YouTube SEO: 9 Key Things to Remember
Is video content important for your marketing? Absolutely. The amount of online videos that people have watched has nearly doubled in the last four years.
Because so many brands are using video content as a way to reach their consumers, it is vital that you learn how to make your videos stand out. One way you can do this is with SEO for YouTube.
Do you want to learn more about the importance of SEO for YouTube videos? Keep reading this article for the top nine tips to improve your YouTube SEO.
1. Conduct YouTube Keyword Research
Conducting keyword research is one of the most important SEO tools for YouTube. This is how you can create targeted content for your audience, gain more subscribers and views, and will increase the likelihood that you show up in YouTube searches.
One easy way to find keywords for YouTube is by typing a relevant phrase into your search bar on YouTube. This will provide you with other common search queries and will make it easy to identify phrases that people commonly search for.
2. Understand Your Audience
Something else that can greatly improve your YouTube SEO is understanding your audience. When you truly understand your audience, you know what they are looking for. This way, you can create content that your audience is interested in.
It will also help you find more ways to engage with your audience!
When you understand your audience and what they want, you will be able to gain more subscribers and video views.
3. Use a Good Title
Creating a compelling title is an easy way you can make your video stand out from your competitors. Typically, your title should be at least five words long and should include your full keyword.
However, you must be careful to avoid keyword stuffing.
You may also be able to get a boost by including your keyword at the beginning of your title. Make sure your title encourages your audience to learn more!
4. Find Ways To Improve Audience Retention
Next, you must find ways to improve your audience retention. This is a huge ranking factor, as it shows that people are watching all the way through your videos. When people watch your videos from start to finish, YouTube assumes that you are providing useful, high-quality content.
Make sure your video is entertaining so your audience doesn’t get tired of watching. You may also want to provide your viewers with a sneak peek of what is coming, so they will continue to watch your video.
5. Write a Good Description
Having a good description for your YouTube video will tell YouTube exactly what your video is about. It provides context for your video and helps them understand what your video is about, which will help you rank higher.
A basic YouTube description should be at least 250 words and should include your keyword anywhere from 2-4 times.
6. Improve Audience Engagement
Another way that you can prove that you have created a high-quality video is by improving your audience engagement. If someone engages with your video, it shows YouTube that they enjoyed the video.
Some common types of YouTube engagement include liking, commenting, and subscribing. Many video creators will include a call to action in the video to encourage their viewers to engage in one of these ways.
Another great way to boost your engagement is by getting your viewers to share your video. This will encourage other people to view your video and will show YouTube that you have a great piece of content.
7. Make an Eye-Catching Thumbnail
Having an eye-catching thumbnail will also help you gain more views on your videos. Your thumbnail should give your viewers an idea about what your content will include.
Having a custom thumbnail will help your video perform better and will help you rank better than your competitors.
8. Include Captions and Transcriptions
Another way you can improve your YouTube SEO is by including captions and transcriptions for your videos. While YouTube’s algorithm is complex and can understand a lot of information, it isn’t able to read videos and images.
They only understand text and code.
To make sure YouTube understands what your video is talking about, you should include a transcription of your video. You can do this manually, or use a YouTube tool to do it for you. A transcription also makes it easier for others to access your video, even if they are unable to access the audio or if they have a hearing impairment.
9. Promote Your Video
Finally, you need to find ways to promote your video. In order to get more traffic and views on your video, you need to get people to come to watch your video.
One of the easiest ways that you can promote your video is through other forms of social media. For example, sharing your YouTube video on another social media channel will put your content in front of more people.
You can also embed your videos on your website in your blog posts. This instantly boosts your traffic and provides you with high-quality views.
Finally, you can promote your videos with YouTube ads and improve your YouTube CPM. What is a YouTube CPM? This shows how much money you spend to show your ads on YouTube.
By learning more about these metrics and how to promote your video, your YouTube presence will grow.
Need Help With YouTube SEO?
It is necessary to conduct SEO for YouTube if you want your videos to perform better and rank higher. By following each of these tips, you can improve your rankings and get more results from your YouTube videos!
If you need help learning more about the benefits of SEO or other SEO trends, you can find a social media marketing agency to help! Go Media Shark can help you optimize your YouTube SEO and connect with your customers organically.
Contact us today to learn more about the importance of SEO for YouTube.
