YouTube SEO [ All you need to know]
YouTube is the word known by all. It is nothing but video sharing services where users can like, comment, share, subscribe to channels, etc. One can create its own channel and upload its content in the form of video.
What is YouTube SEO?
When we talk about SEO we always think of search engines, mostly Google. But have you ever thought about how YouTube SEO will work on other search engines as well?
YouTube SEO is nothing but a search engine for videos. It has its own search engines and best SEO practices. It can work both ways, internal and external, outside YouTube.
How to rank videos on YouTube?
There are various factors to rank your video on YouTube which includes how well the titles, description, and content that matches the users’ query.
There are three important points which need to be taken care of –
#1. Keywords play a crucial role in the title and description. Hence use the keywords judicially to rank on YouTube. This not helps to rank YouTube but also helps to rank on Google.
#2. It is very important to match search intent as per the viewer’s query. The content should be relevant to user search so as to appear on the search engine result page(SERP) of YouTube.
#3. Drive engagement for queries raised by the users in order to rank higher on YouTube SERP.
You can only rank your video at the top only if you have high engagement video content.
Below defines the process on how to rank videos using YouTube SEO
Step 1 – Generate a list of keywords using YouTube’s search suggest. It is important to remember that these keywords will be used in title, description and video tags. This list can be generated by just typing on the YouTube search query box and you will get a list of keywords.
Step 2 – Once the exhaustive keyword list is prepared, select the best keyword. There are some common keywords like, “How to – ”, “Funny video”, “Reviews”, etc.
Step 3 – Creating a high audience retention videos is very important. If your video content is strong, it will keep your audience engaged. The video should have a strong start, which will generate curiosity and interest among the viewers. The size/ resolution of the videos also plays an important role in this.
Step 4 – When we talk about the optimization of YouTube video, it includes enhancement of title, description, tags. It is the method of putting the keywords in the mentioned above section. Categorization of the videos i.e. publishing video at the right place with the right keywords is important.
Step 5 – Video promotion is one of the significant steps after publishing the video. A platform like Quora helps in promoting the video. Two more way is linking the video link in an email signature, embedding it in blog posts which generate traffic to your videos.
Following the above-mentioned methods religiously, will give you the results and video will be rank higher in YouTube SEO.
YouTube SEO tools
As it is known that YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google. One needs to use SEO tools to drive traffic and boost reach. Given below are some tools which will help to rank your video on YouTube –
#1. Google Keyword Planner
Using this planner, you can organize keywords as per competition and volume. You can search the keyword and check SERPs have the video ranking.
#2. VidIQ
It is the only Chrome extension, which will help in what to optimize and how to optimize in the video. It provides you with many metrics like views per hour, duration, etc. There is a unique VidIQ score that indicates where the video will rank in suggested and recommended searches.
#3. Serpstat
This tool has the highest capabilities of keyword researching. It will help you to identify keywords which are new, which receives high traffic and is closely relevant.
#4. TubeBuddy
It is a plugin that will help you to optimize and run your channel with ease. It is can be easily integrated into YouTube. It performs activities like edit, publishes on facebook, schedule updates, generates thumbnails, creates captions, and many more.
#5. The YouTube Search Bar
This is one of the best SEO hacks to rank higher on YouTube. The search engine itself gives you popular keywords. It also provides you with which keywords the user clicked on your video.
#6. YouTube Studio
This tool is used to add captions and subtitles to your video using the right keywords. Having the subtitles in your video increases the engagement rate and improves your ranking due to the usage of keywords.
#7. Google Trends
This tool helps you check the popularity of the search term compares to other search terms in the location of your choice. One has to just enter the terms and the graph gives all the pictures. You can choose the right keywords for the title of your video.
Tips and Tricks
Some of the tips and tricks to be used in your video in order to improve ranking in YouTube are –
#1. Begin with Keyword Research
#2. Understand your target viewers
#3. Incorporate keywords at right places
#4. Place keywords in your videos
#5. Include noticeable thumbnail
#6. Utilize tags properly
#7. Include captions or transcriptions
YouTube SEO ain’t easy as it uses different algorithms as compared to Google. Therefore, if the videos are optimized using correct methods then no one can stop you from ranking higher on YouTube.
Author Bio-
Shanta Narang is a Passionate, amiable, dynamic, and result-oriented digital marketing professional with over 12 years of experience in SEO, content management, brand marketing, business management, and educational counseling. She facilitates digital transformation initiatives for organizations to help them grow in the online platform. Being a DM Specialist, She helps companies to succeed in their business with the help of the latest trends and technology.
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