YouTube SEO Tips to Boost Your Video’s Search Rank
Everyone knows that people prefer to watch a video rather than read a lengthy blog article (I know, I should have done this as a video as well—maybe one day). In fact, 59 % prefer to watch a video rather than read text. That’s a sizable group. As a result, video SEO can provide a slew of advantages, including greater view time, increased brand exposure, and more sales and leads.
For website and video ranking, search engines such as YouTube and Google apply the same concepts. The goal is to provide the greatest possible experience for the user, so YouTube video search results have been merged with Google search results to make things easier.
In this blog, I’ll show you exactly how to use some simple SEO tactics to boost traffic to your YouTube videos.
8 SEO tactics for YouTube that will help you rank better in searchy
In a really straightforward and simple method, you can integrate your SEO and video strategy to help supercharge your marketing. This will not only increase the amount of time your customers spend watching your videos, but it will also help you with things like YouTube remarketing in the future. To increase traffic and video views, follow these eight measures to optimize your YouTube SEO.
1. Choose your keywords carefully
Every month, the SERPs become more competitive. New competitors, new products, and new services are all vying for first place. As a result, it’s critical to identify ways to diversify yourself and your service.
Do your keyword research, and unless you can compete with terms that are extremely competitive, choose keywords that will bring you volume but are less competitive.
You can utilize the same keyword research tools that you’d use for PPC or SEO, such as Google Keyword Planner.
*The Free Keyword Tool from WordStream
*Google Keyword Planner is a tool that helps you find keywords.
*Moz or Semrush are two popular search engines.
*Google search—suggestions, questions asked by others, relevant searches, and more!
2. Include keywords in the title of your video
The first step is to figure out what your audience is looking for. We know that informational, commercial, navigational, and transactional search intent are the most popular. As a result, matching the content of your video to the purpose of your consumer will be critical for your video to appear in search results.
Second, make sure you know WHY you’re doing a YouTube video and who your target audience is. Use the product name in the video title and description, for example, if you want to highlight a product review. It may appear to be an easy step, but many YouTube channels overlook it, resulting in their videos being near the bottom of Google and YouTube search results.
The sample below demonstrates how competitive the phrase ‘dell computer review’ is. This is a term that someone might look up while they’re thinking about buying something. These videos come from YouTube as well as various websites and blogs all around the internet.
3. Integrate the keyword into your video
Simple, however YouTube may consider this one of the ranking variables when determining whether or not to show your video in search results. Your video will have a far better chance of being ranked—and of gaining more search volume—if the file name you’re uploading contains the desired keyword.
You may view the filename when uploading a new video. This is how YouTube determines whether or not a video is relevant, so make sure your file name is up to date before uploading!
4. Optimize the description of your YouTube video
Making ensuring you have a great, optimized video description is one of the most significant ranking elements for YouTube SEO. YouTube will review the video if you edit or update any YouTube video aspect, such as video descriptions, subtitles and closed captions, or thumbnails. This can be beneficial or detrimental, so be sure you get it correctly the first time!
YouTube suggests that you include your most significant keywords in the first couple of sentences of your description and that it be no more than 200 words long. In general, make your description useful. Remove it if it does not assist a user.
The phrase I typed into Google is bolded in the descriptions of the films that have come up, as you can see below. This is YouTube’s way of informing me that the videos in the description are relevant.
The Youtube Creator Studio, which is a resource that is constantly updated with current knowledge, includes some fantastic materials. It includes a helpful checklist that walks you through the processes of creating a great video description:
*Include a natural-language overview of your video rather than a list of keywords.
*At the start of your description, include the most important keywords.
*Pick one or two major terms that best define your video and use them prominently in both the description and title.
*Identify popular keywords and synonyms using keyword tools like Google Trends and Google Ads Keyword Planner. Including these terms can help you get more search traffic.
*Remove unnecessary words from your description because they detract from the viewing experience and may be against Google’s standards.
5. Use video hashtags to increase the visibility of your videos on YouTube
Hashtags (#) are now widely used on social media to assist consumers identify information that answers their query across several platforms. In video descriptions, you can include related hashtags (#) to assist people locate your video when they search for a specific hashtag.
Tags, in particular, aid search by making relevant trends more obvious. When you include a hashtag in the video description, it will appear above the title and get hyperlinked.
It’s also crucial to remember to include video hashtags in this section. If you include a hashtag in the video title, hashtags from the description will not appear next to it.
6. Pick a category for your video
Users can customize the search to see videos from selected categories if they are looking for a certain film with sophisticated options. It’s critical to contextualize your movie with categories before uploading it to increase your chances of being discovered by a user.
YouTube has a lot of different category possibilities, so you should be able to choose one that fits your YouTube videos. When you upload your video, you can choose from a variety of categories.
7. Make your thumbnail image unique
Thumbnails can be beneficial or detrimental to your YouTube videos. When consumers look at YouTube search results, they are the first thing that catches their eye. A great thumbnail can result in increased watch time, which can have a significant impact on YouTube ranking. Make something that sticks out from the crowd and draws people’s attention so that your video gets noticed. These thumbnails, for example, were grabbed directly from the video and are probably not the most relevant for attracting the user’s attention.
The best method to see results is to create a bespoke thumbnail—showing people what your video is about and how it will benefit them is the true key to success.
8. Include closed captions and subtitles
The final suggestion for success on YouTube search is to use subtitles and closed captions.
Closed captions are for viewers who are unable to hear the audio, whereas video subtitles are for viewers who are unable to interpret the video language.
Subtitles and closed-caption files, like transcripts, include the text of what is stated in the video. The file will also include timing codes for when each bit of text should appear in the film, so it can correspond to speech or another visual element. Here’s a list of the file types that YouTube accepts.
Another advantage of having a transcript for your video is that it, like a blog, may be found by broad search engines.
You can choose your file and video language on the video upload screen. There are several excellent tutorials available on how to make an SRT file for your video. Here’s one I use all the time!
With these YouTube SEO strategies, you can improve your ranking:
Use these YouTube SEO methods to enhance your video traffic and watch time if you want to promote your business on YouTube:
*Select your keywords carefully
*Include keywords in the video’s title
*Keywords should be included in the video file
*Make your description as good as possible
*Use hashtags for videos
*Choose a video genre
*Use thumbnails that are appealing to the eye
*Include closed captions and subtitles
Finally, conduct research in the same manner that you would for any other piece of material. Concentrate on making evergreen videos that you can use to expand your content portfolio. The more useful material you provide to users, the more traffic your business and YouTube channel will receive!
