What are you doing to boost your YouTube SEO? If the answer is “nothing,” it’s time to put it on your radar. YouTube is the second most utilized search engine in the world; and in the golden age of content, a presence on YouTube is valuable.
If your business already has some YouTube content, congratulations! You’re ahead of the curve! But what are you doing to attract more eyeballs to your content?
Here are 5 Crucial YouTube SEO Basics
#1 – Make sure your content is good.
This should go without saying, but YouTube can have some trouble deciding what content is quality and what is not. After all, 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every single day.
So what can you do to meet the criteria for “Quality Content?” Ask yourself:
- Is this informative?
- Is this entertaining?
If the answer is yes to one, – or ideally, both – of these questions, then you are in good shape.
Here are some tangible characteristics YouTube looks for:
- Session time/Watch time – How long do viewers watch your content for?
- Audience retention – Are your viewers coming back for more content?
- Engagement – Are viewers commenting on your video? Are they liking it?
- Click through rate – Do viewers click more of your videos? Do they do to your website afterwards?
Other handy tips:
- Consider the video’s length. YouTube boosts videos longer in length because they keep viewers engaged on their platform longer.
- Optimize your first 15 seconds to draw in visitors
- Use “pattern interrupts” which are multiple camera angles
- Give your video an inviting thumbnail
#2 – Optimize your Video Title using subject and relevance.
There are a few ways you can tweak your titles to draw in even more viewers. Writing titles for videos is fairly simple. The best way to write titles for your videos is to imagine you are writing a title for a blog post. When writing your title keep these tips in mind:
- Consider potential viewer questions your video can answer and work those answers into your title.
- Write your high volume keyword or broad video subject before your title. Let’s say you are making a video about Marvel vs DC comics or Vegan Cookie recipes. Put those keywords in the beginning of your title, so YouTube knows to group it by subject.
- Timestamp the video title to mark for relevancy, for example: (2019), [Today], (5 Actionable Tips) works great!
#3 – Optimize your Descriptions and Tags.
Write the description for your YouTube video the same way you would begin a blog post. Describe what your video offers, but don’t give away any important details and don’t include a transcript. Remember YouTube wants to keep its viewers on the platform for as long as possible. If you include all the information in the description, there’s no incentive for users to view the entirety of your video.
A good video description will also give all the necessary contact links for your business. These will include: your social media handles, your website, your subscribe button, your newsletter signup, and any sources you might have used for the video.
When optimizing your tags, look to follow the TAB formula. TAB stands for :
Topic: First tag should be the query or term you want to rank for
Alternative: Second tag should be an alternate title your video could also rank for
Broad: Third tab should be your topic, but a bit more general.
More handy tricks: Download “TubeBuddy” which will source helpful tags for your videos.
#4 – Optimize Your Ending
When your viewer has reached the end of your video, make sure they have somewhere to click next. Add End Cards and Annotations in the creator studio when you edit your videos to guide users where you want them to go next.
A solid end screen should look something like this:
There are a few items to notice here. The first is the Channel’s logo – on the left side of the screen – which turns into a subscribe button. Hovering over this button gives you the option to subscribe. Simply go to the ‘Cards’ section under the ‘Video Manager’ to place your own logo. You can also give the viewer a direct call to action in your video asking them to subscribe to your channel for more content like this.
On the right side of the end screen, you will see a Playlist and another video. These give your viewer options that keep them engaged with your channel. The more engagement YouTube finds with your channel, the higher your videos will rank.
More handy tricks: Pin a comment to the top of the page, and respond to comments in a timely fashion.
#5 – Optimize your Channel.
Giving your channel an artistic touch adds a panesh of professionalism. Investing in professional designs for your logo, banner photos, and video thumbnails signals to YouTube that your business is serious about maintaining a presence on its platform.
Here are some examples of channel artwork:
In addition to artwork on your channel, include an introduction video on your channel to give new guests a glimpse into what your channel offers. Think of it as a trailer for your channel. This video often autoplays when someone opens your channel, so make sure it sets the right tone.
You should also organize your channel’s videos into playlists. Not only will this keep viewers engaged, but searchers will thank you for placing your heaps of content into organized libraries so they can find what they’re looking for efficiently.
Congratulations! You have optimized your YouTube channel. Hopefully, you can grow your business utilizing your top notch video content.
Remember the golden rule, keep your audience on YouTube, and your channel will thrive.
June 7, 2019