YouTube is the second most visited site on the web, right after Google. Still, not quite enough people understand the power of this platform. Most people treat it like another social media, but in fact, it’s a powerful search tool, so your success on YouTube depends not only on what content you post but on how you optimize it as well. And sometimes, optimization plays an even more significant role than we expected.
YouTube Videos SEO: what you need to know
f you want your videos to rank well, you need to learn some basics that usually work for any video. Follow them to make sure the world sees your work and appreciates it.
Keyword search
The easiest thing to start with is a keyword search since YouTube is an impressive search engine at its core. We shouldn’t forget about that. First, you should do keyword brainstorming. Type your keyword in the search box, and just like that, you will be able to find lots of popular searches. Based on them, you can build a strategy regarding your content. Most popular searches show a lot about what people demand. In addition to that, after you search for keywords, it’s good to compare them to each other to see which ones are searched on more frequently. You can use many popular online tools for this. For example, Google Trends. This tool is free and helpful.
Regular content
What you post is important, but don’t forget that to compete with content YouTubers make, you have to go the extra mile and be consistent in what you are doing. That means posting content regularly to provide better communication with your viewers and build a subscriber-creator relationship that lasts. Post your videos on a regular schedule. When you are thinking about the time when you have to post your content, consider the fact that there are some strategies to find the perfect timing. And if you decide to post every day, stick to your goals and do it.
Sometimes less is not more
People always debate whether content should be shorter or longer, but we say it should be longer as YouTube is searching for something of good quality. The content that the audience will watch instead of watching TV, so that way, YouTube can charge higher advertising rates. That’s why longer videos tend to be more successful. Usually, successful videos are more than five minutes long, and the quality of the content is good, so keep that in mind.
Playlists are underrated
The title sums it up. You can indeed use the potential of playlists to its fullest. For example, you can use your keyword search to create playlists on popular topics with your target audience. You can even create playlists of other people’s content to draw your channel’s attention if your content is not enough.
How to optimize your videos
After the basics, we will walk you through some main tricks on optimizing your videos to get more views on YouTube.
The Thumbnail
Sometimes this part of your video is even more important than the title itself, so pay attention to details. Your thumbnail as the book’s cover – readers always judge books by the cover before they read it. The same is with the videos. Try to make your thumbnail as appealing to the viewers as possible.
The title
It must catch attention, and it should be intriguing. Don’t use too many words, instead try to make people click on your video using something meaningful but short. Before naming the video, track down your competitors by using your keywords to see how they call their videos on similar topics so that you can compete and even be better! Try to avoid clickbait titles. Although it can grab viewers’ attention, it can be harmful in the long run.
Description
Some creators prefer not to put a ton of information in the description, but it’s a step in the wrong direction, as, again, people read descriptions. You can use it to your advantage: say a few words about what they’re about to see, give some details, use some additional information, and share your social media links. It always shows that a person puts more heart into what they’re doing if the description is longer.
Translations
It would be a huge step forward if you provide your viewers from different countries with subtitles. That way, you can always get more viewers and subscribers and, yet again, it shows how much you invest in what you are doing.
Tags
Use keywords in your tags. Something simple is the way to go – that way, more people will be able to find your content.
Outro
You want to call your potential viewers to action. Make them stay with saying why they should subscribe to you and make it intuitively easy to find the right button to subscribe to your channel. It helps.
If you intend to become successful on YouTube, and you want to make it last, try to invest your time and effort in good quality content and video optimization, and the results won’t keep you waiting! What are the other tips on optimization you have to share with the world? Please share with us in a comment section down below.
Julie Franklin is a creative enthusiast. Subscribe to Tunetank’s blog to get all your questions answered.