In the past, you have probably spent hours doing keyword research, chasing phrases with high search volume, and trying to guess which content will “take off.”
Here is the harsh reality: If your content doesn’t rank at the top of search, and the audience viewing it isn’t ready to hire you, all that effort was a waste of time.
In this article, we are going to shift your focus. We will move away from vanity metrics and focus entirely on finding profitable keywords with low competition. This strategy guarantees you will rank at the top of YouTube and Google, ensuring the people who find you are actually interested in your service and ready to buy.
Defining “Profitable” (Views vs. Revenue)
Let’s define what “profitable” actually means in this context. It doesn’t mean getting a million views.
- Viral Success: You get 1,000,000 views. You feel popular. But if those viewers are just looking for entertainment, that number is a vanity metric.
- Profitable Success: You get 40 views. But those 40 people are high-intent leads, and one of them pays you $10,000.
If you don’t have a business model to monetize traffic, 40 views is a failure. But if you are a coach or consultant selling high-value services, 40 targeted views are worth infinitely more than a million random ones.
What Does “Low Competition” Mean?
Low competition means you can rank immediately.
A simple test for low competition is this: If you create a video with a specific title, will it rank at the top of YouTube the moment you publish it?
It sounds hard, but it is actually simple if you go “long-tail.”
If you find a specific question that is 8 to 10 words long, and you type it into YouTube, you will often find zero videos with that exact title.
Even if that question is only searched 10 times a month, that is 10 high-quality leads looking for an answer that only you are providing perfectly. You find one of these “low-hanging fruit” questions, then another, then another. Eventually, you dominate the entire topic.
How to Check Competition the Right Way
Most creators rely on “competition scores” from tools like VidIQ or TubeBuddy. Ignore them.
These tools often provide outdated data based on old SEO models (keyword stuffing, tags, etc.).
The True Competition Test:
- Take your potential question/keyword.
- Type it into the YouTube search bar.
- Look at the results.
Are there videos with that exact title? If yes, there is competition. If the results are vague or only loosely related, the door is wide open for you to step in and own that spot.
The Tree Analogy: Dominate the Branch
I use a tree analogy to organize keyword research.
- The Trunk: Your main root topic (e.g., “Productivity”).
- The Branches: The categories or sub-topics.
- The Leaves: The specific questions (keywords).
Some branches are “deeper” than others, meaning they have 30 to 50 specific questions attached to them. Your goal is to identify these deep branches. Even if there are other creators on that branch, they rarely cover every specific question.
The Strategy:
Film a video for every single “leaf title” (question) on that branch. As you rank for the small questions one by one, your authority builds. Eventually, you will dominate the entire branch, and your videos will be recommended on Google and ChatGPT whenever someone asks about that topic.
Which Keywords Should You Film First?
Do not guess your keywords based on questions clients ask you in person. You need to use data to find out what people are actually typing into search engines.
Use a tool like Semrush (Keyword Magic Tool) to find these questions.
- Filter for questions (who, what, where, when, how).
- Set word count to 8 words or more.
- Look for volume of 10+ searches/month.
From this list, pick 30 unique titles. It is okay if the content overlaps slightly between videos.
Dealing with Repetition
You might worry, “If I make 10 videos on similar questions, won’t I be repetitive?”
- The Algorithm: YouTube finds new audiences for each video. Most viewers won’t watch all 10.
- The Subscriber: Your target audience is strangers, not just your current subscribers. Repetition is necessary to catch different people at different entry points.
Pro Tip for Content Variation:
Use ChatGPT to help you outline. Do NOT ask it to write the script.
Instead, ask ChatGPT to interview you about the topic.
- “Ask me questions about [Topic] to pull out my biases, opinions, and real experiences.”
- Answer the questions, then ask ChatGPT to create an outline based on your answers.
This ensures every video is unique, full of your specific expertise, and avoids generic AI fluff.
Final Thoughts
Don’t worry if SEO tools give you a “low score.” Those tools are looking for 2015 tactics.
If you post a video answering a specific question and you appear at the top of the search results, you have won. That is a 100% success rate.
Stop chasing the high-volume, broad keywords where you are invisible. Start catching the “low-hanging fruit”—the specific, profitable questions that lead directly to revenue.
