Companies are reaching current and future customers by providing engaging video content that can be enjoyed from any device. YouTube, of course, is the online destination of choice with some 400 hours of footage being uploaded every minute. This means there are many people, both professional and amateur, vying for the top slot in the search results. Therefore, you need to stand apart from the competition: here are 8 SEO tricks to help you do that.
- Keywords Everywhere
Generally, the main topic of your video will also be a great place to start with keywords. The keyword should appear in the video title, tags, and even in the name of the file you upload. Other keywords can be found using a great tool called TubeBuddy that plugs into Chrome.
- Long Descriptions
Don’t let the description be too short, make it detailed, informative, and filled with keywords. Use the auto-complete feature in Google and YouTube’s search boxes for other keyword ideas as well as phrases for long-tailed keywords. Make it at least 250 words.
- Watch that Watch Time
Simply having the user watch the first few seconds of your video is not what businesses or Youtube, wants. That’s where YouTube’s “Watch Time” metric comes into place and is more important than just simple “Views.” Simply put, if fewer people watch your videos, but they watch them the whole way through, you will rise in rankings.
- CC All Your Videos
“CC” or closed-captioning is a feature that allows you to add text to all your videos, thereby adding more keywords and data to your video; it also makes your video more accessible to those with disabilities. Transcribe the video yourself or pay for a transcription service.
- Share in Smart Places
Consumers that might be interested in your product or service-related video can often be found on social media hubs like Quora or in Facebook or LinkedIn communities/groups. However, be careful not to spam these forums by only providing relevant content. That said, a good video can quickly get a lot of views.
- Embed in Blogs/Pages
Any blogs or Facebook pages you control or have a partnership with should include a post with the video embedded. This will increase views of the video and traffic to your YouTube channel.
- Encourage Likes/Subscriptions with a CTA!
Likes and channel subscriptions are two other important metrics YouTube measures. While your viewers are watching, encourage them to interact with a “Like,” share, or subscription using the Annotation features or creating a End Card with a strong CTA. Believe it or not, it works!
- Content is King
Lastly, and most importantly, the way to get to the top of the search results is to give the viewer what they want: information and/or entertainment. If you can answer their questions, tickle their funny bone, or tug at their heartstrings they are going to like and share your video on their own.
According to Forbes, “15 seconds of video content is more engaging and provide more observable information than an entire page of ads and marketing content.”
How is your YouTube channel doing? If you’d like to know more about SEO optimization contact us today.
