Did you know that YouTube is the second most trafficked site in this world, after Google? That's right. In fact, many people prefer to search for information on YouTube more than they do on Google.
As a business owner, it's important to take advantage of this fact and optimize your videos for success. And, that's exactly where YouTube SEO comes into the picture.
Do you want to learn how to rank your YouTube videos?
If so, you have come to the right place. In this post, I’ll reveal some of the best ways to improve your SEO for YouTube. I'll talk about everything from optimizing video titles and descriptions to tags and annotations.
By following these tips, you’ll see a big increase in your video views and channel subscribers.
Let's get started.
What is YouTube SEO?
YouTube SEO is the process of optimizing your videos so that they rank higher in YouTube search results. This will help you get more views and traffic to your videos and, ultimately, to your website or blog.
Just like with regular SEO, there are a number of factors that come into play, including your video title, description, and tags. In addition, YouTube also looks at things like your video's engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc.) and whether viewers are watching the entire video or clicking away.
YouTube's algorithm will take all of these factors into account when ranking your videos. That being said, there are a few key things that you can do to optimize your YouTube videos for SEO.
How to Rank Your Videos in YouTube Search Results
YouTube SEO is a complex beast, but I’ll break it down for you in this post. Here are some of the best ways to optimize your YouTube videos for greater visibility and exposure:
Conduct Keyword Research for Your YouTube Channel
Start by conducting keyword research for your YouTube channel. Just like with regular SEO, you want to find keywords that people are searching for on YouTube.
To do this, you can use YouTube Keyword Tool by Ahrefs or other keyword research and SEO tools to see how many people are searching for a particular keyword or phrase on YouTube.
In addition, you can also use the Keyword Surfer extension to find search data for various words and phrases.
You should choose to target keywords with good reach potential (higher search volume) but lower competition score (comparatively, easier to rank for).
Once you have a list of keywords that you want to target for your YouTube channel, the next step is to optimize your channel's title and description, and the title, description, and tags of each of your videos on YouTube.
You should also use your keywords throughout your video's transcript. YouTube will index the transcript of your videos, so this is a great way to get more exposure for your videos.
Use a Compelling Video Title
Your title is the first thing people see when they find your video, so make sure it's something that will grab their attention and make them want to watch. A good title should be short, descriptive, and to the point. It should give people an idea of what your video is about and make them want to learn more.
At the same time, your video title is also an important YouTube SEO factor. The platform uses it to determine what your video is about and how relevant it is to users' searches.
So, make sure to include relevant keywords in your title, but don't stuff it with too many keywords or make it sound unnatural.
Though YouTube lets you write titles of up to 100 characters, a good rule of thumb is to keep your title under 70 characters. Why? Because Google only displays 70 characters of your title in search results.
If you're having trouble coming up with a title, try brainstorming a list of keywords that describe your video.
Here are a few examples of good titles:
- "How to Make a Perfect Cup of Coffee"
- "The Best Way to Peel an Orange"
- "How to Get Over Your Fear of Public Speaking"
Once you have a list of keywords for your topic, try playing around with them until you create a title that's both attention-grabbing and informative.
And that's it!
Just by following these simple tips, you can create compelling video titles that will help you get more views and subscribers.
Write Smart Descriptions
Your video's title is what will get people to click on your video and watch it. But once they've clicked, it's your video description that will convince them to stick around and watch it.
Your description should give viewers a brief overview of what your video is about, and it should be written in a way that entices them to want to watch it.
Here are some tips for writing smart descriptions:
- Keep it short and sweet. While YouTube allows you to write a description of up to 5000 characters, it's best to keep your descriptions under 200 words. Remember, people are here to watch your video, and not to read an essay.
- Include relevant keywords in your description so that people can find your video more easily.
- Make sure to include a call-to-action in your video description, telling viewers what you want them to do after they've watched your video. This could be something like "subscribe to my channel" or "like this video."
- Finally, don't forget to include a link to your website or blog in your video descriptions. YouTube allows you to include one link in your description, so make sure you use it.
By following these tips, you can write descriptions that will help get your videos seen and ensure that people continue watching them.
Edit Your Video File Name
Your video file name is another important piece of metadata that you shouldn't neglect. When you upload a video to YouTube, the site will automatically give it a generic file name made up of a string of numbers.
But you can (and should) edit this file name to include relevant keywords that will help people find your video. To do this, simply rename your file before uploading it to YouTube.
For example, if you have a video about "how to make a perfect cup of coffee," you might rename the file "coffee-making-tutorial.mp4" or something similar.
Create Custom, Eye-Catching Thumbnails for Your Videos
Thumbnails are small images that represent your video on YouTube. When someone is scrolling through a list of videos, your thumbnail, along with your title, is what will draw their eye and make them want to click on your video.
YouTube offers a selection of default thumbnails that it will automatically generate for you, but these often aren't very good. That's why you should create a custom thumbnail for each of your videos. This is easy to do using free online design tools like Canva.
When creating a thumbnail for your YouTube video, make sure to:
- Use high-quality images that are at least 1280x720 pixels.
- Include text that is easy to read.
- Make sure the thumbnail represents the video content.
- Use bright colors and an attention-grabbing image.
Use Annotations and Cards to Promote Your Videos
Annotations and cards are YouTube's way of helping you promote your videos.
Cards are pop-up windows that appear during your video, while annotations are clickable links that appear on the video itself. You can use annotations and cards to promote your other videos, as well as to link to your website or blog.
To add annotations and cards to your videos, you'll have to go to the "Video Manager" section of your YouTube channel.
Click on the "Edit" button for the video you want to add them to. Then, click on the "Annotations" or "Cards" tab and start adding annotations and cards.
You can use YouTube annotations to:
- Provide additional information about the video.
- Include links to other videos, websites, or channels.
- Promote your brand or products.
Cards are similar to annotations, but they can also let you include images and call-to-action buttons. So, you can use them to promote other videos, playlists, your website, or even products.
Add Tags to Your YouTube Videos
YouTube allows you to tag your videos with up to 500 characters of text. These tags help YouTube understand the content of your video and match it with related searches.
Tags can be anything that describes your video. Some popular tags include:
- Your name or channel name
- The video topic
- Keywords and phrases from the title
- Related topics
- Names of other YouTubers
By tagging your videos, you can help YouTube match your content with the right viewers. Tagging can also help your videos show up in relevant YouTube search results.
Create High-Quality, Engaging Videos
Creating engaging, high-quality videos that can hold your viewers’ attention is no small feat. But with a little planning and effort, it is achievable.
Here are some tips to help you create videos that will keep your viewers coming back for more:
- Think about what you want your video to achieve. What is the purpose of the video? Are you trying to generate leads, increase brand awareness, or drive traffic to your website? Once you know what the purpose of the video is, you can start to plan the content.
- Your video doesn’t have to be long to be effective. In fact, most people lose interest after about two minutes. So, make sure you get your point across quickly and keep the video interesting.
- Use visuals to help tell your story. People are more likely to remember a video that is visually stimulating. So, use images, infographics, and other visuals to help get your point across. There are several video editing tools on the market that you can use to create engaging videos for your audience like Canva.
- Tell a story. People love stories. And, when you tell a story in your video, people are more likely to connect with it and remember it.
- Make sure your video is high quality. Nothing turns people off more than a poorly made video. If you want people to take your video seriously, make sure you get the lighting, sound quality, and production value right.
Offer Subtitles in Multiple Languages
Consider adding subtitles to your videos. This will make them more accessible to a wider audience and help you reach people who don’t speak your native language.
While English is the most popular language on the internet, you should also offer subtitles in Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Hindi (depending on where your target audience lives).
Focus on User Engagement
Don’t forget about user engagement (that’s really important for YouTube SEO). If you want people to watch your videos, you need to make sure they are engaging.
One way to do this is to create videos that are interactive. Ask your viewers questions and encourage them to leave comments.
You can also use calls-to-action to encourage people to take action after watching your video. For example, you can ask them to visit your website, sign up for your email list, or follow you on social media.
The best way to keep your viewers glued is to address user intent in your video’s content. You can use Surfer’s Content Editor to understand what type of content a user wants to see for a particular keyword, which terms and questions to include, and what your competitors are doing.
This will help you increase views and watch time, which will, in turn, help you rank higher in YouTube search results and get more views and subscribers.
Promote Your YouTube Channel and Videos
If you want to get the most out of your YouTube channel, you need to promote it on your website and through other channels.
Here are some tips:
- Make sure your channel is optimized for SEO. Use keywords in your channel description and tags to help people find your channel.
- Create a channel trailer or intro video that tells people what your channel is about and encourages them to subscribe.
- Embed your videos on your website or blog. This helps people find your videos and subscribe to your channel.
- Share your videos on other social media channels. Use hashtags and @mentions to get more views and subscribers.
- Collaborate with other YouTubers to grow your audience and get more traffic to your channel.
- Comment on other videos to get people interested in your channel.
- Run a contest or giveaway on your YouTube channel to encourage people to subscribe and watch your videos.
- Leverage powerful YouTube marketing tools to get better results with minimal effort.
Using these tips will help you get more views, subscribers, and traffic to your YouTube channel and also help improve your videos’ search rankings.
Keep an Eye on Your Analytics
Remember to keep an eye on your YouTube analytics to track your progress and see what's working. Check things like watch time, views, subscribers, and comments to see how your channel is growing.
Also, look at the demographics of your viewers to see who's watching your videos and where they're from. This information can help you create better content and promote your channel more effectively.
FAQs
1. What is YouTube SEO?
YouTube SEO is the process of helping your videos to rank higher in search engine results. This includes optimizing a lot of elements such as:
- Your channel title and description
- Your video title, description, and tags
- The transcripts of your videos
- Your thumbnail image
- User engagement metrics such as the number of views, likes, and comments
By optimizing these elements, you can increase your chances of ranking higher in YouTube search results and getting more views.
2. Why YouTube SEO is important?
It is no secret that YouTube is the second most trafficked site after Google. And, many people leverage the platform to find videos on just about every topic imaginable, from tutorials to examples.
So, if you want people to find and watch your videos, it is important to do some YouTube SEO.
Ready to Get More Visibility for Your YouTube Videos?
YouTube SEO is a great way to get more views and traffic to your videos. By following the tips in this post, you can optimize your YouTube videos for ranking higher in search results.
At the same time, creating high-quality, engaging videos will keep your viewers coming back for more content.
So what are you waiting for? Start optimizing your YouTube videos today. If you still have questions about YouTube SEO, leave a comment below and we'll answer them.
See also:
- Ten Steps to Acquire New Customers for Your SEO Agency
- Ecommerce SEO: Best Practices for More Traffic and Sales
- 8 Foolproof Tips to Get More Organic Traffic to Your Website
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Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is also the Founder and CEO of Content Solutions, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.
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