YouTube Searchers: It’s All About The Music

You can learn a lot about a web site by peeking below the hood of its internal site search. And, based on Hitwise data out today, YouTube is a surrogate music video search engine.

Hitwise research suggests that 72% of the site’s Top 50 search terms from December 2008 are music-related — from L’il Wayne to Beyoncé, to song titles like “Womanizer” and “Heartless.”

That YouTube leans heavy toward music shouldn’t be a surprise. Universal Music’s channel is the most popular on the site, with 3.3 billion views, and seven of the top ten channels are music-related. We’ve reported previously that music is a strong monetization opportunity for YouTube — from affiliate links to formal partnerships, like the one that’s making money both for Google and Universal Music.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.