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YouTube SEO What can you do to optimize for YouTube |

Jun 23, 2022

In addition to directing targeted visitors towards your YouTube videos, to creating engaging customers on your channel, YouTube SEO delivers lots of real benefits for growing your business.

Unsure of where to begin? This guide will cover the basics of YouTube SEO that will help new SEOs as well as content creators and marketers alike in this guide.

The article will cover the tools you can use for conducting YouTube keyword research, and strategies to increase your videos' effectiveness.

In this article

The reason you should use YouTube SEO

YouTube SEO assists in ranking videos higher in searches for keywords or phrases that are relevant to your business and drives traffic to your site as your content reaches greater audiences.

Without it, you'll have difficult time connecting with your audience through YouTube. With 30000 hours of fresh videos posted on YouTube every hour (as in Feb 2020), YouTube video SEO is an effective tactic for bringing more users towards your website.

However, you won't be able to crack SEO for YouTube without knowing how the YouTube algorithm evaluates videos. We'll dive into that next.

What is YouTube SEO?

YouTube SEO refers to the optimization techniques and procedures that make sure that YouTube indexes your videos so that they can rank and the public can locate your video.
Like Google, YouTube is a search engine. While Google is a search engine that searches all the internet to find a wide range of media formats, YouTube limits searches to YouTube's own video platform.

YouTube utilizes a complex algorithm that ranks content so that it can provide most relevant videos for the users. This is why optimizing videos for YouTube starts with understanding the algorithms.

Mainly, YouTube's algorithm primarily YouTube algorithm selects the videos that will be interesting to the viewer and the ones that are engaging enough to keep watching. YouTubers like Elena Bateman agree that the YouTube algorithm is difficult to understand and is constantly altering the types of videos it chooses to highlight. That's where YouTube SEO can come in handy.

Optimizing all aspects of YouTube SEO that are within your control is one of the best ways to prepare your content so every video you publish sends relevant ranking signals to the algorithm on the platform.

An introduction to YouTube Keyword study

In order to boost your video's optimization Start to do YouTube keyword study. Keyword research refers to the act of identifying search terms that are relevant and subjects that match your content.

They help people find you. However, they don't do all that well. do.

Keywords also appear in Google (which delivers a lot of visitors to YouTube) Utilizing contextual words and phrases to help YouTube's algorithm better recognize what your video about can also help boost your rank in other search engines internet-wide.

One common error made while beginning to learn YouTube SEO can be to ponder on finding the keywords that have the highest possible number of search results (aka the total number of times that a particular term or phrase is searched for on YouTube over a given period length of time). The goal should be to determine which keywords are most relevant to the target audience, and then determine if your video content matches your keyword's intent.

Why? YouTube prioritises relevancy. Furthermore, the more search volume is, the harder to be ranked. Keyword research allows you to match those keywords and subjects that are most relevant to your intended audience. This can help to create content that is in line with the intent of their searches.

Here's how to find appropriate keywords that are relevant to your target audience.

An easy, low-cost method to discover phrases is to make use the YouTube's Predictive Search. The phrases YouTube will automatically suggest to you as you begin typing in your search term. This is an efficient and simple way to find additional keywords that are relevant to the video you are interested in.

You can type any question you believe that a person in your targeted audience will likely enter into the YouTube search bar to find the exact phrases that people you'd like to reach are searching for. For example, auto-completed phrases include "for students", "for entrepreneurs," as well as "working at the comfort of your home" are all found. Use these terms to help your videos rank better in the search results.

Example search from YouTube's Predictive Search . Example shows similar search terms suggestions related to "productivity hacks"

Source: YouTube

Try competitor research

It is also possible to visit a competitor's YouTube channel and look at the keywords they've employed in their videos' title as well as descriptions and hashtags.

Be sure to note the keywords they use in the initial few minutes of the video. If you're hearing them repeat phrases, they're probably their keywords.

Use Ahrefs' Keyword Explorer

Finally, you can use a keyword research tool like Ahrefs.

You can enter the keywords you've found above into the Keywords Explorer and filter the results by the type of search engine. For this example, it could be YouTube.

Screenshot of the Ahfers search console and search volume in Youtube for the keyword "swimwear"

Source: Ahrefs

This tool can show the volume of searches for the keyword, the amount of views the videos that are ranked for it receive, and related keywords to target.

How can you optimize your video to be optimized for SEO by YouTube?

Once you've got your hands on the keywords you'd like to rank for Start optimizing your videos to rank in search with the next steps.

1. Create relevant content for your intended audience

If you're the first to post a video, YouTube displays the video to a small group of users to determine if they respond to it. Based on the performance here, the algorithm gives more reach to the video by allowing it to be searched and also the recommended videos bar.

So, the initial next step is to design an engaging and informative content.

In order to create engaging content it is first necessary to know what a keyword's search intent is. Also, what do people look at when looking for specific keywords? In other words, for example, are they seeking to assess your product to a competitor or do they wish to learn more regarding a specific issue the product can solve?

It's easy to determine the intent behind a search. Review the initial three or two ranking videos related to a particular topic and understand their perspective. Consider using a similar angle in your own content to help the algorithm determine who you should present the video to. If, for instance, all video content in the top 10 are educational, take the same approach.

2. Create engaging videos

It's especially important to work on each video's hook. Hooks are the opening lines of an video. The trick, however, is to make sure that the opening lines are enticing enough to make viewers want to continue watching.

Here are some tips to create an eye-catching video hook:

  • Utilize the keywords. This will tell the viewers that your content is covering what they're searching for.
  • What's to be gained from it What's in it for me?. Give a brief description of what the viewers will learn so they know what they should anticipate.
  • Share what makes you an authority in the field. This tells viewers they're learning from experts while also building credibility and trust with your audience.

3. Create chapters for videos.

Also, your video needs to have an arc of narrative or clear beginning, middle, and an end. It creates a flow for the video which makes it more enjoyable for viewers and simple to understand.

Chaptering is a crucial element of your YouTube SEO strategy because it breaks up video content , which allows viewers to segment their content and skim through content, move between sections and revisit key videos.

Consider each chapter of an online video as a heading. This allows users to move ahead to the place they're seeking right from the search engine results page.

Be aware that having a structured arrangement and chaptering plan is essential to create an easy-to-understand video. In case you're not sure, cut your plan to the simplest message. If you realize that you have a lot to talk about on a single area, you might want to consider incorporating any details you can add to your next video.

4. Edit to include greater engagement

The quality of video plays an important factor in determining the quality of videos.

Study by Backlinko on 1.3 million YouTube videos revealed that HD videos dominate search results on the platform. Indeed, 68.2% of the videos that appear on the first YouTube page are in HD in accordance with the study.

Example of YouTube search volume for HS

Source: Backlinko

A further important aspect is to edit videos for shortness to keep the attention of viewers.

Remove any scene or line that doesn't add value to the content. In addition, consider incorporating graphic transitions, branding, subscribe watermarks, and other engaging elements to retain viewers. You should think about the things that will keep viewers engaged until the very end.

There are 3 additional video elements that you can utilize on YouTube to really engage your viewers:

  • Cards The YouTube information cards come in to give useful links to internal and external websites that give the meaning of what you're saying.
  • End screens: These cards show within the last five to 20 minutes of your video by displaying a clickable"call to action.
  • Playlists The playlists organize your videos by category, making it easy for viewers to browse and view other videos.

5. Create an attention-grabbing video thumbnail

When you upload a video to YouTube and the platform will instantly pulls three still pictures from your video that you can use for your thumbnail.

You are able to choose one of these pictures or create custom thumbnails for the video.

Although creating customized thumbnails aren't mandatory, they help your video be noticed. They also provide you with the chance to design the look of your brand for your YouTube channel.

Furthermore, the more attractive and put together your video thumbnails appear and appears, the more likely an audience is to choose it among the related search results. The reason for this is that creating thumbnails is one tactic we recommend to use if you're looking to improve the SEO for your YouTube channel.

Example of Youtube Video Thumbnails

Source: YouTube

Make sure you size your artwork correctly when creating your thumbnails. The correct specifications to remember are:

  • Aspect ratio of 16:9.
  • The file size must be less than the 2MB limit
  • Upload it in JPG, GIF, or PNG formats
  • Resolution: 1280x720 pixels (minimum width of 640 pixels)

6. Incorporate keywords in a strategic way.

Throwing keywords anywhere and everywhere you want to is a surefire recipe to be a failure in YouTube's SEO. Not only does this look unprofessional to the viewers you are targeting It can also adversely impact your ranking since keyword-stuffing is a term that is not a good idea for any search engine.

In addition, you can add keywords in places where they are naturally a good fit in each of the following areas:

  • Video file name
  • Title
  • Description
  • Transcription/subtitle file
  • Tags
  • Thumbnail thumbnail image

Also, don't forget to say your keywords during the initial couple of minutes of your video. Since Google extracts the audio to determine keywords and rank the videos accordingly, doing this will maximize the impact of your strategy to rank your site.

Pro Tip: Identify the keywords related to your video tags using TubeBuddy's Chrome Extension. The Chrome extension displays the "Most Popular Tags" as a sidebar in the webpage when you type in relevant queries on YouTube.

7. Make sure to promote your video

Have you ever thought about how YouTube initially shows a video to a small group of users in order to decide whether it's worthy of more exposure and a better ranking? Although you have no control over who YouTube displays the video to, creators are able and should share their videos in any location where their viewers are online, to help boost the video's viewer count.

Here's ways to enhance the quality of your video post-publishing it:

  •   Make your video available on different social networks  

Nearly 100% of YouTube users are also on other social media sites. If you've gotten an audience there, post your video on YouTube to inspire users to check it out.

Have an online community as well? Share the video with your community members whether that's via a link to Slack, embedded into your newsletter, or any other online space that is specifically dedicated to your company's image.

  •   Join in and interact with other YouTubers  

The process doesn't have to be completed in this manner, it's a process that begins long before you publish a brand new video. The point, however, is to communicate with and support other creators so they can reciprocate the interaction once the video has been made available for publication.

The Backlinko study we shared earlier also affirms the importance of comments as an essential ranking factor. Research shows that videos with comments tend to rank higher.

Examples of YouTube video comments correlated with youtube video rankings

Source: Backlinko

  •   Invite viewers to post comments  

Finally, finish your video with questions for viewers. This encourages them to comment.

  •   Use paid tools  

Also, we recommend driving more viewers to your video once you've uploaded it making use of YouTube advertising tools, for example Ads.

Pro tip: Always promote your video as soon as that it's published. The more attention it receives in a short amount of time from the time it went live the better its ranking.

How to optimize your YouTube channel

No effective YouTube SEO strategy is incomplete without optimizing the channel.

Here are a few things you can do to ensure that your site is prepared to be ranked as high as is possible on search engines:

  • Use a suitable keyword to the name of your channel. This makes it easy for viewers to discover you on their own.
  • Complete the About Us page to tell the algorithm and users regarding your page. Make sure you frontload your value within the first 48 characters as those will be displayed in the results when you search.
  • Create a 30-minute advertisement for the channel you are creating. Make it enticing to turn viewers into subscribers by promoting the benefits from watching your channel.

YouTube SEO tools that you require to be successful

Before we wrap this up, here's a checklist of YouTube SEO instruments:

  • Ahrefs. The Keywords Explorer feature will help users to identify key words and their volume of search and will even provide you with the possibility of generating new keyword concepts too.
  • TubeBuddy. Alongside its Chrome extension, the total tool provides real-time recommendations of keywords you can use, as well as providing you with insights into how your videos are performing.

Ready to level up your YouTube's SEO?

As you can see, there's an awful lot of effort that goes into YouTube's video SEO. The good news is this will be a huge payoff in the long term.

Let's recap:

  • Design video content with a focus on the user that satisfies their search intent
  • Concentrate on the quality of your content and utilize keywords effectively
  • Make use of YouTube SEO tools in order to optimize your YouTube channel and videos
  • Engage viewers in your videos through promoting the videos