Lets face it, YouTube is a terrific way to build an audience but it has become far too crowded over the past years. That makes getting the right kind of attention from viewers a bit complicated.
How crowded, you ask? 100 hours of video content are being uploaded on the platform every minute – that crowded.
Don’t lose hope, though. Getting the attention your content deserves may be tricky but it’s not impossible. Try shifting some of your focus onto SEO, and see if you can maximize your searchability and visibility on the platform.
Paying attention to SEO on YouTube can have highly rewarding benefits – especially for brands and businesses looking for a big break. Having optimized video content on YouTube will actually increase your chances of ranking better on Google, among other search engines.
Below, we run down some of the most important and effective SEO tactics that you should be using to rake in those views in the most strategic way possible.
If You Stink, You Won’t Rank
Before anything else, we have to talk about your content. Irrelevant, bad quality videos don’t have any place on a highly competitive platform like YouTube.
If you want to turn heads, you have to produce valuable videos that resonate with your target viewers.
In his article about improving your ranking on YouTube, Brian Deen of Backlinko said “The more you put into your videos, the more you’ll get out of it.”
You’ll never monetize that video of you pouring cereal into a bowl using your low-resolution phone camera. In order for people to reap real benefits from your video content, you have to make an effort towards producing polished, good-looking content.
It’s true that many people have found success with low-quality videos, but this won’t work for everyone. If you’re running a business and want to look professional, this is a great way to do it.
Research the Right Keywords
Before you can even begin optimizing your content, you need to research which keywords to use. Conducting a keyword research campaign is easy as long as you know where to look.
With research like this, you can determine which are the best keywords to use to optimize your video content. You don’t have to worry about shelling out excessive amounts of money on this, most of the tools available online won’t cost you a dime – just a few hours of your time.
Here are a few handy services that can help you with keyword research:
If you’re looking for a challenge and want to research keywords in unconventional places, you might want to consider joining message groups. Check out some of the questions members post on the message board and see if you can glean any valuable keywords or phrases you can use in your campaign.
Your Video Title
Treat your video’s title like you would the headline to some hard-hitting news. It has to explain what your video is about in the most concise yet noteworthy way possible.
Of course, because we are talking about optimization, you also have to incorporate high-performing keywords into your title, which you can figure out through research.
This should increase your chances of being found on Google.
Remember, search engines can’t watch your videos – the only way they can determine your video’s relevance is through the text content that comes with your video. Putting the most important keywords at the beginning of your title can help search engine spiders rank your content as more important.
If you’re considering clickbaiting users with deceptive titles, let us stop you right now. Clickbait can not only cause a massive decrease in your watch time, but can also affect your reputation on the platform (as well as others).
The Description
A video’s description box is probably one of the most valuable yet underutilized SEO opportunities.
The first two sentences in your description box will appear under your video’s title on search engines. This can serve as an important guide for viewers who are deciding whether your video will be a good resource for them or not.
The more text you add to your video content, the better. Consider including a transcription of your video at the bottom of your description in order to maximize the keywords you’ll rank for.
Image credit: Tubular Insights
Also, don’t forget to add links to all your other social media accounts in the description, to make it easier for your viewers to find you elsewhere on the internet.
Video Length
If you want to rank higher on YouTube, you should be prepared to come up with longer content. Just like text-based content, longer videos have better chance of being ranked higher on Google.
By doing a few quick searches on Youtube, you can see that in many cases longer videos tend to appear higher on search results.
When producing your videos, aim to make them around 5 minutes or so for the most part, or longer – but this isn’t an excuse to let your content drag on for too long. Make sure it stays interesting and jam-packed with valuable content, don’t make it longer at the expense of being boring.
Your Tags
Using the right tags for your videos will help YouTube categorize your content correctly – which makes it easier for viewers to find you.
This also determines which topic or category you are recommended in, making tags all the more important.
Image credit: Andy Black: Online Entrepreneur
When choosing the right tags for your video, be sure to to pick the most focused keywords first and go for more general ones later on. Having more specific keywords in the beginning will help you get high quality views from people who are looking for that specific content.
View Velocity Matters
While YouTube’s algo is notoriously difficult to figure out, there is one thing we can be certain about: view velocity matters.
View velocity refers to the amount of views a video receives within the first few hours of it being uploaded on the platform. A high view velocity tells YouTube your content is hot, which can then lead to you being recommended to more viewers.
We have to admit that acing this technique can be difficult through organic means. This is where purchased views come into play.
Bought followers can send a high volume of quality views to your content in a short amount of time – increasing your view velocity when it matters the most.
Purchasing followers can have tremendous marketing benefits – you just have to find the right provider. If you want to find providers who can give you high quality views without compromising your credibility on the platform, check out some of our YouTube view provider reviews right here.
A Compelling Thumbnail
Your thumbnail is just as important as your headline. It’s a visual way to give viewers a strong, emotional impression of what they’re about to see if they decide to click.
Don’t treat your thumbnail like an afterthought. Be sure to invest enough time in crafting click-compelling thumbnails, that will also attract the casual passer-by.
You want to give people enough information to get them interested, showing them that you can meet their need of the moment (whatever that might be).
When crafting thumbnails, pick a design that will be easily visible even at smaller sizes. Remember, when your video appears on search engines, your thumbnail will appear much smaller so be sure to pick one that is recognizable even on a reduced scale.
Your Playlists
Once you’ve accumulated a good amount of videos on your channel, you should organize everything into playlists.
It’s just more organized that way, making it a lot easier for viewers to find your content. It will facilitate more views due to the convenience it provides, and your playlists can show up in search results too.
This is also another great way to include text-based content to go along with your videos. Group similar videos with one another, and use focused keywords as your playlist titles, like you can see above.
YouTube’s algorithm takes into account every piece of text that goes with your video content to determine your ranking, so be sure to choose the most accurate keywords for this one.
Optimize & Conquer
There are many things you can do to optimize your video content to its fullest potential. You just have to do the requisite research it takes to find the best keywords and use them at every opportunity you get.
Focusing on content alone will cause you to miss out on opportunities that can help you reach more viewers. Taking the time to come up with an optimization strategy is a good way to secure a higher ranking on the platform.
Remember, you can always add a little fuel to your marketing fire by buying views and other engagement signals. As long as you do it correctly, this can be a smart move to help get noticed and gain momentum.
Be smart and develop a strategy – don’t be afraid to flex those optimization muscles, and good luck!
Date: December 21, 2016 / Categories: SEO, Tips, / Author: Mariko
