Video SEO
One of the best ways for you to learn optimization techniques is to test, and test, and test some more. Not only does testing up you understand what does and does not work, you’ll also understand the more important nuances of how long changes need to take effect, how hard you can push before there is a penalty, and most important – how to fix things when you push too hard.
With that said, below are some optimization suggestions I’ve found work:
1 – Video Titles
Internet search revolves around text and YouTube is no different… The first piece of txt that YouTube (and your audience) will see is your title. The video title is the main suggestion that YouTube will use in understanding what your video is about.
Your title should include:
A) Include your main keyword in the title once.
B) Try and include your keyword closer to the beginning of the title than near the end. The closer to the beginning of the title, the more influence the keyword will have.
The title is also the #1 factor your audience will use in determining whether to click through and watch your video or move to another one. They are several “tricks” you can use to grab your audience’s attention and garner click through.
C) Including numbers in your headlines boost CTR. Experiment with even numbers, odd numbers, no numbers – which title looks best to you?
Example: “13 Amazing Simple Balloon Animals You Can Make Today”.
D) Including clarifications within parenthesis or brackets in your headline typically perform better than headlines without clarification.
Example: “Folding Balloon Animals [How To Demonstration}”.
Not only are headlines important for YouTube titles, they are critical for all of you marketing efforts. Here is a complete 10 part tutorial on writing effective headlines published on Quicksprout by Neil Patel and Joseph Putnam.
2 – Video Descriptions
The next piece of information that YouTube (and your audience) will read is your description. Creating accurate and thorough descriptions not only help YouTube in understanding, they will also help your audience understand what the video is about, help them find more information about you and the video topic, and have the ability to follow and links you’ve provided.
Your description should include:
A) 200-300 words. Longer video descriptions work best.
B) Include your keyword in the first sentence and 1-2 more times throughout the text.
C) Include semantically related keywords 1-2 times throughout the text (only if their use makes sense and the words read well).
D) Include links to your website and other social media platforms at the bottom of your description
The video description is also including in the YouTube search results. This is your chance to receive some of that search traffic. Make the first few lines of your description engaging, attractive, and click worthy.
Example: Your target keyword is “balloon animals”
“Want to impress the kids with balloons? Watch and learn how simple it is to fold these 7 balloon animals”
3 – Video Tags
Like the title and description fields, Tags are another way for you to help YouTube understand what your video is about. Don’t go crazy and stuff keywords here, use common sense and be strategic.
Your tags should include:
A) The first tag you input should be your main keyword. Example: If your video is about “balloon animals” then input “balloon animals” as your first tag.
B) Include 2-3 variations for your main keyword term for the next tags.
Example: “folding balloon animals” and “balloon dog animals”.
C) Include 2-3 generic terms that describe your video topic or niche.
Example: “balloon folding” or “children’s party events”
D) Include 1-3 tags used on popular videos in your niche (do not repeat anything you’ve already entered). Using identical tags as your competition will dramatically help you ranking in the “Suggested Video” section.
4 – Video Transcript
When publishing on YouTube, you have the option to upload a transcript with your video. I highly recommend this step as it not only helps YouTube understand your video better, it will help your audience too.
Remember the beginning section when I said that YouTube wants to show users the best content?
Image two different video producers who are about even in everything and they are publishing a similar video?
The titles, descriptions, and tags are similar – except one video has a transcript and the other one does not…
Which video do you think YouTube is going to recommend?
The one with the transcript, because YouTube wants to show the best content.
5 – Video Content
If YouTube has software that can create video transcripts, then doesn’t it make sense to say (speak) your keywords and semantically related keywords throughout the video? Don’t go crazy and repeat your keywords hundreds of times. Use common sense and place them naturally throughout the video (as a normal conversation). This step will go a long way towards YouTube understanding what your video is about.
6 – Video Thumbnail
With millions of videos uploaded every day, it is important to make your videos standout from the crowd. One of the most over looked items is to use a custom video thumbnail.
Your video thumbnail doesn’t need to be a frame from your video – YouTube will allow you to upload your own custom graphic.
There are a couple tricks to make your graphic stand out:
A) Include some text in the graphic. There should be enough room in your graphic to include 20-30 characters of text that are big enough to read.
B) The predominant colors of YouTube are white (Hex #FFFFFF) with accents of red (Hex #F61F18) so you will need to consider this in your graphic design. It would be best to use contrasting colors like black, orange, blue, green, and purple.
C) The best size for a custom thumbnail Image is 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9 ratio).
D) YouTube will accept file formats: .JPG, .PNG, .GIF, .BMP and the total image files must be under 2MB.