YouTube SEO Tips 2021
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the ever-changing method of web content development that will rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs). Because search is often the gatekeeper of your content, it is important to optimize your website for search to attract traffic and develop a search.
YouTube SEO involves the optimization of your own site, playlists, Meta information, definition, and videos. To search both inside and outside YouTube, you can optimize your videos.
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| SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube Videos |
YouTube's SEO process starts with work on video keywords. Here is how to find the right keywords for your YouTube videos: generate a list of ideas for keywords first. Just as you'd like to use an SEO tool first to identify
keywords that you want your video to focus on when optimizing written content
(you can browse popular YouTube SEO tools below these tips, or just click that link earlier in this phrase).
Before you even upload it to YouTube, the first place you can bring it is your video file. YouTube cannot actually 'play' your video to see how important it is to your target keyword, and as you will find in the tips below, there are only so many places where you can securely add this keyword on the preview page of your video once it has been released. But when it's uploaded, YouTube will read the file name of your video and all the code that comes with it.
Before you even upload it to YouTube, the first place you can bring it is your video file. YouTube cannot actually 'play' your video to see how important it is to your target keyword, and as you will find in the tips below, there are only so many places where you can securely add this keyword on the preview page of your video once it has been released. But when it's uploaded, YouTube will read the file name of your video and all the code that comes with it.
With that in mind, replace your desired keyword with the file name 'business ad003FINAL.mov' (don't be embarrassed... we were all there during post-production). For example, if your keyword is 'house painting tips,' the file name of your video should be 'house painting tips' followed by your favorite form of video file (MOV, MP4, and WMV are some of the most common ones that are YouTube compatible).
Inserting your Keyword Naturally
One of the first items that our eyes are drawn to when we browse for videos is the name. Often that's what dictates if the audience chooses to watch the video or not, so the name should be not only convincing but also clear and concise. With that in mind, replace your desired keyword with the file name 'business ad003FINAL.mov' (don't be embarrassed... we were all there during post-production). For example, if your keyword is 'house painting tips,' the file name of your video should be 'house painting tips' followed by your favorite form of video file (MOV, MP4, and WMV are some of the most common ones that are YouTube compatible).While your keyword plays a big part in the title of your video, it also helps if the title fits closely what the viewer is looking for. Backlinko's research found that clips that fit the exact keyword in the title only have a slight advantage over those that don't. Here is a linear representation of the findings:
So, while 'using your target keyword in your title can help you rank for that term,' says report author Brian Dean, 'the relationship between keyword-rich video titles and rankings' is not always strong. Nonetheless, adopting the title for this keyword is a good idea as long as it actually blends into a name that tells viewers exactly what they're going to see.
Also, be sure to keep the name relatively brief — Alicia Collins, HubSpot campaign manager, suggests keeping it to 60 characters to help keep it from being cut off in results reports.
Optimize the definition of your video.
First things first: The maximum character cap for descriptions of YouTube videos is 1,000 characters, according to Google. And while using all that space is all right, remember that your viewer most likely came here to watch a video, not to read an essay.If you choose to write a longer summary, note that YouTube shows only the first two or three lines of text— around 100 characters. After that point, to see the full description, viewers need to click 'show more.' That's why we suggest that the description be front-loaded with the most important information, such as CTAs or key links.
It does not hurt to add a transcript of the video to improve the video itself, particularly for those who need to watch it without size. That said, the research conducted by Backlinko also found no correlation between descriptions optimized for a specific keyword and the rankings for that term.
Nevertheless, Dean is cautious not to promote the full dissection of an engineered definition. 'An integrated summary makes you appear in the suggested sidebar of the images,' he says, 'which for most channels is an important source of views.'
Tagging Video with Proper Keywords
The official Creator Academy of YouTube recommends that you use tags to let viewers know about your video. But not only do you inform your viewers — you inform YouTube itself as well. Dean states that tags are used by the platform 'to understand your video's content and meaning.'YouTube will thus find out how to combine your video with similar videos, which can extend the reach of your content. Yet carefully pick your marks. Do not use an insignificant tag because you think it will give you more views— in fact; you might be penalized for that by Google. And similar to your description, lead with the most important keywords, including a good mix of the common ones and the long-tail ones.
Categorizing Your Video Content
Once you upload a video, you can categorize it under 'Advanced settings.' Choosing a category is another way to group your video with similar content on YouTube, so it ends up in different playlists and gains exposure to more viewers who identify with your audience.Maybe it's not as simple as it looks. Nonetheless, the Creator Academy of YouTube recommends that advertisers undergo a rigorous process to determine which class that video belongs to. It's beneficial, the guide says, 'to think about what fits well for can class,'
Customizing your Thumbnail for Video
When scrolling through a list of video results, the video thumbnail is the main image viewers see. The thumbnail sends a signal to the audience about the content of the video along with the name of the video, so it can affect the number of clicks the video gets and views.While you can always choose one of the auto-generated YouTube thumbnail options, it is highly recommended that you upload a custom thumbnail. The Creator Academy estimates that '90 percent of YouTube's best-performing videos have custom thumbnails,' encouraging the use of 1280x720 pixel images — showing a 16:9 ratio— that is saved as 2 MB or smaller.jpg,.gif,.bmp, or.png files. When you obey these criteria, it can help ensure that your thumbnail appears on various display channels with the same high quality.
It is important to note that to upload a custom thumbnail image; your YouTube account must be checked. Visit youtube.com/check and follow the instructions mentioned there to do this.
Using SRT Files to Add subtitles & closed captions
Subtitles and closed captions will improve YouTube search efficiency by highlighting essential keywords, like much of the other text we've covered here.You will need to upload a licensed text transcript or timed subtitles file to add subtitles or closed captions to your video. For the former, to auto-sync with the video, you can also explicitly insert transcript text for a clip.
Adding subtitles follows a similar method, but the amount of text you want to view can be reduced. For either of these, go to your video manager and click 'Videos' under 'Video Manager.' Find the video to which you want to add subtitles or closed captioning, and then press the drop-down arrow next to the edit button. Then choose 'Subtitles / CC.' Then choose how to add subtitles or closed captioning.
Adding Cards & End Screens to increase your YouTube Viewership
Up to five cards can be added to a single video, and six types are available: channel cards that direct viewers to another channel.
Types of Cards
Donation cards on behalf of U.S. non-profit organizations to promote fundraising.Fan funding is available to ask your fans to help create your video content.
Link cards that direct viewers to an external page approved crowdfunding platform or an approved platform for merchandise sales.
Poll cards that ask viewers a question and allow them to vote for an answer.
Video or playlist cards that link to this form of other YouTube content.
End screens display similar data to cards, but they do not show until a video is over, as you may have expected, and are, in fact, a little more visually complex. A good example is an overlay with a book image and a visual link to see more in the following video.
It is important to note that YouTube is always reviewing end screens to try to improve the viewer experience, so there are occasions when 'the end screen may not appear as you have selected it.' Take these factors into consideration as you choose to use either cards or end screens.
Such variables may seem a little confusing and time-consuming but remember: over the year, the time people spend watching YouTube on their television has more than tripled.
Now, most of the above SEO tips rely on you to correctly identify a keyword and promote your image. And not all these tips can be done by YouTube alone. Find some of the tools below to automate your video search to get the most bangs for your video buck.
YouTube SEO Tools
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO platform that enables you to monitor the ranking of a website, estimate the organic traffic you would get from each keyword, and identify keywords for which you may want to create new content.Keywords Explorer has a popular feature, which allows you to look up various information related to a keyword. And as you can see in the screenshot above, search engines, like YouTube, will filter your keyword results.
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer shows you the monthly search volume of a keyword, how many clicks for that keyword, similar keywords, and more earned through video ratings.
Canva
Canva could be known as a template of design to create all kinds of cards, photos, logos, and more. This popular product also happens to have a Thumbnail Creator for YouTube videos.As described in the tips above, thumbnail images are essential to promoting the search results of your content on YouTube and encouraging users to click on your video. You can create the perfect preview image for your video in 1280x 720 pixels using Canva's Thumbnail Creator— the thumbnail dimensions required by YouTube.
Hub Spot Content Strategy
this content management tool, built at HubSpot, allows you to find common keywords to create content and then organize these keywords into groupings — what we call 'topic clusters.' By sorting your content into topic clusters, you can track which content pieces are connected to each other, what content types you've designed, and what you've produced.Clustering your content — and linking videos to blog posts, and vice versa — will give you more authority in Google's and YouTube's eyes, while giving you more ways to capture traffic from people looking for your subject.