YouTube Video SEO: Tips to Boost Your Performance
Jon Rivers
Fractional B2B CMO for Hire | Social Media, SEO, Thought Leadership, Google Analytics Expert | Boosted LinkedIn Clicks by 500% for Microsoft Partner | Passionate About Growth Through Data Analytics
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Now enjoy my newest article, "YouTube Video SEO: Tips to Boost Your Performance".
Are you eager to dive into the world of YouTube Video SEO?
YouTube uses several factors to decide the ranking of your video in search results. These factors are similar to what other search engines and social media platforms use.
If you want to improve results by optimizing your videos, here are effective strategies and practices you can use:
Did you know that there are additional factors in your video that impact its visibility and engagement?
These factors can influence your target audience to see your video and interact with it.
The key to YouTube Video SEO lies in fine-tuning these factors to maximize your video's exposure and engagement.
Here are some proven strategies and best practices you can use.
Table of Contents
What is YouTube Video SEO?
It's all about tweaking your videos and channels to get them to the top of the search results. This process combines techniques like finding the right keywords, fine-tuning your script, building those backlinks, and more.
SEO, or search engine optimization, is about ranking web pages on search engines like Google.
But what about YouTube Video SEO?
The way SEO works on YouTube is quite interesting. YouTube's complex algorithm assesses various SEO components to rank your videos and channels. Elements like your video title, description, metadata, tags, thumbnails, viewer retention, and view count all get scrutinized.
The goal here? The algorithm aims to display the top YouTube videos to users, encouraging them to spend more time on the platform.
But here's a fun twist - YouTube isn't the only playing field. Your YouTube videos can also gain traction on search engines like Google. They can pop up in Google's primary search results, video search results, Google Images, and even the Discover tab. Pretty cool, right?
Source: Google
To put it simply, an effective YouTube Video SEO approach hinges on two core elements:
Blend these two search engine optimization tactics, and you're on your way to remarkable success with your YouTube Video SEO.
Why is YouTube Video SEO important?
Boosts views: By appearing at the top of search results, more users can click on your videos and watch them. You've put in the effort to create them, now let them dazzle!
Increases conversion opportunities: More visibility translates into more views, shares, and engagement, not to mention potential revenue.
Enhances organic website traffic: When your videos feature in online searches, it boosts click-through rates to your website, build brand recognition and loyalty, and drives organic traffic from YouTube.
Cost-efficient: YouTube video SEO won't burn a hole in your pocket. It necessitates your time and maybe some additional effort to acquire the appropriate tools and software (we will disclose our preferred tools later in this blog post).
Provides competitive edge: Ranking high in YouTube (and Google) search results ensure your content is seen before your competitors. This upper hand can help you establish your authority in your industry.
13 Proven YouTube Video SEO Tactics
Here are 13 proven YouTube Video SEO tactics to boost your videos to the top of search engine results.
#1 - Discover Primary, Secondary, and Long-tail Keywords
Much like Google, YouTube also requires diligent keyword research as a foundational aspect of SEO. Keywords are words and phrases that your audience uses to find content like yours.
YouTube's search bar suggests related keywords as users type, so including different keywords in your video can make it more visible.
Here's how to undertake YouTube keyword research:
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Primary Keywords: These are the big players with a high search volume. While they are frequently searched for, they're also more competitive and can be challenging to rank for.
Secondary Keywords: These keywords have a smaller search volume, but with less competition, they might be your pathway to ranking success.
Long-tail Keywords: These are extended and more specific phrases, often connected to your primary and secondary keywords. Suppose your keyword is "boost Instagram post." In that case, a long-tail version could be "boost Instagram post using ads manager."
And guess what? You don't need additional tools for this.
The keyword research tools you use for external SEO, like SEMRush, Ahrefs, and Google Keyword Planner, are suitable here.
#2 - Enhance your keyword research using the YouTube search bar
Captions help people understand and enjoy content better. They also have important words that make it easier to find. Use YouTube search to find more words to improve your keyword plan.
If popular videos are old, it's a chance for you to make new videos on the same topics and attract viewers.
Moreover, keep an eye on comparing the size of competitors' YouTube channels and the views their videos garner.
If smaller channels are generating high traffic, it could indicate that the keyword is trending and worth your attention.
#3 - Strategically Incorporate Keywords into Your Videos
Armed with your target keywords, it's time to embed them into your video. These keywords should find a place in the following sections:
Google recommends placing your target keyword at the beginning of the title, description, and tags for better results.
Also, consider blending long-tail keywords, synonyms, or related terms when crafting descriptions and adding tags.
As in any SEO approach, avoid keyword stuffing.
YouTube SEO aims to make your content more accessible to viewers and comprehensible for YouTube's algorithm. Overusing your keywords might confuse your audience or, worse still, lead to penalties from YouTube and Google.
#4 - Leverage Captions
Captions play a pivotal role in enhancing social media accessibility. Besides benefiting viewers with hearing impairments, they provide context and fill any audio gaps that viewers might overlook.
Most people, around 80%, are more likely to watch videos with captions, according to a survey by Verizon Media.
In addition to enhancing accessibility and user experience, captions provide a golden opportunity to include crucial keywords that can readily be identified.
You have the option to manually include captions by uploading either a text transcript or a timed subtitles document. YouTube also provides an option to enter transcript text directly, enabling the subtitles and timings to sync seamlessly with your video.
Adding keywords to your script is the best strategy to ensure you are included in captions.
Sometimes, YouTube's speech recognition technology may generate automatic captions once you upload your video. However, we recommend not relying solely on this feature as automated captions tend to lack the accuracy of manually created ones.
#5 Use Cards and End Screens
YouTube cards are interactive pop-ups you often see within videos, prompting you to watch more videos or subscribe. They're excellent for maintaining viewer engagement and driving traffic to related videos.
End screens function similarly to cards but appear during a video's final 5-20 seconds. They provide an opportunity to promote other videos, stimulate subscriptions, or guide users toward your most viewed playlists.
From an SEO perspective, cards and end screens sustain viewer interaction with your content. In contrast, the precise mechanics behind YouTube's video ranking system remain partly unclear. It is thought that video performance has a role to play. Therefore, the more you manage to captivate your audience with your content, the more enhanced your YouTube SEO outcome will be.
#6 Incorporate Timestamps into Your Video
Timestamps serve as markers, informing about the crucial segments within your video. This allows YouTube to grasp the context of your content more comprehensively, bolstering your YouTube SEO ranking in the process.
In Google search results, timestamps appear beneath video search results in a "key moments" section.
Suppose a user searches for a specific phrase, and Google identifies that phrase as a timestamp. In that case, Google will direct the user to the exact portion of your video that contains the relevant information.
I recommend adding timestamps, also known as chapters, to both your video description and the video itself. This facilitates smoother navigation for your viewers, making it easier for them to interact with your content.
To continue learning about all of the 13 Proven YouTube Video SEO Tactics click here to read the full article.
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#YouTube #SocialMedia #Video #SEO #Marketing #DigitalMarketing
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11 个月@
Marketing | Content Creation | Content Management | SEO | Website Development | Digital Marketing | Inbound Marketing
1 年Thanks, Jon, this is really helpful. I also read recently that platforms like YouTube are ranking content better that is Zero-Click Content, content that is on the site that has no links out. Since platforms, like YouTube, want to keep visitors scrolling on their platform (and gaining them ad revenue) they would rather prioritize content that doesn’t take their audience away. I don't know how important this is as of yet, but definitely something to consider in the near future.