The Top YouTube Searches in 2024

‘YouTube’ itself was officially the most searched term on Google globally this year – and for the third year running – showing just how influential the platform is.

It also means that the top YouTube searches give us a window into the collective interests of millions worldwide... 

That’s why we’ve tapped into Similarweb’s first-rate search volume data – based on real user searches – to uncover the most searched keywords on YouTube.

We’ll dive headfirst into the top 100 YouTube searches globally in 2024, as well as for the US and the UK.

Spoiler alert: the most searched term on YouTube is ‘ASMR’, a sure sign that we’re all on a quest for anxiety-relieving content (and who can blame us?). But let’s see what else created some buzz on YouTube last year.

The top YouTube searches in the world

#	keyword	total_volume
1	asmr	58,673,259.84
2	mrbeast	57,033,523.93
3	sidemen	29,929,744.90
4	lofi	27,052,052.54
5	music	26,423,987.86
6	mr beast	23,751,142.97
7	kendrick lamar	22,386,472.35
8	wwe	20,934,483.91
9	nba	20,207,118.50
10	asmongold	19,525,215.81
11	trump	18,852,204.45
12	eminem	17,907,200.42
13	ufc	17,249,461.86
14	ishowspeed	17,062,684.75
15	drake	16,544,382.96
16	markiplier	15,390,489.39
17	skibidi toilet	15,116,932.09
18	penguinz0	14,842,082.95
19	destiny	14,766,831.20
20	taylor swift	14,379,228.05
21	minecraft	14,220,483.07
22	f1	14,153,383.15
23	ign	12,711,117.90
24	dhruv rathee	12,499,899.28
25	dhar mann	12,424,481.87
26	not like us	12,370,286.30
27	study with me	12,217,490.21
28	joe rogan	12,163,225.29
29	songs	11,909,092.98
30	lck	11,836,312.17
31	cnn	11,589,267.98
32	ksi	11,478,423.05
33	fortnite	11,379,398.84
34	song	11,274,834.25
35	phonk	11,235,468.16
36	pewdiepie	10,810,846.76
37	xqc	10,761,213.09
38	linkin park	10,484,340.76
39	snl	10,469,573.50
40	podcast	10,464,588.59
41	cocomelon	10,393,768.56
42	helldivers 2	10,193,817.26
43	beta squad	10,179,184.06
44	karaoke	9,860,868.96
45	real madrid	9,685,582.68
46	kai cenat	9,569,687.53
47	news	9,420,320.10
48	white noise	9,395,078.45
49	youtube	9,308,294.21
50	nikocado avocado	9,303,466.56
51	study music	9,136,838.44
52	valorant	9,136,735.12
53	billie eilish	9,099,346.17
54	movie reaction	9,030,687.87
55	ludwig	9,010,887.56
56	trailer	8,968,408.65
57	arsenal	8,888,443.88
58	ben shapiro	8,502,578.39
59	fox news	8,493,241.73
60	moresidemen	8,451,467.08
61	ukraine	8,406,605.55
62	palworld	8,370,836.99
63	musica	8,135,587.33
64	one piece	8,096,163.68
65	jubilee	8,052,013.55
66	nopixel	7,977,973.03
67	caseoh	7,842,804.09
68	aaj tak live	7,725,136.40
69	my mix	7,719,349.75
70	tanmay bhat	7,684,710.31
71	cody ko	7,644,491.49
72	а4	7,541,038.71
73	tmkoc	7,540,317.35
74	ariana grande	7,532,734.36
75	msnbc	7,506,107.00
76	speed	7,452,473.01
77	elden ring	7,386,576.51
78	apt	7,332,169.84
79	liverpool	7,291,361.78
80	4k	7,232,663.72
81	samay raina	7,213,638.96
82	roblox	7,210,157.35
83	nfl	7,142,034.45
84	genshin impact	7,130,101.46
85	helluva boss	7,125,774.79
86	movies	7,091,984.95
87	hamza	7,001,488.16
88	espn	6,997,247.71
89	msa	6,945,445.41
90	шарий	6,928,933.63
91	baby shark	6,904,779.84
92	sabrina carpenter	6,862,362.49
93	gta 6	6,840,190.82
94	bruno mars	6,795,622.55
95	andrew tate	6,790,464.84
96	mkbhd	6,782,332.65
97	hasanabi	6,776,356.52
98	le sserafim	6,754,741.74
99	brawl stars	6,752,780.03
100	c	6,672,981.41

 

Key stats about the most searched keywords on YouTube worldwide

‘ASMR’ is the most searched keyword on YouTube globally, with a staggering 58.7 million total searches in 2024.

The second most searched term is ‘MrBeast,’ a YouTuber with an astounding 338 million subscribers, renowned for his daring video challenges and remarkable philanthropy. In June, MrBeast achieved a major milestone by becoming YouTube’s most-subscribed channel, as reported by Business Insider.

Securing the third position with 29.9 million searches is ‘Sidemen,’ a channel run by a group of British YouTubers famous for their entertaining content, including challenges, pranks, gaming videos, and lifestyle vlogs.

‘WWE’ ranks as the most searched sport-related term, securing the 8th position with over 20.9 million searches. Following closely are the ‘NBA’ and ‘UFC,’ which hold the 9th and 13th positions, respectively.

Following an assassination attempt, ‘Trump’ experienced a significant surge in searches in July, with traffic continuing to rise leading up to and during the November U.S. elections. This placed the keyword in the 11th position for 2024.

The unapologetic Asmongold, known for streams that seamlessly blend gaming with candid discussions about life, secured the 10th position with 19.5 million searches for the keyword ‘Asmongold.’ His channel has cultivated a dedicated fan base admired for their loyalty and humor, drawn to his unfiltered and relatable personality.

Music dominates 24% of the top 50 results, led by ‘lofi’ in 4th position with 27.1 million searches, followed closely by ‘music,’ with 26.4 million searches.

The top YouTube searches in the USA

#	keyword	total_volume
1	asmr	16,815,070.18
2	mrbeast	15,035,782.53
3	kendrick lamar	9,433,571.41
4	lofi	8,340,625.41
5	music	8,311,416.01
6	trump	7,612,090.67
7	nba	7,588,966.03
8	markiplier	7,365,209.59
9	snl	7,134,017.25
10	mr beast	6,890,737.44
11	wwe	6,708,776.99
12	drake	6,440,189.56
13	penguinz0	6,351,183.63
14	destiny	5,791,786.26
15	asmongold	5,614,632.79
16	cnn	5,450,450.49
17	fox news	5,437,154.39
18	ben shapiro	5,166,450.57
19	joe rogan	5,017,544.61
20	sidemen	5,000,656.46
21	dhar mann	4,839,152.79
22	not like us	4,821,213.95
23	ufc	4,608,436.73
24	msnbc	4,554,989.15
25	nfl	4,298,015.54
26	ludwig	4,215,304.82
27	sml	4,153,237.21
28	news	4,021,931.32
29	coryxkenshin	3,932,030.55
30	caseoh	3,912,445.58
31	taylor swift	3,907,876.41
32	my mix	3,804,461.09
33	ign	3,764,356.56
34	fortnite	3,736,865.54
35	cody ko	3,721,482.33
36	jubilee	3,652,576.56
37	kai cenat	3,591,435.76
38	eminem	3,562,670.82
39	minecraft	3,528,920.01
40	ishowspeed	3,497,054.98
41	espn	3,366,378.42
42	skibidi toilet	3,363,245.59
43	xqc	3,339,057.55
44	helldivers 2	3,333,025.38
45	nikocado avocado	3,132,068.80
46	white noise	3,126,743.70
47	kill tony	3,065,703.47
48	study music	2,993,035.76
49	movies	2,954,630.77
50	helluva boss	2,938,621.04
51	moist critical	2,887,532.12
52	ksi	2,823,934.91
53	breaking points	2,816,728.37
54	hasanabi	2,715,744.67
55	pewdiepie	2,638,423.14
56	tyt	2,593,576.03
57	kamala harris	2,565,292.29
58	vaush	2,561,695.71
59	nopixel	2,499,484.09
60	jacksepticeye	2,465,916.03
61	free movies	2,458,697.12
62	aphmau	2,456,181.56
63	police activity	2,450,154.37
64	youtube	2,382,708.17
65	brown noise	2,372,114.19
66	cocomelon	2,368,204.12
67	dr disrespect	2,316,981.65
68	palworld	2,292,936.55
69	first things first	2,283,662.32
70	game theory	2,235,241.05
71	daily show	2,230,286.03
72	one piece	2,218,542.86
73	ssundee	2,204,357.03
74	movie reaction	2,193,562.02
75	dude perfect	2,183,587.50
76	jimmy kimmel	2,181,970.25
77	gmm	2,144,725.23
78	smosh	2,143,264.29
79	cut	2,137,196.10
80	candace owens	2,119,661.81
81	sabrina carpenter	2,117,572.83
82	playboi carti	2,100,957.75
83	songs	2,077,806.52
84	hazbin hotel	2,074,280.57
85	daily dose of internet	2,057,227.80
86	lofi girl	2,054,667.10
87	rain sounds for sleeping	2,052,721.63
88	f1	2,034,801.06
89	mkbhd	2,033,966.78
90	lakers	2,025,581.67
91	bluey	2,021,779.09
92	bbl drizzy	1,999,518.87
93	smii7y	1,994,491.54
94	tucker carlson	1,986,307.64
95	secular talk	1,984,827.57
96	caedrel	1,971,757.51
97	stephen colbert	1,963,702.41
98	rust	1,945,167.34
99	game grumps	1,944,258.98
100	destiny 2	1,936,829.06

Key stats about the most searched keywords on YouTube in the US

‘ASMR’ once again took center stage as the most popular keyword on YouTube in the US, with 16.8 million total searches. Coming in at number two was ‘MrBeast,’ with 15 million searches.

The charismatic horror gamer ‘Markiplier’ remains hugely popular in the US, ranking 8th with 7.4 million searches. Known for forming a genuine connection with his audience, Markiplier’s channel stands out as one of the most influential on YouTube.

In 2024, Americans were deeply focused on politics. At position 16, the keyword ‘CNN’ led with 5.5 million searches, followed by ‘Fox News’ at position 17 with 5.4 million searches. Close behind was ‘Ben Shapiro,’ which garnered 5.2 million searches.

Ranking 9th is the keyword ‘SNL,’ representing the long-running late-night sketch comedy show known for its blend of satirical humor, live performances, and cultural commentary.

The keyword ‘NBA’ is the highest-performing sports term, serving as a hub for highlights, game recaps, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage that caters to basketball enthusiasts across the nation.

In May, searches for rapper ‘Kendrick Lamar’ trended widely, driven by news of his ongoing feud with Drake, highlighted by a series of diss tracks. This surge in interest placed Kendrick Lamar at position 3 on the list, with an impressive 9.4 million searches.

The top YouTube searches in the UK

#	keyword	total_volume
1	sidemen	6,166,309.13
2	asmr	4,176,845.97
3	mrbeast	2,836,912.57
4	beta squad	2,571,485.37
5	arsenal	2,485,306.52
6	nopixel	2,356,431.27
7	moresidemen	1,999,866.29
8	wwe	1,919,195.14
9	ksi	1,903,779.51
10	ufc	1,900,999.47
11	music	1,758,719.38
12	united stand	1,688,915.98
13	sky news live	1,574,911.94
14	f1	1,515,798.29
15	kendrick lamar	1,483,086.49
16	mr beast	1,466,494.28
17	destiny	1,411,199.03
18	trump	1,360,492.79
19	liverpool	1,303,520.92
20	dhar mann	1,216,606.67
21	talksport	1,214,645.82
22	movie reaction	1,212,531.13
23	asmongold	1,179,853.29
24	drake	1,179,663.02
25	aftv	1,164,425.05
26	lofi	1,109,393.52
27	ign	1,104,195.20
28	chelsea	1,078,924.69
29	joe rogan	1,065,220.24
30	manchester united	1,027,840.90
31	eminem	1,012,968.51
32	markiplier	975,112.61
33	piers morgan	965,294.88
34	ishowspeed	933,226.34
35	penguinz0	927,283.83
36	nba	925,101.03
37	sky news	900,054.72
38	hamza	855,474.71
39	sky sports football	836,388.84
40	xqc	813,506.50
41	sidemen among us	771,919.23
42	news	766,367.29
43	andrew tate	761,832.70
44	fortnite	760,896.43
45	my mix	740,464.05
46	sky sports	737,185.67
47	ndl	732,392.28
48	kai cenat	731,450.46
49	trailer	718,497.62
50	gb news	707,655.28
51	mark goldbridge	700,966.50
52	pewdiepie	700,370.20
53	minecraft	699,525.05
54	bbc news	686,683.17
55	critical drinker	675,980.01
56	skibidi toilet	671,662.52
57	jubilee	661,786.29
58	taylor swift	658,699.59
59	not like us	656,050.78
60	england	637,449.25
61	man city	632,351.93
62	man utd	615,911.72
63	white noise	606,116.61
64	central cee	604,258.35
65	matt armstrong	604,247.72
66	helldivers 2	602,953.68
67	boxing	598,112.99
68	nikocado avocado	595,440.76
69	ludwig	595,052.92
70	ukraine war	587,048.72
71	cody ko	586,070.48
72	ary news live	566,775.31
73	brown noise	563,402.00
74	caseoh	562,331.40
75	songs	561,983.43
76	watchmojo	552,055.40
77	real madrid	552,018.30
78	podcast	544,048.16
79	fpl	542,123.57
80	tnt sports	541,738.86
81	jacksepticeye	539,956.24
82	dr disrespect	538,234.87
83	reaction	530,305.99
84	donald trump	528,107.98
85	ukraine	524,524.54
86	snl	522,021.10
87	speed	519,805.18
88	documentary	507,427.15
89	carwow	492,615.39
90	love island	486,509.10
91	osrs	484,791.58
92	premier league highlights	483,648.50
93	smosh	476,611.64
94	norris nuts	475,533.32
95	sabrina carpenter	475,305.64
96	aew	473,245.01
97	study music	471,538.67
98	tyrone magnus	465,280.22
99	fresh and fit	461,850.96
100	cocomelon	455,462.70

Key stats about the most searched keywords on YouTube in the UK

The YouTube group ‘Sidemen’ is the most searched term on YouTube in the UK this year, with 6.2 million total searches. The British group has gained massive popularity for its challenge videos, comedy sketches, and video game commentaries. Notably, one of the group’s members, ‘KSI,’ also ranks 9th on the list.

‘ASMR’ takes the 2nd spot with 4.2 million total searches.

The most searched person (who isn’t a YouTuber), ‘Kendrick Lamar,’ attracted significant attention from Brits, making the top 15 with 1.5 million searches.

Brits’ love for soccer is undeniable, with soccer-related terms like ‘Arsenal’ garnering 2.5 million searches, ‘Liverpool’ receiving 1.3 million searches, and ‘Chelsea’ achieving 1.1 million searches.

The title keyword for the hugely popular channel Beta Squad, renowned for its engaging content such as pranks, challenges, travel vlogs, and comedy sketches, ranks 4th, garnering 2.6 million searches.

The keyword ‘WWE,’ representing World Wrestling Entertainment, ranks 8th. With over 100 million subscribers, it is the largest sports channel on the platform and enjoys immense popularity.

What do the top searches on YouTube tell marketers?

Uncovering the most popular searched keywords on YouTube is not only interesting (who doesn’t love to spy on people?) but also super useful for marketers looking to boost their content strategies.

By looking into the psychological triggers and viral sensations creating buzz on the biggest platform in the world, you can tap into the minds of a global audience to understand what captivates them. You can then leverage these insights to create superior video content and more engaging experiences for your target audience.

Key points on search behavior and current trends on YouTube:

1) People love gaming content ️ 

A clear sign that immersive content is the present and the future. People will watch gaming-related videos even if it’s just watching others play, listening to their commentary or experiencing the gameplay before buying.

To incorporate elements of gaming into your strategies, turn to more experiential marketing tactics that will stimulate and engage your target audience’s senses in a similar way. Using virtual/augmented reality and interactive storytelling is a great way to do this.

2) Video is King

Obvious, we know. But we can’t forget that video content remains the preferred way of consuming content, particularly on social media. A key takeaway from the most searched terms above is that people really engage with inspirational and motivational content (Dhar Mann featured on every list).

Audiences connect best with videos that tell a story, evoke emotions (whether positive or negative), educate them or solve their problems. Here’s a guide on how to up your video marketing game.

3) Keeping up with trends is key

Keeping a tab on current trends means you’ll be on the pulse by creating the most engaging and captivating content possible. You’ll be giving your audience exactly what they want (and ideally quicker than the competition.) So, capitalize on trending keywords, events and viral sensations to tailor content to be even more relevant and shareable.

4) Authenticity and reliability rule

YouTube creators dominate the most searched terms lists because they’ve gained huge, loyal followings by streaming unscripted content that often features their most raw, honest and unfiltered moments. This builds deep connections with subscribers and makes their content relatable and trustworthy.

While this may not be as easy to achieve in a business sense, it shows that authenticity and reliability are crucial in connecting emotionally and building brand loyalty. Invest more in authentic storytelling, user-generated content, live Q&A sessions and behind-the-scenes content to give your audience a glimpse into the human side of your business.

5) Collaborations = greater reach 

Based on their widespread popularity, businesses can partner with YouTube creators to gain more market share on the platform and tap into a large, engaged audience. With collaborations, you leverage the trust creators have built with their subscribers to make their endorsements of your product or service super effective.

But how do you know who to work with? To find the right YouTuber to collaborate with, start by using Similarweb to validate their popularity by seeing how many searches they are getting every month. Here we’ve used Mr Beast as an example, but you should find a YouTuber that suits your product or service.

We’ve used Similarweb’s YouTube Keyword generator to look into the keyword volume related to Mr. Beast from January to December 2023. This data will help you validate their popularity as well as identify trending topics and gauge audience growth trends, which is particularly helpful when targeting niche audiences

Methodology

To gather the most searched terms on YouTube, we analyzed keyword data from Similarweb Digital Marketing Intelligence for January – November 2024. We ordered the list based on the search volume for each term across the 12-month period.
Similarweb’s monthly search volume for YouTube is based on real-user data, not like most tools, which get averages from publicly sourced data.

How can you find YouTube keywords?

We already know that video marketing is important, and as we can see from the data, YouTube is at the very forefront of the video world. It’s also the second most popular search engine after Google. Talk about a powerhouse platform!

That’s why finding the right YouTube keyword data can really boost your engagement levels, help you capture trends, and offer new ideas to freshen up your content.

Enter: YouTube Keyword Generator! With this tool, you can pull accurate, targeted, and trending YouTube-specific keywords to energize your video marketing strategy.
Get started by heading over to Similarweb’s keyword research suite. Find the YouTube keyword tool under Keyword Research > Keyword Generator.

 

Select the YouTube option in the dropdown menu at the top of the report, add in your seed keyword, and start generating thousands of YouTube keywords!

Once here, you’ll see a large number of phrase-matched and related keywords and their associated search volume and volume trend, so you can hit your target audience with the right message at the right time.

To sum up…

There’s no denying that YouTube is kind of a big deal. By exploring and analyzing real-user YouTube search data on one of the biggest platforms in the world (and with a little help from Similarweb’s YouTube Keyword Generator) marketers can get their hands on the trends that are captivating a global audience.

Just by looking at the top 100 YouTube searches here, we’ve learned the types of videos that people respond to, and that emotionally-led, authentic content is the key to building genuine (and lasting) connections with a target audience.

Learn more about how YouTube search data can supercharge your digital strategies with some extra reading:

• YouTube Keyword Research and Optimization Done Right
• YouTube SEO Guide: How to Rank on YouTube and Attract Viewers
• How to Get More Views on YouTube
• 7 Little-Known Tips for YouTube Competitive Analysis

FAQs

What are the most searched keywords on YouTube in 2024?
Globally, the most searched keyword on YouTube was ‘ASMR,’ with 58.7 million total searches. Following closely was YouTuber ‘MrBeast,’ the second most searched term, with 57 million searches.

What are the most searched keywords on YouTube in the USA in 2024?
In the USA, ‘ASMR’ topped the charts as the most searched term on YouTube, with 16.8 million total searches. The second most searched term was ‘MrBeast’ (15 million), followed by ‘Kendrick Lamar’ (9.4 million).

What is the most searched term on YouTube in the UK in 2024?
In the UK, ‘Sidemen’ claimed the top spot as the most searched YouTube term, with 6.2 million total searches. It was followed by ‘ASMR’ (4.2 million) and ‘MrBeast’ (2.8 million).