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SEO Techniques For YouTube: An Introduction
When I first started District Maven, the concept of search engine optimization was very foreign and difficult for most (if not all) potential clients to understand. Flash forward a decade and there is no denying that most business owners and webmasters have made significant progress in their understanding of how digital marketing works. While the importance of SEO and social media is widely recognized, few are aware that these seemingly separate concepts are one in the same. Remember that by definition, "search engines" are simply networks that allow one to perform a search using a multi-layered algorithm to provide relevant, accurate results. Social media sites aren't separate than search engines, they are also search engines -- and therefore also require specific techniques to optimize content for top placement.
When I first started District Maven, the concept of search engine optimization was very foreign and difficult for most (if not all) potential clients to understand. Flash forward a decade and there is no denying that most business owners and webmasters have made significant progress in their understanding of how digital marketing works. While the importance of SEO and social media is widely recognized, few are aware that these seemingly separate concepts are one in the same. Remember that by definition, "search engines" are simply networks that allow one to perform a search using a multi-layered algorithm to provide relevant, accurate results. Social media sites aren't separate than search engines, they are also search engines -- and therefore also require specific techniques to optimize content for top placement.
Facebook and Instagram are two of the most trendy social media sites to market a business or brand, but one would be stupid to ignore the power that YouTube brings to the table. Not only has this site been directly indexed as a vertical engine in Google for years, Alexa traffic rankings report that YouTube is the second most visited site on the Internet. Sure, this hugely popular platform is social in nature, but it is largely search engine-based and requires specific optimization work to be successful. Just like content on a company website, it isn't enough to just post content if the search engines can't read or understand it.
Ready to get down to business? Below are some of our YouTube SEO tips for marketing your videos.
Facebook and Instagram are two of the most trendy social media sites to market a business or brand, but one would be stupid to ignore the power that YouTube brings to the table. Not only has this site been directly indexed as a vertical engine in Google for years, Alexa traffic rankings report that YouTube is the second most visited site on the Internet. Sure, this hugely popular platform is social in nature, but it is largely search engine-based and requires specific optimization work to be successful. Just like content on a company website, it isn't enough to just post content if the search engines can't read or understand it.
Ready to get down to business? Below are some of our YouTube SEO tips for marketing your videos.
With the understanding that YouTube is a video search engine, keyword research will continue to play a large role in optimizing content. One of the best tools to look into the phrases your audience uses the most is Google Trends, which features a keyword search vertical for YouTube specifically.
Just like on your website, the first thing the search engines will read when indexing your video is the title. Using your keyword research as a guide, choose a phrase that is attention-grabbing and straight-to-the-point. Be careful not to be too wordy — the perfect title length is typically five words long.
Way too many webmasters make the cardinal SEO sin of neglecting to add a keyword-rich description to their YouTube videos, while others only write one or two sentences. Instead, take advantage of this prime opportunity to showcase content to the search engines (and human visitor) by including a meatier, more in-depth description complete with helpful links to your brand’s digital assets. Doing so not only creates a foundation of expertise but provides valuable link juice for your business sites as well.
While the specific calls to action used on a website can vary significantly, the primary focuses for YouTube tend to be the same across the board — contact and subscribe. In addition to getting in touch with your brand, the ideal goal is to build your channel’s subscriber base as much as possible. Not only does this make your brand seem more popular to the human visitor, it indicates to Google that your content is worthwhile.
While adding a customized thumbnail to your video isn’t exactly something targeted for major search engine appeal, human visitors are far less likely to click on content with boring preview images. Feel free to get creative with your thumbnail, but make sure the image you choose is well-lit, high resolution and represents the content in the video.
Transcribing your video is an extra step, but the search engine benefits make it worth the time investment. YouTube does offer an automated transcription process, but the results will be sub par at best. (Errors galore, guaranteed.) Instead, either create your own transcript (with timestamps) or really proofread the automatically generated one.
If you’ve already done your keyword research, it is easy to enter a list of highly searched keywords that also have low to medium competition levels. Make sure use a combination of phrases and single-word tags that are relevant to the content in that specific video. Even though the terms won’t be visible on YouTube to the human visitor, the search engines will certainly appreciate it.
It’s always best to optimize content first, not last for maximum SEO results, but the practice is especially important for successful YouTube marketing. This particular site’s algorithms are ridiculously tough, indexing content within 48 hours of publishing. YouTube needs to understand what your video is about right away or the algorithm consider it low quality and bury it. Even though one can go back and add SEO techniques after publishing, it won’t be nearly as powerful had it been included the first time around.