YouTube SEO Rank On YouTube With 11 Helpful Tips!
YouTube SEO refers to a technique to optimize videos and channels to enhance their position in the results of searches. YouTube is the biggest video streaming platform available and is also to be one of the most popular search engines. It is, therefore, crucial to understand how to optimize your content to be suitable for the platform. Also, if you want free YouTube likes to increase traffic to your YouTube videos, then GoViral is there to help you.
What exactly is YouTube SEO?
Before you know the basics of what YouTube SEO means, it’s essential to step back and learn what SEO means.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the collection of techniques for optimizing users’ experience, which aim to increase a website’s position in search results.
It includes design, programming, content production, and the connection with other websites to ensure that search engines believe that the page is the most relevant in the search results that the person is searching for.
Naturally, when it comes to SEO, your goal is to be at the top of Google Search. This internet giant is the dominant factor in more than 90% of searches around the world. Bing, Yahoo! and Baidu are the third search engine that holds the remaining share.
Google has the purpose: “to organize the world’s information so that it is universally accessible and useful for everyone.” When it comes to crawling or indexing web content, Google would like users to get the most relevant results for their search.
To achieve this reason, Google has created an intelligent algorithm capable of identifying websites that provide an excellent experience. It also removes pages that use plagiarism, spam, or other criminal techniques from the rankings.
Let’s know the basics of what YouTube SEO is.
Search engines are present in a variety of different places on the web. For instance, if you visit a website, it will have an option to search there, which explores the internal content. For social media websites, there’s also an in-built search engine.
It’s the same on YouTube and YouTube, which provides the search engine to allow users to locate the channels and videos they want to watch quickly.
When a user enters a search phrase on YouTube and the robots on YouTube scan all channels and videos to present the most relevant results to the user, in the order of relevance, to decide which are the best results for each user, the algorithm examines a range of variables.
Search history and users’ browsing history — just like in Google, are crucial elements to personalize the results page. However, for users who create content on YouTube, it is essential to be aware that the algorithm includes channels with engagement and optimization criteria that help determine the best results.
For instance, A video that fills the title, tags, and description fields are likely to be better placed than one that isn’t.
The YouTube channel that is likely to get a lot of comments and likes is also positioned more effectively than a channel that doesn’t enjoy a lot of engagement.
What is the reason for this? Because the platform recognizes that these videos offer the best experience to the user.
This is also what Google’s algorithm recognizes. Because YouTube and the search engine YouTube are both parts of an identical company, there’s an interconnection between the two platforms.
The top 11 YouTube SEO tips YouTube SEO
YouTube SEO isn’t an easy recipe to follow. Even if you follow the rules, the results presented to the user will depend on YouTube’s algorithm, which is quite complicated.
It uses a variety of guidelines, rules, and calculations to determine ranking, including factors independent of your actions, such as navigation by the user.
But the more points you earn with your YouTube search algorithm, the better chance that you’ll be in the top spots.
So, let’s take a look at some helpful tips to help YouTube boost your channel’s visibility and your content in users’ results when they search for them.
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1. Begin by conducting keyword research.
Keywords are crucial in YouTube SEO and also for Google. By using them, the platform determines the content’s subject matter and then analyzes and indexes content and links it to people’s searches.
To do this, they have to be added to specific fields, such as title tags, description, and title for example, as you will see in the next section when uploading the video file to ensure that YouTube will be able to collect the information and incorporate it into the ranking process.
Thus, it is essential to know the keywords that best describe your videos. They also, simultaneously, could bring new viewers to your channels.
Let’s look at some suggestions for conducting a thorough keyword study with a particular focus specifically on YouTube SEO. They are an excellent way for filling in blanks after you’ve made videos, as well as to brainstorm ideas for future content to add to your YouTube channel.
The first option is to use the most basic YouTube tool, such as the autocomplete feature of the search bar.
For this to be done, once you’re at their channel, click on the Videos tab and choose an option that allows you to filter the videos by the most popular videos.
It’s not difficult to imagine how one of the keywords in the video is ” Content Marketing” You’re right? If you’d like to have an in-depth look, you’ll also find the tags employed in this video.
But, they’re not accessible to the users. To access them, you have to access the page’s source code (by pressing the appropriate button) and search for “keywords” within it.
Furthermore, you could also look at the channel’s statistics. Analyzing traffic sources is the most popular term used to find your videos. You can also get ideas for recording new content or incorporating keywords into your uploaded content.
In the case study in this Mindvalley Case Study, you will also look at the tools Mindvalley recommends using to use to find keywords:
- Keywords All Over the World Free Google Chrome Extension for SEO provides estimates of several monthly searches for Google or YouTube box search engines.
- Google Trends Free Google tool displays trends in the search industry (it can show only the results of searches via YouTube) and help determine hot topics.
- VidIQ Free Google Chrome extension that adds an information bar to YouTube videos. YouTube.
2. Select keywords that have a high reach potential
You’ve got an excellent list of keywords following the advice mentioned above. How do you select the best ones to use in your videos?
Of course, you have to consider: “I will choose the words that are most used in searches!”. Yes, the most famous words tend to draw more users. But, they face more than their competitors. These competitors may be influential brands and big brands, making it difficult to be competitive.
Therefore, the most effective option, especially when running a small-sized business, is likely to be the keywords we refer to as “long tail.”
They don’t have the same amount of traffic. However, they don’t have a lot of competition. This makes it simpler to achieve a high place. Furthermore, they usually are bottom-funnel searches, which means close to conversion.
How do you determine which long-tail keywords you should be using? They tend to be longer, usually three words or more. They are an even more specific type.
“Content Marketing,” for instance, is a leading funnel word. It has a large amount of traffic. However, its rank for it is far more in the market.
You can also narrow your search by using “Instagram content marketing,” which filters out competitors. If you select the term “content marketing Instagram Stories” your search will become more specific, and you will increase the chance of securing your video in the right place.
It is essential to pick the keywords that correspond with the content in any event. Imagine that you can take users who search on “content marketing Instagram Stories” to a video that discusses tips for decorating.
It doesn’t work. Are you able to pinpoint the reason?
Because the viewer may leave your video within the first few seconds of watching, this will count as negative points for YouTube’s review of your video’s engagement and, as a result, your rank. This is like shooting yourself in the foot.
3. Make sure you choose a well-written video title
After completing a thorough keyword search, you have a decent selection of terms in hand. What do you do with these terms?
One of the areas in which the keyword should be present is in the title. It is among the essential factors to allow YouTube to index and rank the content. For the video to show up in a prominent spot, the title has to match as closely as it can to the user’s search terms.
Make sure your titles are shorter and include the exact keywords. These aren’t necessarily rules, but they’re worth a look.
Be aware that the video’s title could be the first interaction of the viewer with the content.
It is essential to explain what viewers will be watching and encourage viewers to click your video. This is why it’s necessary to add a touch of imagination to increase curiosity.
4. Include tags in the video
Anyone involved in SEO for Google understands that stuffing a web page’s code with keywords within meta tags metatags is no longer a good idea. The search engine utilizes this feature as a ranking factor because it was used widely as spam.
On YouTube, however, tags are crucial to rank the video. They are one of the elements that YouTube uses to determine the subject matter of a film, index the correct way, and suggest related videos. They are excellent sources of visitors to your videos.
In this particular field, YouTube allows you to use 120 characters. We suggest using between 6 and 8 words so that you do not confuse the algorithm with terms distinct from its content.
5. Write bright descriptions
The description is an additional area that needs to be filled in before uploading. The description text should give details about the video’s content in the most concise manner possible.
If the title must be brief, the description could be more lengthy and precise. There are as many as 5000 words to use for this.
The description is vital to ranking, and this is due for two reasons. It is a tool to convince users to view the video because the initial report appears in the results of a search. Therefore, try to keep the most critical information in the middle of the description. With a captivating narrative, you can boost the video’s engagement in addition to earning points on YouTube.
The description is also part of the system’s algorithm to recognize the video content. So, you should include keywords relevant to the subject matter discussed within the film. This increases your chances of being ranked for these phrases.
Use the description to provide additional information and encourage users to participate in different ways.
In your text, you can incorporate calls to action (CTAs), for example, an invitation to sign up to your channel or to download content on your site and, in the best case, with shorter hyperlinks.
Another suggestion is to use timestamps to direct viewers to specific areas of the video, mainly when it is longer content.
You can also include hashtags inside the video description, which will generate links that allow users to discover new videos on the subject. Be careful not to overdo it. If you include over 15 hashtags in the description of your video, YouTube ignores them all.
6. Change the file’s name
Did you be aware that YouTube SEO methods begin long when you’ve uploaded your first video? This is because you must include the video’s primary keyword in the file’s name.
Instead of uploading the file using the full name of numbers and codes (e.g., VID_94800805.mp4), which is incomprehensible to YouTube, use a descriptive title with the keyword (e.g., how-to-do-youtube-seo.mp4).
This means that the platform can determine what the video is about from the video’s title.
7. Make captions and transcriptions for the videos.
YouTube’s algorithm cannot understand images or video–only texts and codes. So, one strategy you could use to ensure that the algorithm is aware of the content you post content concerns is to write captions and transcriptions.
Transcripts transform into the text that the video discusses. It is possible to do this yourself, or you can use the YouTube tool to assist you with the process.
If you add time stamps on the transcript, it could transform into captions.
They’re used so that the user can view the film even when they cannot activate the audio and serve as an accessibility device for people who suffer from hearing impairment.
Alongside captions, you may include the transcript in the video’s description to provide the viewer with additional information on the film.
8. Make longer videos
Briggs’s investigation–which we previously mentioned – also led to two results regarding the connection between rank and length of videos:
- videos of less than two minutes are often not correctly positioned.
- The average time of the first five positions is 11min 44s.
It’s a good idea to invest in longer-form videos approximately 10 minutes in length. They’ll satisfy the needs of those seeking more comprehensive and detailed content. However, videos under 2 minutes long are less engaging.
We’re not suggesting that you must adhere to these numbers, but are they? These results are only meant to provide direction. But it’s important to mention that Relevance is more important than the length of the video. If you’re investing in top-quality content, do not worry too long about how much the clip will be.
9. CTR to increase CTR in results from searches
The CTR (Click-Through-Rate) refers to the frequency at which users click on your video within the search results.
According to YouTube, having a high click-through rate indicates that your content was relevant to the keyword that the user was searching for. Because of this, CTR is an essential factor in ranking.
Of course, it is impossible to influence this rate. However, the only thing you could do is improve viewers’ chance to click your video.
Let’s look over all the things you can edit in this overview:
- in the name that has to contain the primary keyword;
- The description begins at the beginning. The description must be persuasive in the first few words of the report;
- The image thumbnail is expected to be appealing and provide extra info on all the elements.
So, the chance of someone clicking on your video is increased.
10. To increase the level of engagement
As a resemblance with SEO in Google In a similar way to SEO for Google, we can state that the advice we’ve offered is based on SEO on-page–that means, everything that’s within the capabilities of the author himself.
On the other hand, this strategy can be Off-page SEO that includes elements that aren’t under the website’s control. For Google, it mainly refers to link building, which is the relationship with other sites and the links you get from these sites.
For YouTube linking, link building isn’t among the factors determining rank. However, if the video is linked to other websites, the algorithm doesn’t have this information to evaluate it, though it does help increase views.
In the case of the video platform, however, it could be stated that off-page SEO is a reference to the audience’s engagement.
The fact is that receiving comments and likes or an increase in video viewing time is not in the hands of the company and could only motivate users to be more active. This is a massive benefit to the algorithm!
Always encourage your viewers to engage in some way through your video
- like (the famous line “give us a thumbs up!
- comment;
- You can subscribe to the channel
- Please share the video.
Each of these aspects weighs very heavily on YouTube’s rankings depending on whether your video has met (or exceeded) viewers’ expectations.
Regarding posted comments, it’s worth noting that one of the most effective methods to encourage comments is to respond! So, users feel valued and return more frequently to leave a comment.
Furthermore, it is crucial to develop strategies to keep viewers engaged throughout the very end. This is a critical aspect for Google to evaluate whether your content truly appeals to your audience.
If not, the viewers would immediately leave the video, hurting the rank. For instance, you could give a prize to anyone who views the video through to the conclusion.
11. Promote the channel and the videos
We’ve already provided you with tips to help increase viewer engagement with your video. But, before you can achieve that goal, it is essential to draw your audience on board first!
By optimizing your title, description, and tags on your YouTube videos, you’ll already boost your visibility on YouTube itself.
But, it would help if you had different marketing channels that could be utilized to advertise your videos outside of YouTube and increase the number of views.
Here are some suggestions to follow:
- embed these videos in your blog posts with similar topics.
- Make video clips for your company and product demonstrations that you can post on your site;
- promote your videos with emails for marketing and signatures;
- Distribute the videos via social media sites;
- Respond in response to user messages or comments from users by releasing videos.
- Participate in forums, groups, and Q&A websites (like Quora) and respond to users via videos on your channel.
When performing any of these activities, take note of one keyword that is important: relevance. Only recommend videos in relevant situations, which provides value to the viewer.
There’s no reason to push the bar, is there? This only leads to frustration for viewers who may access your video, only to abandon it because it wasn’t the information they were looking for.
After you’ve completed the piece, let’s think about what we mentioned at the beginning of the article: The user’s experience. Be aware it’s the primary focus for YouTube and Google and should be yours as well.
So, the suggestions we provided in this article serve an additional goal:
To improve the experience of Internet users.
For instance, thinking of fun titles and using subtitles aims to ease people’s lives and increase the value of the experience of watching videos on the internet.
When you aim for user-friendly, the algorithm will identify your optimization efforts.