(Last Updated On: October 21, 2022)

What Is YouTube SEO

YouTube SEO optimizes videos for search results. Just like with traditional SEO, there are some factors that you can optimize to improve your ranking. These include the title and description of your video and the tags and keywords you use.

YouTube SEO differs from traditional SEO in several ways. One is that YouTube emphasizes engagement signals like likes, comments, and shares. Simply having more views on your videos is not enough to guarantee a high ranking.

Another difference is that YouTube gives less weight to backlinks than traditional SEO. This is because YouTube videos are generally hosted on their platform, so any links pointing to them are less valuable than links from other websites. Instead, YouTube places a lot of weight on the number of people who watch your video and then return to the site later. To understand how this works, let’s look at an example.

Let’s say that you are a blogger. You create a video that explains how to make a delicious apple pie. You then share this video on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. The video is viewed by thousands of people and gets many likes, comments, and shares. These are positive signals that YouTube can read. It also knows that thousands of people clicked on the link back to your website and watched the video all the way through. It knows that those viewers then visited other pages on your website and viewed more videos or purchased your product.

This is another positive signal to YouTube. The more people that watch your video, the higher the number of signals for YouTube. This increases the number of people who will see your video in their newsfeeds. This is why YouTube is now rewarding videos viewed to completion. It also rewards videos with many likes, comments, and social media shares. This is what YouTube wants: people watching videos, liking them, and sharing them with their friends.

This is precisely why you must concentrate on getting your video watched to completion. You want the largest number of people to watch your video and then see it in their newsfeed. The more people who comment on your video, the better. You must encourage them to do so by using a call to action at the beginning or end of your video.

How To Optimize Your Videos

YouTube is one of the most-visited sites online. And with over a billion active users, it’s also one of the most powerful platforms for marketing your business. But because YouTube is popular doesn’t mean it’s easy to get noticed. In fact, with all of the competition, it can be pretty tricky to make your videos stand out from the crowd. You can improve your videos to increase viewership. Here are a few tips:

1. Use keywords in your title and description. Like SEO for your website, utilizing relevant keywords in your video title and description will assist YouTube in understanding what your video is about and match it with relevant searches. So take some time to do some keyword research before uploading your video.

2. Add a call to action. At the end of the video, add a call to action to get viewers to share, click, or watch another video. For example, you could ask people to subscribe or give you a thumbs up.

3. Keep videos short. The recommended length for a YouTube video is between 10 and 15 minutes. If you go over this, people may start to lose interest.

4. Add captions. YouTube automatically adds captions to your videos so people who can’t hear the video or understand your accent can still enjoy it.

5. Use closed captions. This is called closed captions if you want to add a transcript of your video.

6. Add annotations and cards. Annotations are clickable markers on the video screen, allowing people to view related videos or visit your website. Cards are a way of adding extra information to your videos, such as images and text.

7. Use keywords. To make your video more likely to be found on search engines, use keywords in the titles and descriptions of your videos.

 YouTube will use the titles and descriptions of your videos when it identifies them on search engines.

8. Share to Facebook and Twitter. Your friends can watch your YouTube video from their Facebook or Twitter feeds without going to YouTube first.

9. Turn on closed captions. Closed captioning lets viewers understand what’s being said even without hearing it. You should consider turning on closed captions if your video has much dialogue. 

10. Make it private. If you don’t want others to see your video, then you can change the privacy setting of your video from Public to Private.

11. Turn on annotations. Annotations are similar to the way that pop-up ads work on the internet. They appear on the video and allow you to give more information about your video. 

12. Make it go viral. If you want your YouTube video to go viral, ensure it’s entertaining or informative.

13. Add a link in the description box of your video. Video descriptions might include links to your website or blog. 

14. Add a link to your YouTube channel in the video description box. Your video description box link lets visitors subscribe to your channel. 

15. Add keywords to your video title. Keywords are essential because they help Google determine what your video is about. Be careful, though, not to spam the video title with keywords.

16. Use annotations. Annotations are little boxes that appear on the screen during your video. You can use annotations to link to other videos or websites, ask viewers questions, or give them a call to action.

17. Add links in your video description box. Links are important because they help viewers find you on other social media channels.

18. Add the video to your Facebook page.

19. Add the video to your Twitter feed.

20. Add the video to your Pinterest board. The more places you share your video, the more views it will get. And the more views it gets, the more subscribers you’ll gain.

21. Get your video on YouTube s front page. Your video can appear on YouTube’s homepage in two ways. The first way is to create a video that s particularly remarkable, share it with everyone you know, and hope it goes viral. The second way is to be strategic and get the video on YouTube s front page. A YouTube promotion tool like VidCurator can help you reach relevant people and organizations interested in your topic.

22. Make a video that goes viral. The best way to get your video on YouTube s front page is to create a video that goes viral. If you can make an awe-inspiring, funny, or otherwise engaging video, you’ll surely gain more views and subscribers.

Title Tags

As the title of your video, a title tag is one of the first places people will look to understand what your video is about. A great title tag accurately describes your video’s content and entices people to click and watch. Some title tag writing tips: 

1. Keep it short and sweet: A title tag should be 50-60 characters long so it’s easily readable and digestible.

2. Use keywords wisely: Keywords are essential for ranking purposes but stuff your title full of them, which will look spammy. Use 1-2 relevant keywords in your title, placed strategically for maximum impact.

3. Make it reflective of the content: Your title tag should give viewers a good idea of what they can expect from watching your video. If the content is a tutorial, your title should reflect this.

4. Use action words: The most successful title tags are written in active voice and contain strong verbs.

5. Make it relevant: If your video is about a specific topic, ensure your title reflects this. If possible, include the name of the product or brand you’re reviewing.

6. Make it short and concise: The longer your title tag, the less likely people will click on it. Try to keep it under 60 characters.

7. Use descriptive keywords: Listing a few relevant keywords in your title tag will help searchers find you in their search results.

8. Link to your video: Include a link to your video at the end of the title tag.

9. Use alt text for images: Alt tags are a great place to include additional keywords for your video. They provide context for the image and help with search engine optimization.

10. Keep it simple: Use descriptive words to help people find your video on a search results page.

Description

When ranking your YouTube videos, description is one of the most critical factors. The description helps YouTube understand your video and gives potential viewers an idea of what they can expect. Write a great YouTube video description with these tips: 

1. Keep it short and to the point: You don’t need to write a novel, but you should include all relevant information about your video.

2. Use keywords wisely: Keywords are essential for both YouTube and potential viewers. Choose your keywords carefully and use them throughout your description.

3. Use calls to action: A call to action can be as simple as “subscribe to our channel” or “watch this video.” Calls to action help encourage viewers to take the desired action.

4. Make it engaging: Your video description should be interesting and easy to read so that viewers are compelled to watch your video.

5. Add links: Links can help drive traffic back to your site, but be careful of the links you include in your video description. 

6. Use relevant tags: Tags are visible to viewers who search for videos. Make sure you use appropriate and specific tags that will help people find your videos.

7. Add annotations: Annotations are visible on all videos and can provide additional information about the video or link to other videos.

8. Use the correct category: The category you choose will influence how your video is shown to viewers. You must consider this when selecting a category for your video.

9. Create a complete channel: To maximize your presence on YouTube, it s a good idea to fill in all of the sections for your channel. This includes adding a profile picture and banner image and filling out your About and Subscribe pages.

10. Add your website to your channel: Adding a link to your website from your YouTube channel will help viewers find more information about you and what you’re up to.

Tags

Most people think of tags as a way to categorize videos on YouTube, but tags can also be used as a powerful SEO tool. By adding relevant and keyword-rich tags to your videos, you can ensure that your videos are more likely to appear in search results. Here are a few tips for using tags effectively:

1. Do your research: Use keyword research tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner and YouTube Keyword Tool to find out which keywords are most popular for your video topic.

2. Be specific: Don’t just use general terms like “food” or “cat” as tags. Instead, use exact keywords that describe your video content, such as “vegan recipes” or “siamese cat breeds.”

3. Use relevant tags: Add as many relevant tags as possible, but don’t overdo it. If you add too many tags, your video will look spammy and won’t get any views.

4. Keep tags relevant to your video: Don’t use tags that don t relate to your video. This is a quick way to get your video marked as spam and removed from YouTube.

5. Add and organize tags on the upload page: Adding tags after you’ve uploaded your video is no good. You have to add them when you’re still on the upload page, so you can see how they work before uploading.

6. Use relevant titles: Use keywords in your title, but don t make it look spammy.

7. Describe long videos: If your video is longer than five minutes, be sure to add a description of the video.

8. Don’t add irrelevant tags to your video: Don’t add tags that don’t relate to your video. This is a quick way to get your video marked as spam and removed from YouTube.

9. Don’t annoy your subscribers, fans, or viewers: Don’t say things like BUY MY STUFF! in the video description.

10. Be friendly and conversational: Write a short message that adequately describes your video.

11. Be honest: This is the most important one. Don’t try to trick people into watching your video by using misleading titles or descriptions. If you have a video with no views, it will probably not get any views without much effort. Don’t give up! Make your video more appealing using these tips. 

Thumbnails

Regarding YouTube SEO, one of the most important factors is your thumbnail. Your thumbnail is what appears on the search results page and on your video page, and it can be the deciding factor between someone clicking on your video or moving on to the next result. Thumbnails require a few considerations: 

• Make it plain and visible. You want your video to be easily identifiable. 

• Use bright colors and contrast to make your thumbnail stand out from the rest.

• Use text sparingly, as too much can make your thumbnail look cluttered.

• Most importantly, make sure your thumbnail represents your video’s content. If it isn’t, people may not watch the video, and your views will suffer.

Optimizing For Clickthroughs 

YouTube, the second-largest search engine, helps businesses and individuals reach a broad audience. And like any other search engine, ranking high in YouTube search results is key to getting seen.

There are two types of YouTube searches: those looking for something specific and those just browsing. It’s important to optimize your videos for both kinds of searches. Here are various ways to do that: 

1. Use keywords in your title and description. Like any other search engine, using relevant keywords is essential for ranking high in YouTube search results. Include them in your title and description and in the tags section.

2. Create transcripts of your videos. This may seem unnecessary, but it’s a tremendous help to you and your viewers. Making videos accessible to the hearing impaired is a great way to boost views and gain new fans.

3. Claim and verify your video. Ensure the title is short, catchy, and gets right to the point. Write a detailed description that includes a call to action and is easy to read. Use keywords in your title and description. You should also claim your video and upload a thumbnail. This is how you can optimize your videos for both types of searches. Here’s how: 

• Use a thumbnail that s eye-catching and relevant to the video content (i.e., not just your logo).

• Include your company name, website address, and social media links.

• Request subscribers and likes in the description. 

• Add annotations in your videos. Annotations are those little yellow boxes that you can add to your videos. They allow you to add links and calls to action and draw attention to specific points in your video.

• Use YouTube s analytics to find out what people are watching. You can see how many views, likes, and dislikes your videos have received and which ones had the highest viewership. Also, you can see when your viewers, on average, watch the video (i.e., the start and end time).

• Use YouTube s analytics to find out what people are watching. You can see how many views, likes, and dislikes your videos have received and which ones had the highest viewership. Also, you can see when your viewers, on average, watch the video (i.e., the start and end time).

Conclusion 

This guide should help you SEO-optimize YouTube videos. You should also have a few ideas for standing out from the crowd and getting more views. Remember, optimizing your videos for SEO is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process that you should always be working on. As you create new videos, keep SEO in mind and use the tips from this guide to help you get more views.