Top YouTube Searches
The role of YouTube in digital marketing cannot be denied. Not only is it one of the most popular social media platforms, but it’s also the second-most-used search engine, after Google. This makes it an effective and important channel for brands to reach buyers and grow sales.
To understand what’s trending on YouTube, we need to look at what sort of queries users are carrying out on the platform—in other words, the top YouTube searches. This will give you a better idea of what’s popular, which you can then incorporate into your video marketing strategy on YouTube.
Top YouTube searches worldwide (2023)
According to the latest data, in 2023, the query “song” topped the list of the most popular searches on YouTube. This is followed by “movie,” which has a search index of 61 against an index of 100 for “song.”
The data does not classify the top YouTube searches by the absolute search volume each keyword receives on the video-sharing platform. Instead, it ranks them according to the search volume of a keyword relative to the top-performing query. This means that, with an index of 61, the search term “movie” received 61% of the total search volume received by the top-ranking keyword on YouTube, “song.”
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“Video” ranks third on the most popular searches on YouTube. With an index of 41, this search term received less than half of the search volume received by the top query, “song.” This is followed by search terms “songs” and “DJ,” with indexes of 33 and 24, respectively.
Here’s a full list of the top YouTube searches worldwide in 2023.
|
YouTube search term (worldwide) |
Search index |
|---|---|
|
1. Song |
100 |
| 2. Movie | 61 |
| 3. Video | 41 |
| 4. Songs | 33 |
| 5. DJ | 24 |
| 6. Music | 18 |
| 7. Cartoon | 17 |
| 8. Dance | 16 |
| 9. Gana | 15 |
| 10. Karaoke | 15 |
As a video-sharing platform, it’s no wonder many of the top searches on YouTube pertain to music, shows, and movies. This is an important YouTube trend to keep in mind when marketing on YouTube. Knowing how users interact with YouTube can also give you more insight and help to guide your strategy. For instance, in 2024, the average time spent on YouTube is expected at 48.7 minutes per day.
YouTube users by country (2024)
The report also shows a breakdown of YouTube users by country, which reveals that India is home to the largest number of YouTube users. The latest estimate puts this figure at 462 million in 2024. The United States and Brazil follow, with 239 million and 144 million, respectively.
| Country | No. of YouTube users |
|---|---|
| 1. India | 462 million |
| 2. United States | 239 million |
| 3. Brazil | 144 million |
| 4. Indonesia | 139 million |
| 5. Mexico | 83.1 million |
| 6. Japan | 78.6 million |
| 7. Pakistan | 71.7 million |
| 8. Germany | 67.8 million |
| 9. Vietnam | 63 million |
| 10. Philippines | 58.1 million |
Here’s a look at the top YouTube searches in the three countries with the highest number of YouTube users: India, the US, and Brazil.
Top YouTube searches in India (2023)
| YouTube search term (India) | Search index |
|---|---|
| 1. Song | 100 |
| 2. Movie | 56 |
| 3. Video | 42 |
| 4. Songs | 28 |
| 5. Gana | 21 |
| 6. DJ | 18 |
| 7. Cartoon | 18 |
| 8. Cartoon cartoon | 18 |
| 9. Status | 15 |
| 10. New song | 15 |
Top YouTube searches in the US (2023)
| YouTube search term (United States) | Search index |
|---|---|
| 1. The | 100 |
| 2. How to | 42 |
| 3. You | 33 |
| 4. Song | 30 |
| 5. Music | 20 |
| 6. Songs | 20 |
| 7. Baby | 14 |
| 8. Game | 11 |
| 9. Video | 10 |
| 10. Reaction | 10 |
Top YouTube searches in Brazil (2023)
| YouTube search term (Brazil) | Search index |
|---|---|
| 1. Música | 100 |
| 2. Filme | 96 |
| 3. MC | 81 |
| 4. Musica | 69 |
| 5. Desenho | 63 |
| 6. Funk | 45 |
| 7. Filmes | 42 |
| 8. Musicas | 33 |
| 9. Tiktok | 26 |
| 10. Maria clara | 25 |