YouTube SEO: How to Rank Your Videos in YouTube Search?
‘Video is a powerful marketing tool. 90% of people say that they discover new brands and products on YouTube.’ (Thinkwithgoogle, 2019)
With statistics like these, should we not utilize videos for marketing success? More than half of the marketers are investing more on YouTube over the next year. Content strategy in recent years includes not just the written word, but also the media like videos, podcasts, and visual assets.
People love watching YouTube videos every day(YouTube, 2019). You might have been creating YouTube videos as part of your strategy. But you are not exactly sure how to implement SEO in your videos and get more views.
YouTube has its search engine and SEO practices. It is a bit different from the regular SEO and might need time to get used to it. So, what is YouTube SEO? How do you optimize YouTube videos for better traffic?
1. Place the Target Keyword in Your Video Filename
As in Google search, you need to add target keywords in your videos. As always, identify keywords using YouTube SEO tools or browse through your competitors’ videos, and even better, YouTube’s autocomplete feature. Once that is done, add the keyword as video filename before uploading. On YouTube, there are only very few places to insert the keyword and video filename is one of them. MOV, MP4, WMV are some of the popular video file types.
2. Clear and Concise Video Titles
The written rule: Compelling video titles that are clear and concise capture the attention of the viewer. Add or optimize your target keyword to fit naturally in the video title. Keep the title to a limit of 60 characters or it might get cut off.
3. Optimize Your Video Description and Customize Thumbnail Image
Even though YouTube has an official character limit of 1000 words, only the first three lines of the description are visible. Let the most important information, links or CTA be shown first. We can also direct the viewers to our other social media platforms by adding the links from the description.
The video thumbnail is what a viewer usually sees when scrolling through a list of videos. An attractive thumbnail helps the viewer decide whether to click and view your video. Customize your thumbnail instead of using an auto-generated thumbnail option. To upload a custom thumbnail image, your YouTube account has to be verified.
4. Categorize your Videos Neatly
It is important to sort and categorize your videos under different playlists. This will neatly arrange the videos and help target various viewers easily. Categorizing videos is not an easy job, so have a look at the YouTube Academy before you start.
5. Community Tabs to Increase Interaction with Audience
The community tab feature is given to creators who have a high level of interaction with their large audience. You need to have a huge base of an audience for this feature to be enabled. Once it is activated, increase your engagement with GIFs, fun posts, sneak peek preview, or a top video. These posts are a great support to your regular schedule and viewers can subscribe from this tab too.
Well, we have just covered a portion of the YouTube SEO and there’s more to come. So, see you next week with more info.