people have searched in the TubeBuddy system. It’s to give people a sense of how often a keyword is searched compared to other keywords on YouTube.
We are able to come up with red/yellow/green value without using # of searches using our own calculations - basically looking at how many videos are created around a topic to help us determine how popular it is. If we do have # of searches, we factor that into our calculation which helps improve it.
NOTE: The # of searches per month is an ESTIMATE. We run our calculation first, and cross reference with a third party SEO tracking site we trust. This is how we can have a score WITHOUT the # of searches.
The “# of Monthly Searches (estimate)” is an actual number that we get from KeywordTool.io. Instead of a relative (red/yellow/green) value, it gives you an actual number. This is ONLY an estimate from KeywordTool.io, but it gives an actual value which was requested by our users.
When using KeywordTool.io, we can only get keyword numbers once per day from them. When people search Keywords in Keyword Explorer, we track brand new keywords that have never been searched before in our Keyword Explorer. At the end of the day, we send a huge list of keywords to them and get a huge response and update our database with the values. From that point forward, we have data for those new keywords and the data will be available.
Brand new keywords that have never been searched for can take 24 hours before we get results (assuming there are 50+ searches per month).
Due to the trillions of keyword combinations people search for, which includes one word keywords, multi word keywords, and all the different combinations of words. We can't get the estimate for every term right away. However, we do have our calculations beforehand. We run that, and if there is enough interest in the term (50 or more searches and or we can pull the estimate), we show the estimated # of monthly searches in results.
Our Belief
Keep in mind, our tool has been around for a long time. We believe in our product and stand by our numbers. We can't give out exact calculations (We have competitors watching).
What WE hope is that one day, YouTube will release YouTube Search Volume via their API just like Google AdWords provides from Google. If they do, we will have exact/accurate numbers and will include them! In the meantime, we are just giving the best results we can for our users. We due our best to make sure they're clearly labeled Estimates.
Whether it's from us or a another company, none of us have exact results so we do our bests to give clear information and label on our part when it's an estimate. Which is why we have our tool tips!
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