How to Optimize Your Youtube Videos
If you have a Youtube channel, optimizing your videos for better consumer engagement is critical to help your target audience find your videos and make use of the content.
A common misnomer for optimizing videos is to use the same search engine marketing (SEM) techniques that work for ranking high in Google search results. After all, Google owns Youtube, and they both use algorithms that power their automation for ranking videos and search results.
However, the algorithms for both platforms rank key elements of their listings differently.
Let’s start with how Google ranks it’s search ad results first, since its a more mature formula. (We are focusing on Google search ads, or SEM, instead of natural listings, or SEO, because Google now de-emphasizes natural listings on its Search page. This is due to a major Google change earlier this year, where search ads now only appear above the natural listings and the bottom of the search page. This pushes natural listings further down on the page. Search ads no longer appear on the right side of the search results page.)
Google’s algorithm ranks the quality of search titles and descriptions, so that if a person searches for “Nike Shoes,” these elements are referenced in the:
1. User’s query and search ad are relevant (i.e. - use searched for “Nike shoes” and “Nikes shoes” are in the title and description of the search results)
2. Resulting in a High Click-through-Rate (Clicks/Impression)
3. High-Quality and Relevant Landing page (i.e. - Nike shoes are found on the landingpage)
These elements are calculated into a Quality Score, which Google uses to consider what to charge the advertiser per click.
The ultimate goal for Google is to provide the most relevant content for the user first. This also applies to videos on Youtube, however, there is a twist for videos in ensuring consumer engagement.
That twist is called Watch Time” which means how long a video is watched. Watch Time is not the same as percentage of a video watched. To illustrate the difference, Youtube gives more weight towards a portion of longer videos watched - i.e. 60 seconds watched of a 2 minute video - than a shorter video watched - i.e. 30 seconds - in its entirety. The reason Youtube ranks this element high, is Youtube's goal is to keep visitors on the platform longer, regardless of the percentage of a video that is watched. Giving higher weight to Watch Time achieves this goal.
So while the traditional Google search elements are considered for video optimization, they are de-prioritized just below Watch Time and Thumbnail image click-throughs. The more engaging your thumbnail images are, the more Youtube visitors are enticed to click and watch your video. Similar to the search example above, this leads to a high Click-Per-View rate, or Clicks/Views.
If you have well-described Titles and descriptions, but dull thumbnail images, Youtube visitors are more likely to bypass your video for a competing video to watch.
In conclusion, most important elements in video optimization are:
1. Watch Time
2. Engaging thumbnail Images (leading to high Click-Per-View Rate)
3. Well-described and relevant Titles
4. Relevant Video Descriptions
5. Meta Tags
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Kevin is a brand storyteller and publishes this column every Thursday, covering topics related to branding, brand positioning, brand loyalty, storytelling, video creation, Youtube analytics/optimization and professional leadership. Follow him on Twitter @kevinferguson99