If you believe that spending time and money on creating a flawlessly engaging video will help you reach your goals, I hate to break it to you that you are mistaken. Every day, YouTube broadcasts almost 100 million videos.
With such a massive beehive, it’s difficult for your video to reach people. The only method to fix this is to optimize your YouTube videos for search.
What Is YouTube SEO?
Video marketing can be a blessing to businesses, influencers, and vloggers when done correctly. It aids in reaching a larger audience. Additionally, it is the most effective medium for making people aware of your brand’s presence. Lastly, video marketing may help you increase your sales significantly if you are in the retail industry.
If you want to reap the benefits of video marketing, you must employ YouTube SEO strategies. It will align your videos with the YouTube search engine algorithm. When anybody searches for your video, the algorithm will find your channel or content and rank it at the top of the search results. Here’s a simple explanation of this:
Suppose a person searches YouTube for a specific keyword. The YouTube bot will sift all channels and videos according to the search query. The bot will show the user the best and most relevant content. Now, the results for each individual are determined by characteristics such as the user’s surfing history.
YouTube uses multiple variables to rank results, all of which fall under the purview of YouTube SEO. If you optimize your video carefully, such as using keywords in the title, descriptions, tags, and so on, the odds of your video ranking higher increase.
Moreover, if you include subtitles, transcripts, audio, and other elements, that assist the bot in discovering your video quickly, the result would be your video going viral. You will get higher engagement and more subscribers and establish a better brand presence, turning your videos into business.
How to Perform YouTube SEO?
Now that you understand what YouTube SEO is and how it will help you, use the following YouTube SEO techniques:
Perform Keyword Research
You must determine which keywords best represent your videos and lure users to your channel. The YouTube bot will crawl, index, and rank your channel on the search results page if you only utilize relevant keywords.
To do keyword research, leverage available internet tools. Alternatively, you may try Google’s Keyword Planner. Another trick is searching a term in the search field and selecting from the autosuggestions.
You may also look at your competitors’ channels to discover what keywords they use in their titles, tags, and descriptions.
Create a Video Title and Description
You should devote a significant amount of time crafting intriguing titles and descriptions. It is because your video’s title and description impact its rating. So, after conducting keyword research, include the target keyword in those two.
However, don’t stuff them with keywords. Your title should be brief and to the point. Moreover, your title and description should indicate what the video is about.
Add Relevant Tags
YouTube uses tags to identify the content of your video. Provide relevant tags so that YouTube can index and rank your content. Keep the character limit to approximately seven words because the character limit is 120.
Add Transcripts and Captions
The YouTube algorithm is a bot. It cannot interpret videos the same way humans do. It can only read text and codes. So, you should provide transcripts in the video for the algorithm to understand the content.
Transcription is a feature that converts video to text. And, if you include timestamps, it also serves as a caption. So, even if a person is deaf or in a noisy setting, they will be able to interpret the video through captions.
Design Custom Thumbnails
Viewers decide whether or not to watch a video based simply on the video preview. Therefore, you should create a visually appealing thumbnail for each of your videos because it is the first thing a user will see on the YouTube search results page.
Your thumbnail should be exciting and relevant. It should be sleek and easy on the eyes. Only then will a user click on your video, increasing traffic to your channel.
Leverage Cards and End Screens
In your video, you should include verbal calls to action. However, for more impact and excellent outcomes, use a direct call to action in the form of YouTube cards and end screens.
YouTube cards are pictorial notifications that appear in the top right-hand corner of the screen. The cards recommend and urge visitors to explore the rest of your channels’ content.
At the end of the video, an end screen appears. End screens allow you to invite people to watch other videos, direct them to your website, or ask them to subscribe to your channel.
Conclusion
Besides using the practices listed above, optimize your video URLs, promote videos organically, promote videos using Google AdWords, and spread the word about your channel on social media platforms. Above all, maintain video quality and consistency. That is how you can optimize your videos for search and achieve the desired results.