Back in the day (like 2016-2019), you could keyword-stuff your title, description, and tags, and boom, you’d show up in search. But in 2025, does that even work anymore? Or are we wasting our time?
What I’ve Been Testing
I’ve been running little experiments with my own small channel:
- I uploaded one video with a super keyword-heavy title: “Best Budget Vlogging Camera 2025 (Cheap YouTube Setup for Beginners).”
- Another one was just titled “My Cheap Camera Setup.”
How Keywords Still Help (In My Experience)
From what I can tell, keywords are still useful in a few ways:
- They help people *understand instantly* what your video is about (like if they search “YouTube SEO 2025”).
- They give Google Search something to latch onto. Yes, I’ve seen my videos pop up on Google just because of a well-optimized title/description.
- They’re helpful for niche topics where Suggested traffic won’t really find you (like tutorials, how-tos).
How the Algorithm Might Actually Work
From reading forums and messing with analytics, here’s my rough theory:
- YouTube scans your video with AI (captions, speech recognition, even visuals).
- Keywords help confirm context, but they’re not the main driver.
- Watch time + click-through rate (CTR) still decide if it gets pushed further.
Do Tags Even Matter in 2025?
I swear, tags feel like a placebo now. I’ve tried stuffing them with every keyword variation possible. Didn’t notice any difference. From what I’ve read, YouTube themselves said tags are “only helpful for misspellings.” Like if someone searches “yuotube seo,” then maybe tags help. Otherwise? Kinda useless.
What About Descriptions?
Descriptions still matter, IMO. I’ve had videos where the description was detailed (with timestamps, keyword-rich sentences), and they ranked on Google. The short, lazy descriptions? They basically disappeared. So maybe it’s not about YouTube Search as much as *Google Search traffic*. And that’s still a win.
My Honest Take
If you’re a small creator in 2025, here’s my personal advice:
- Use keywords, but don’t obsess over them.
- Focus more on thumbnails + hooks (first 30 seconds of video).
- Write decent descriptions, since they help with Google.
- Don’t waste hours on tags—they don’t move the needle.
Community Question
What do you guys think? Do keywords still matter in 2025, or are they just “old-school YouTube tricks” that don’t move the needle anymore?
Have you had a video blow up with no keywords at all, or one that ranked because you nailed the SEO? Share your experiences, I’m curious how it’s working for you!