So you’ve uploaded your video on YouTube, and now what? Your video will not get millions of views or organic thumbs-ups by itself. You need to implement an effective YouTube SEO strategy to help your video stand out from the rest of them. You may have heard that YouTube ranks videos by their relevance to keyword searches and assigns them a number of views based on how many times they are clicked.
While this may be partially true, ranking high in YouTube search results isn’t as simple as including relevant keywords in your video title and description. There are several factors that influence the visibility of your video and drive up your views over time. And these are what make up a solid YouTube SEO strategy. This article will cover everything you need to know about optimizing your videos’ visibility on YouTube.
What is YouTube SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. Thus, YouTube SEO refers to improving a YouTube channel and its video content to achieve higher visibility in search engine results. It’s a complex process that requires plenty of time and effort, but it can be well worth it if you implement winning strategies correctly.
As with any type of SEO, certain best practices will help you rank higher in search results. Keyword research is the most popular. But other strategies contribute to YouTube SEO success. The rest of this article will shed light on them and introduce you to a highly efficient tool to leverage.
Select the Best Keywords for Your Content
If you want to rank well on YouTube, it’s important to choose the right keywords relevant to your video content. Your keywords are what people search for when looking for content on YouTube. So if you’re creating a video to help people learn how to bake a cake, your keywords would include “cake baking” or “how to bake a cake.” But these are short-tail keywords with large search volume, so they are highly competitive.
It’s best to consider long-tail keywords when choosing your keywords. Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific. For example, “how to bake a cake” is a short-tail keyword, while “how to bake a cake without an oven” is a long-tail keyword. Long-tail keywords usually have little search volume compared to the short-tail variants, but they are less competitive, so you can easily rank for them. Moreover, long-tail keywords tend to be more specific and closely related to the viewer’s actual search intent. For this reason, they are generally more valuable as they drive better conversion.
To select the best keywords, you have to do some research. First, look at your competitors’ videos and see what keywords they’re using. Secondly, use YouTube’s Autocomplete Keywords feature to find long-tail keywords. Then analyze these keywords to uncover their SEO-relevant data, including the search volume, competition, optimization strength, and the channel ranking highest for that keyword. You’ll need a YouTube SEO tool like VidTechy to uncover this data.
Optimize Your Video Title, Video Description, Tags
Once you’ve chosen your keywords, insert them into your video title. Your title should be short and capture the main topic of the content. Also, make it compelling so that it attracts viewers’ attention. Your video description is another important spot to fix your keywords. It gives YouTube and Google a clue about the context of your video. And when you’ve done this correctly, the search algorithm will rank your videos higher and showcase them to viewers in the Suggested Video sidebar.
To get the best results, ensure your target keyword appears in the first 25 words of your video description. Use it 2-4 times in the description, which should be at least 250 words. Try to use them as naturally as possible, so it doesn’t look spammy and get flagged by the search algorithm.
Finally, use your target keywords in your video tags. When it comes to tags, you should use both broad and specific tags to help people find the right video. For example, if you’re selling golf clubs, you can use broader tags like “golf” or “sports” as well as more specific ones like “golf clubs” or “men’s golf clubs.”
Encourage Viewers to Like, Comment, and Subscribe
Likes and comments are among the most important metrics to track on YouTube. Increased likes and comments on your content show YouTube that your videos are engaging and should be featured more prominently in the search engine. This will improve your SEO on YouTube significantly. Also, a study has found that higher view counts on YouTube lead to higher rankings in Google search results. So if you’re trying to rank higher on Google, likes and comments should be an important part of your strategy.
Another way comments help to boost your ranking is by providing relevant keywords for your videos. With more people writing up their thoughts, they often use these keywords in their comments. Their input will feed more relevant keywords into the system for the search algorithm to crawl.
If you want to get maximum engagement for your YouTube videos, the first thing you need to do is to create quality content. That means choosing high-quality equipment and editing the footage to look its best. Also, the information in your content should help your viewers solve their problems effectively. If it helps them get over their worries, they’ll be compelled to give you a thumbs up and share their experiences in the comment section. Another way to get more likes and comments is by asking questions in your videos. If you do so, it encourages viewers to comment and start discussions about the topic you’re covering. Finally, make sure that you respond to comments as soon as possible. Don’t leave viewers hanging.
Try to Create Longer, High-Quality Videos
In May 2015, Google’s Panda algorithm update rolled out to penalize low-quality content and reward high-quality content. This update was particularly focused on the length of content. Sites with longer videos were rewarded with higher rankings than sites with shorter videos, regardless of other factors. In the weeks following the announcement, there was a noticeable uptick in the average length of videos on YouTube. YouTube rewarded longer videos with better rankings than shorter ones.
Since the Panda update, the average video length has increased by over 50%. The logic behind this update is simple: if your video is longer, it has a lot more to say about the topic, which means there are more opportunities for YouTube to recommend related videos to viewers. There are two reasons why longer videos rank higher. First, longer videos tend to be more engaging to viewers. They provide a greater value for the time invested. Second, longer videos tend to be more informative. They contain more detailed information and tend to be of better quality overall.
Besides the video length, you also have to pay attention to its quality. If you want to maximize your chances of ranking at the top, you need to create high-quality videos. This means videos with HD graphics, high-quality audio, and good production value. It will cost you more money and production time, but it’s definitely worth the investment if it puts you in the number 1 spot.
Promote Your Video
Promoting your YouTube videos can improve your overall SEO in several ways. The most obvious is through the number of views it receives. The more people who see your video, the more likely YouTube’s search engine will pick it up. So how do you go about promotion? There are three main ways.
First, take advantage of social media. Share your YouTube video on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. You can even share it on Reddit and Tumblr. It’s free and easy. But there is a catch. Many social media groups and forums have a strict “no promotions” policy. To get around this, you need a value-focused approach. Don’t just pop in; drop a link to your latest YouTube video and leave. Instead, engage with the people in the group and share your content only if it will benefit them.
The second way to promote your YouTube video is by sharing it with influencers. Reach out to influencers who might be interested in your product or service. They may be willing to share your video with their audience in exchange for a fee, free product, or service. Finally, you can also add a YouTube video link to your website’s homepage, your email signature, and your business cards. So your leads and customers can watch it right away.
Select a Video Category
Make sure you select a video category before you publish on YouTube. There are two reasons why you have to do this: first, your video could be rejected if it doesn’t fall within the right category. The audience of the given category will not find it relevant, so it will have no place there.
Second, and most important, selecting the right category helps you reach a broader audience. This is because YouTube’s algorithm will know what your video is about and show them to people who would be most likely to engage with it. Also, when users include your category in the advance search, YouTube narrows the search results to only that category, improving your chances of ranking at the top.
As you choose categories for your videos, try to stay consistent with your choices. By being consistent, you’re reinforcing to YouTube that your content is focused on that topic and should reach people interested in it.
Customize Your Thumbnail
Your video thumbnail is the first thing viewers notice about your video, not even your title. It’s your first impression, so ensure that it gives an interesting preview of your video. An attractive thumbnail can fetch you more views, which signals to the YouTube algorithm that your content is popular. As your content gains more traction, you’ll see a significant boost in your rank.
Use Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to get more exposure for your videos. It works on YouTube the same way it does for every other social media platform. People who click on hashtags from another popular channel will be able to find your video more easily if you’re using the same hashtag. So take advantage of this feature to get more exposure for your videos.
You can include a hashtag in your video titles and descriptions. It’s important to use relevant hashtags when creating your video. For example, if you’re creating content about vacation destinations, it would be best to include the hashtag #traveling when posting your video. By doing this, visitors looking for travel-related content can easily find your videos. To ensure your video is getting the most out of hashtags, try to use them consistently across all your old and new videos.
Invest in a Good YouTube Marketing Software
If you want to take your SEO game to the next level, you should start using YouTube SEO software. These tools can help you optimize your video’s title, description, and tags to get more views and shares on YouTube. They also allow you to track what’s working and what isn’t, which helps you identify weaknesses and adjust your strategy accordingly.
While there are dozens of YouTube SEO tools in the software market, it’s best to select one that helps you handle every aspect of your video marketing, including research, audit, analytics, and advertising. An all-in-one program will save you the cost of using multiple tools. A good example of a good YouTube SEO tool is VidTechy. This free software helps you stay on top of your SEO game. You may want to give it a try.
How to Use VidTechy For YouTube SEO
Besides being an all-in-one YouTube marketing tool, Vidtechy stands out for its simple interface and easy-to-use options. Here are the incredible SEO features of this tool and how to use them.
Video Optimiser
VidTechy has a free video optimisation checklist which will assist you in creating the perfect video upload without compromising with the SEO or the content in any way. To use the video optimiser, follow the following steps:
- Open your browser and navigate to https://vidtechy.com/login
- A new screen opens up, which asks you to enter your username and password. Enter your account credentials carefully. Click on the “Login” button. The interface will automatically navigate you to the dashboard page.
- In your dashboard, you can spot a small YouTube icon on the extreme end of the screen. Click on it.
- The “Video Optimise Checklist” will open up in a portion of the screen.
- Enter the main keyword, title, description and tags for your video. Now, in the main checklist, click on the checkboxes which you have completed.
- After completing all these tasks, click on the “Analyze” button. Next, you’ll see the optimization score of your video. The optimisation score of your video will also be shown in a speedometer indicator showing the exact score in a percent form below the speedometer indicator.
- Below the score, you’ll also see the recommendations and suggestions. As you start working on the suggestions, you can see your scores increasing. These suggestions will help you to increase the optimisation score of your video. I’m sure you’ll enjoy optimising your video with Vidtechy’s free video optimiser tool.
Thumbnail Maker
Now, you can also use Vidtechy’s Thumbnail maker tool which is completely free and creates amazing thumbnails which earn you clicks. To get started, follow these steps:
- Login to your VidTechy.com account.
- On your dashboard, scroll down to find the “Productivity Tools” Section. In the section, you will find “Thumbnail Maker”. Click on it.
- The new page opens up with the thumbnail maker. On the next page, you can choose your image file and start editing. In the top left corner of the screen, you can spot a pencil icon. Click on it.
- You’ll see a list of menus. In the templates section, you’ll find amazing pre-made templates which you can use. You can choose your image from the free images icon. You’ll also find tools for drawing, editing and for inserting the texts and objects. Now, stop wasting your time on other complicated tools and try Vidtechy’s free thumbnail maker which is super easy to navigate and user friendly.
Keyword Analyzer
The keyword analyzer can help you find out which keywords are driving traffic to your channel and help you to rank for them. To use the keyword analyzer:
- Login to your VidTechy.com account.
- On your dashboard, find the SEO Tools section and click on Keyword Analyzer under it.
- Enter your chosen keywords into the keyword textbox.
- If your keyword is region-specific, you can select any region you want in the box next to the keyword.
- Use advance settings to narrow your search. Specify the minimum or maximum CPM, views, subscribers, and age of videos you want to find. Then click on Analyze.
- The top keyword analysis results it will show will include the search volume, competition, and optimization strength of the keyword.
- You’ll also see the opportunity to rank for the keyword, the top 20 search results for that keyword, and other detailed statistics like the number of views, likes, and subscriptions.
Title Analyzer
The next option, Title Analyzer, can help you generate compelling SEO headlines to rank better in search results. It can also score your title to determine whether it’s captivating enough to make a good impression. To use the title analyzer:
- Open Title Analyzer under SEO Tools.
- Enter your target keyword in the Title Idea Generator.
- Click on Generate Title.
- Copy your best title from the provided results.
- Click on the Analyzer button beside Generator at the top of the screen.
- Paste the title in the Title textbox and click Analyze.
- The results will reveal a measure of the common, uncommon, emotional, and power words in your title.
- You’ll also see data on the word count, character count, and reading grade level of the title.
Description Generator
The Description Generator instantly creates snippets explaining the content of your video to give viewers a clue and help you rank higher in search results. Here’s how to use the description generator.
- Open Description Generator under SEO Tools.
- You’ll see editable templates of your full video description, including About the Video, Timestamps, and About the Channel. Edit the text blocks as you want and click on Generate Description.
- Copy your description.
- Alternatively, click on the Generator button at the top of the screen.
- Enter your keywords in the keyword textbox and click on Generate Description.
Tag Finder
The Tag Finder creates a list of tag ideas based on your target keyword. To use the tag finder:
- Open Tag Finder under SEO Tools.
- Type in your keyword and select the number of videos to analyze in the next box.
- Click on Suggest Tags.
- Select the best tags from the result list.
Hashtag Finder
The Hashtag Finder generates a list of hashtag suggestions for your keyword. Here’s how to use the hashtag finder.
- Open Hashtag Finder under SEO Tools.
- Type in your keyword and select the number of videos to analyze in the next box.
- Click on Suggest Hashtag.
- Select the best hashtags from the result list.
Final Thoughts
Patience and consistency are two of the most important skills in SEO. You need to understand that it takes time for the search algorithm to recognize your content and boost it. So don’t give up on your SEO journey because you’re not seeing instant results.
Finally, don’t underestimate the power of a good SEO tool. Using software to optimize your YouTube channel saves you time by automating key processes. The software will also help you keep track of your content, recognize trends, and evaluate how it’s performing against competitors. What are you waiting for to begin? Create a free account on Vidtechy today and start growing your channel.