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YouTube SEO: What You Need to Know

Jan 03, 2022

Written by Casey Bjorkdahl

Profile Picture Casey Bjorkdahl of https://www.vazoola.com

Casey Bjorkdahl is one of the pioneering thought leaders in the SEO community. In 2010, Casey co-founded Vazoola after working for a Digital Marketing Agency for five years in New York City. Vazoola is now one of the fastest growing and most widely recognized SEO marketing firms in the country.

YouTube SEO: What You Need to Know

Most people who think about SEO are thinking about Google and how to rank well on the search platform. However, when it comes to SEO YouTube is like any other site. To rank well and get videos in front of viewers, you need to help the platform learn what you have to offer. This allows the platform to move visitors searching for information to your channel. Here are some tips to help you learn how to optimize YouTube videos to get the results you want.

How to Optimize YouTube Videos

SEO for a YouTube channel is not much different than for Google or other search engines. These platforms use algorithms to rank videos with the single goal of helping visitors have the best possible experience using the results provided. Utilizing this process properly allows you to promote your business and videos on YouTube effectively. It may also help you improve the results you get since more targeted people will visit your site. That may drive more views to it. 

There are various steps to this process. That may include:

  • Choosing YouTube keywords wisely is the first step. Everyone is fighting for the same top spots in the rankings. The best bet for many businesses is to do some keyword research to find a unique way to stand out. Which keywords can you use that are directly relevant to your product, service, or video that people are using? 
  • Use keywords in the right locations. That includes in the title of your video. Once you understand the search intent of your audience, you are then able to pick keywords to place in a title that is going to directly impact their decision to watch or not to watch. Be sure whatever you add to the title in terms of YouTube SEO is directly related to the video’s content.
  • Include keywords in the video file as well. It is easy enough to do this, and when you do use YouTube keywords here, you are likely to get the best possible results. YouTube optimization is dependent on your ability to show the algorithm the value it offers. If the file name you are uploading has a target keyword in it, that is going to give you more of a chance to boost your ranking
  • Next, focus on YouTube search engine optimization for the video description. Don’t make this so dense with keywords that the person who is reading it isn’t interested. Instead, update the description to include some of the keywords you have allocated to your video. It’s often best to place important keywords in the first two sentences of the description. Keep the description to no more than 200 words. 

Also, work to develop YouTube SEO tags and hashtags on your videos. Again, be sure they are relevant to draw attention to your viewers. 

Tips for How to Develop YouTube Keywords for SEO

Where do these YouTube SEO keywords come from? It’s necessary to do some keyword research to develop this list of keywords to include. You can use a variety of keyword research tools to do this. There are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Focus on the searcher’s intent. What are they looking for when typing those words?
  • Focus on the goal of the video. What are you sharing in the video that is going to meet that need?
  • Consider the competition. Use keywords with less competition if they apply to your video content.

Does SEO for YouTube Channel Really Matter?

YouTube video SEO is valuable for many reasons. If a person is looking for something specific and it is in the video you’ve provided, you want to make sure they find your video. With millions of videos on YouTube, chances are they are going to find the competition if they don’t land on your site. YouTube SEO for beginners doesn’t have to be challenging. Apply the same strategies you are using for ranking your website or blog to your YouTube channel at the very least. Just focus on the video searcher here rather than those looking for what your company offers. 

What does all of this do for you? With YouTube SEO best practices, you end up getting some outstanding results. This may include more views of the video. It may lead to more clicks to your website, more subscribers, and even more people interacting with your product or service.

YouTube SEO Tips to Get You Started

What is YouTube SEO able to do for you? When you incorporate these SEO tips, you may be able to see a lot of benefits. Here are a few more ways to incorporate SEO keywords for YouTube:

  • Be sure to customize your thumbnail image as that grabs people’s attention right away. That can help with getting people to click.
  • Add closed captions and subtitles. This is one of the best ways to get the type of results you need – because it helps to provide more access and helps with SEO due to the content within. It’s also something YouTube wants to see in videos.
  • Use keyword-driven hashtags to help users to find your content. Use these in video descriptions to help people find your video if they are searching for a specific hashtag.

Most importantly, know when it’s time to get help. If you’re struggling to get videos to your videos, be sure to reach out to learn more.

See Similar Articles:  SEO Strategy

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