Now that video format is spreading across the Internet like a plague, ignoring it will make you look like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand. Yes, all the hype surrounding video format is actually quite reasonable. So, if you still haven’t implemented it in your marketing strategy, you are really missing out on life, let me say. YouTube reports mobile video consumption increases 100% every year. According to the latest research by 2019, global consumer Internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic.
Taking into account all the above, YouTube has the legitimate right to be called the web’s largest search engine after Google. toever, even nowadays a lot of digital marketers do falsely think of it as of a social media site.
Video content needs optimization just like any other website. In addition, by optimizing your YouTube videos, you can significantly increase the chance of appearing in organic Google’s search results, because YouTube operates as one of Google’s subsidiaries. So let’s get down to the list of video SEO services & techniques which are useful when it comes to YouTube search optimization.
1. Keyword Research for Video SEO in 2018
Bearing in mind that YouTube is a search engine, think of using Google Keyword Planner. This tool will supply you with top relevant keywords as well as with their competitiveness rates. Moreover like this you will get an idea of who your target audience is and what it’s interested in. Here is a relevant video on this topic.
Related Video: 9 Actionable Tips in Ranking Video in 2018
Source: Brian Dean
Surprisingly enough, a lot of SEOs out there do tend to underestimate the power of Google Trends. The tool has a separate “YouTube search” feature, which hides under the “Web search” option. This tool can be of the greatest use when you’ve already come up with the list of keywords and need to compare them to each other in order to leave the most potentially profitable ones.
Presently we should proceed onward to hunting down supposed “video keywords”. These keywords are additionally of the best an incentive for you, in light of the fact that these are the ones that can influence your video to show up in the consistent natural outcomes in Google. As I would see it, Rank Tracker is basically an unquestionable must have with regards to chasing for such keywords. There you’ll have the capacity to check rankings of the same number of keywords as you need. Over that, it enables you to check whether the outcome pages incorporate any recordings. Because of that, you can detect the keywords that have more noteworthy odds of raising a video.
Something else I can exceptionally prescribe utilizing while searching for keywords is YouTube’s Search Suggest feature. It happens when you begin writing an inquiry and afterward, in the drop-down list, you are proposed to pick from the most popular searches. Fortunately now you can assess the notoriety progression without leaving Rank Tracker.
Simply go to the “Keyword Research” dashboard, pick “Autocomplete Tools” , and after that select “YouTube Autocomplete” . Begin writing your keywords simply like you would always do in YouTube. From that point onward, the device will pleasantly supply you with the rundown of the most prevalent search queries.
I think this element is super cool, since it truly gives you clear comprehension of what your potential clients type into YouTube while hunting down a few products or services identified with your business, and, which is more important, how they call it.
2. Video SEO Metadata
Generally speaking, when we allude to metadata with respect to a video, we mean all the textual and visual data that helps it. Strikingly enough, the times of metadata being the central point that decides a video’s significance to a specific search query are melting away. Web is getting more intelligent, and now Google and YouTube start using the technologies of machine’s object recognition. That conveys us to a conclusion that metadata may never again be as imperative as it used to.
Then again, metadata is precisely what clients see first when run over your video. Along these lines, your errand here is to orchestrate it such that it’s engaging, significant, and, what is much more imperative, interactive.
Keep in mind that initial 48 hours of your video’s life are the most important, so please optimize metadata BEFORE you publish a video, not after.
Title
I think I barely need to clarify you the significance of a YouTube video title or some other title. It’s implied that a title ought to mirror the point of your video and incorporate the keywords that you need to rank for.
Also, kindly remember to fit into a 60-characters point of confinement to abstain from being cut off in result pages. Make an effort not to overhype your title (no one appreciates that), don’t make false guarantees, and exclude ALL-CAPS letters.
Description
Remembering that YouTube permits descriptions of 1,000 characters in length, it doesn’t really imply that you should take up all the space. Just first three lines of content will be shown. In this way, have a go at putting significant keywords from the title nearer to the start of your description.
I would recommend benefitting as much as possible from a few lines a client sees at first. Anyway, there’s dependably a “show more” choice to go for. Including links to your site and other social networks is great practice as well as adding some #hashtags to it.
Thumbnail
A thumbnail is what I want you to take especially seriously, because this is exactly what is going to catch a viewer’s eye first. But while YouTube can do all the scutwork for you and generate a selection of thumbnails to pick from, I strongly suggest creating a thumbnail of your own. In terms of technical characteristics, the best practice is to upload an image, which is:
- 1280×720 pixels
- 16:9 ratio
- < 2 MB
- .jpg, .gif, .bmp, or .png format
Sticking to these parameters will make your thumbnail look equally good across multiple viewing platforms both in large and small sizes.
Obviously enough, a thumbnail should be attention-grabbing, tease potential viewers, and reflect a video’s subject. I guess I don’t need to tell you that inappropriate, unprofessionally looking, and spoiler-alerting thumbnails are not our bros.
Here is quite a good example of a thumbnail. The search query for this video was “how to make a vegan cake”.
The thumbnail above is cool for quite a number of reasons. First of all, the picture includes a human, which instantly makes it more attractive and “alive” in comparison with other thumbnails with cakes on them only. What is more, text takes up about 30% of the picture, which is also good, because it makes the image more informative but, on the other hand, doesn’t overwhelm it. And on the whole, the image looks quite professional and complete.
Tags
Tagging is probably the easiest part of metadata optimization. Although, YouTube is not restricting the number of tags, try not to overuse them. Give your preference only to relevant ones, up to 10-12 tags will be more than enough. If lacking ideas, use the autofill to find tags.
3. YouTube Metrics & Analytics
Endeavoring to enhance YouTube SEO without knowing your audience resembles cooking a soup without water. As it were, YouTube Analytics is essentially basic when endeavoring to make sense of who your watchers are and what their watching habits are. It supplies you with an entire bundle of helpful measurements like: demographics, traffic sources, CTR, the number of unique viewers,, and so forth
By thoroughly analyzing these stats, you will get a clear idea of what deserves focusing on and what is a waste of your time. What is more, I cannot but admit that by linking YouTube Analytics to Google Analytics you will unlock even more sophisticate features. Here is how it can be done.
4. Consistent Schedule
In harsh YouTube reality of 2018, high quality content is not a “wow” thing anymore, it’s something that goes without saying. Now YouTube is all about building serious long-term relationships rather than short random romances with its viewers. What I mean is that consistency is a crucial thing here. Not sticking to your plan will immediately influence the number of your subscribers and views, negatively of course.
Then you just set the day and time, fill in all the necessary metadata, and click on “Publish”. If you have a sequence of videos to go on your channel one by one, just go through the same steps picking the time you want each video to go live and forget about it for good.
In any case, fortunately you don’t really need to sit before your PC with your eyes stuck to YouTube’s handling chart to upload a video. Presently you can influence your videos upload consequently without contacting your PC. This feature has been around for a very long time now, though, many people still reject using it. Going through some simple steps will allow you to have regular releases on your channel, which is exactly what YouTube wants you to have.
The main difference here is that you need to go for the “Scheduled” option in order to upload a video.
You simply set the day and time, fill in all the required metadata, and tap on “Publish”. If you have several videos to go on your channel one by one, simply experience similar advances picking the time you need every video to go live and forget about it for good.
5. Optimization of Engagement
Essentially, watch time is the measure of time a viewer spends on viewing your video. Remembering that YouTube dreams of replacing television, it’s just sensible that long recordings are getting increasingly more valuable. That permits YouTube running more advertisements and keeping watchers’ consideration for additional. Notwithstanding that, our adored research by Backlinko demonstrates that longer videos do really beat shorter ones.
In this way, the best thing you can do is making a video that would keep people’s attention from the very beginning till the end, make them want to watch more of your content, subscribe to your channel, and comment. No, you don’t have to film “Round of Thrones” for that, simply think about this:
- Think of combining videos of similar topics into a playlist. This will make your videos pop up when someone has watched even a single video from the series.
- Don’t make a mistake of giving too much context in the beginning of your video. Catch your viewer’s attention straight away and get to the meat of the question without empty chatter.
- Make sure to give your “Watch Time” reports a big old check. By doing that, you can spot an Achilles’ heel of your strategy and fix it on time.
- Encourage viewers to watch other videos of yours by mentioning them directly in a video or in description below.
6. Focus on Interaction
The main things to check when meaning to enhance interaction are Interaction reports. They are of the best help with regards to understanding what your audience likes and what causes unsubscriptions and dislikes. Once you’ve spotted solid and frail sides of your channel and done adjustment work, your videos will probably pick up affection and support. What’s more, that is precisely what our definitive objective is, on account of audience’s commitment and subscriptions are what your YouTube SEO would completely adore.
Since we’re discussing connection empowering here, making and including an End Screen can be a smart thought. By setting it toward the end of your video, you can remind your viewers to subscribe or, for example, propose viewing another relevant video of yours.
Nothing can probably provoke a conversation better than a direct question, so go ahead and ask one. Consider asking your audience’s opinion on a subject to your liking or, on the other hand, encourage them to ask you any questions.
Don’t forget to be a role model yourself, be active in comments, and show appreciation to your viewers. Naturally, people are more willing to interact when they have a feeling of some kind of community. So, show your audience you are on the same level and talk to people.
Another thing I can highly suggest you to do is adding Cards to your video. It’s a great way to raise your video’s interactivity and promote your brand as well as other videos right on the go. I’m sure you have seen this small “i” icon right in the upper right corner of a video. The point is, after hitting the icon, a user may see up to five cards. They can be of 6 various kinds, those that:
- Promote a video or playlist
- Encourage viewers to participate in a poll
- Link to an approved website
- Promote another channel
- Feature a nonprofit organization
- Encourage your viewers to support the creation of video content
If you want to learn more about cards and how to set them up, go check out this video of Derral Eves, the founder of VidSummit, a video marketing strategist and consultant.
7. Give It Some Social Love
The Internet of today is social. I know that the concept of sharing a video across social networks is pretty obvious and hackneyed, but I couldn’t omit it. Cross-posting YouTube videos still remains the most powerful strategy for maximizing visibility and traffic. In January 2016, Facebook announced that people watched about 100 million hours of video daily. So, reasonably enough, Facebook can be the best advertising platform for your videos.
On top of that, I would also highly suggest tracking and analyzing your social media presence. By setting up an alert in Awario, you can see how people interact with your video across various social networks. Or you can go further and create an alert to track how your competitors’ videos are being shared and promoted. That’s how you can get yourself some ideas of what kind of content is worth creating next.
The Internet of today is social. I realize that the idea of sharing a video crosswise over social networks is entirely evident, however I couldn’t preclude it. Cross-posting YouTube videos still remains the most intense methodology for boosting visibility and traffic. In January 2016, Facebook reported that people viewed around 100 million hours of video day by day. So, Facebook can be the best place for advertising your videos.
Over that, I would likewise exceptionally propose following and investigating your online networking nearness. By setting up a caution in Awario, you can perceive how individuals associate with your video crosswise over different informal organizations. Or then again you can go further and make an alarm to track how your rivals’ recordings are being shared and advanced. That is the manner by which you can get yourself a few thoughts of what sort of substance merits making straightaway.
What makes the strategy win-win is its side effects in form of links’ and social presence growth.
Bonus Tips
- Think of switching to HD format. Multiple studies prove that HD videos do get higher positions more often.
- Consider featuring and embedding a video in your blog post. By doing this, you can significantly increase the chance of appearing in Google’s organic results and earn links. By the way, if you’re interested why videos in Google and YouTube rank differently, check out this study conducted by Stone Temple.
Source: Link-Assistant.com
