In order to be successful as a company in social networks, you have to stand out from the crowd. That applies to YouTube SEO as well as for Twitter or Facebook. Videos play an increasingly important role. They already make up a large part of the worldwide Internet traffic and communication on the mentioned platforms. Of course, this brings with it a very crucial problem. your content is in the video sector of huge competition. In order to prevail over your competitors and to stand out with your video content. Not only the topic and quality of the videos are important, but also your marketing skills.
While the classic platforms are all about bringing clips to the public through good networking, there’s another component on YouTube to help boost success: SEO. Although YouTube is known as a video portal, but not quite wrongly referred to as the second largest search engine. With numerous tricks, you can improve your YouTube ranking so that more users notice your videos. Since the video service is now part of Google, he is closely linked to the largest search engine – so there is a chance to appear with often viewed videos on the first pages of Google search results.
This Can Improve Your YouTube SEO Ranking
The fact that you can improve the placement of your YouTube videos with SEO measures does not mean that the content plays a lesser role. Rather, you should see YouTube SEO as an additional way to make your clips even more prevalent and gain an edge over your competitors. And just as the video without the right marketing has a hard time, conversely, video SEO is not a guarantee of success, if the video content itself is not convincing.
So, first do everything possible to create interesting and unique videos that entertain, educate, or help viewers solve problems. Also, be sure to regularly check which content is most appropriate for your users to respond to user needs. Only if you meet these requirements, the various ranking factors and optimization tricks that we present to you in the following sections can have their full effect.
On-Page Video SEO: Keywords, Metadata and Co
As already stated, YouTube is also a search engine. Thus, selecting and using suitable keywords for your clips is as elementary as searching a website for search engine optimization. For this reason, you should also do the same research and use proven tools like the Google Keyword Planner. An additional source of inspiration for long-tail keywords is – similar to Google Suggest – the auto-completion of YouTube searches. In the following four areas, it is important to include relevant keywords:
Filename:
Although it is not a very large ranking factor, it is at least advisable to build keywords already in the name of your video file.
Title:
The title is probably the most important element of SEO-based video optimization. It’s important to find a wording that contains both the most important keyword and is appealing to the viewer.
Description:
The description also represents a very important ranking factor. Invest enough time for a meaningful text that tells users and YouTube what your video is all about. You should also include your keyword set here and add external links to your homepage or social media accounts. Also, keep in mind that the first 100 to 150 characters are most critical, as they appear in the YouTube preview or in Google, Twitter, or Facebook snippets, for example.
Tags:
Tags are search terms that help YouTube users find your video. Of course, your researched keywords should also appear in the tags. The influence of the tags on the positioning is not as great as it was at the beginning of the video platform.
Other factors of on-page YouTube SEOs influence the ranking, for example, the establishment of a transcript that enables you subtitles can insert for your video, the video quality (SD or HD) or the age of the video. Also relevant for positioning are annotations such as pop-ups, text overlays, or speech bubbles that add interactivity to your video. And last but not least, the thumbnail. the preview image of your video must be mentioned. Together with the title, it is the main criterion for a good CTR or a high number of viewers. so you should make a targeted selection and not use the first snapshot.
Channel Optimization
Just as crucial to ranking as on-page video SEO is the strength of your YouTube channel. A well-structured channel that presents your clips in playlists and rich lyrics will tell the video-sharing platform and potential viewers what to expect from your videos. With the absolute numbers that characterize your channel, you also build confidence that confirms you as an expert in your field. These include, for example, the number of video and channel views. the age of your channel, and the number of subscribers.
Maintaining the channel is a valuable tool that you should use throughout the duration of your activity on the video-sharing platform. You have a positive influence on the ranking by regularly uploading new videos that contain meaningful comments and fit well into your overall concept.
Offpage Video SEO: Networking Content
YouTube SEO optimization is also possible in the classic off-page area, because of the YouTube content. Like any other type of content, can also be distributed outside the platform in the network. For this reason, you should try to generate external links that lead to your channel or specific videos. In this context, embeddings also play an important role. The more influential the websites embed or link your clips, the more it will affect your YouTube ranking.
In addition to classic link building. The distribution of content in social networks is of course also part of the tasks of YouTube Video SEO. If you publicize your YouTube clips on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest, you will not only gain additional links but also viewers outside of YouTube.
User Signals And Their Optimization
User signals are the only way for YouTube to derive information about the quality of the video content. To do this, the video service evaluates the number of views, as well as the attention and response of the viewer, and correlates these factors with comparable videos uploaded to the platform. This will improve your YouTube ranking if users watch your video often and as long as possible. If you only have a few calls and a high bounce rate. This will have a negative effect on your rating as well as on the classification of a website.
With regard to the user reactions, there are u. a. the following evaluation criteria:
- Number of comments
- used keywords in comments
- Reactions to comments
- Number of positive reviews (thumbs up)
- The ratio of positive and negative ratings (thumbs down)
- Number of video responses
- The number of users who clips in a playlist have taken
In order to influence the reactions of the users, you should actively participate in the discussions about your videos. So react to constructive criticism and positive feedback by writing your own commentary answers.
