What is Youtube SEO ? YouTube SEO is the process of optimizing your videos, playlists and channel to rank high in YouTube ‘s organic search results by targeting a specific keyword .
How YouTube’s Search Engine Algorithm Works
YouTube explains its recommendation and search ranking algorithms in two sentences:
“On YouTube, we rank videos based on several factors: title, description, and how well the video matches the user’s search in terms of content. Other than that, we look at which videos will be most interesting to the searcher.”
Keywords are more important than both on-page and in-video factors. It’s also important to understand and match the user’s search intent.
But the most important factor for YouTube SEO is engagement, because YouTube wants you to keep viewers on the platform as long as possible. This is because more video views = more ads shown = more money, which is actually extremely emotional 🙂
Most importantly, YouTube asks you to engage with your videos, and if you do, it rewards you with ranking high in search results and recommending your video to users.
It is based on YouTube interactions, likes, comments, click-through rate, audience retention, average watch time, end screen clicks, card clicks, etc. As a result, you cannot impress your audience, you cannot rank well on your YouTube videos.
How to Do Youtube Technical SEO?
Step 1
YouTube Keyword Research
If you don’t target keywords with search volume, you won’t get traffic from search results. Of course, we don’t recommend creating videos by targeting just keywords, but there are many ways to follow trending topics, leverage suggested videos, and create content for an existing audience. Unfortunately, YouTube does not have an official keyword research tool. Many third-party keyword research tools offer data from Google Keyword Planner . However, there are tools and methods you can use to research search volumes for keywords on YouTube.
YouTube Search Predictions are Matched with Google Trends.
YouTube and Google search prediction systems are similar to each other. Type a keyword in the search bar and you will see a list of relevant queries containing your keywords before starting the search.
Search Predictions
If you put an asterisk * before or after your keyword, you can see broad search prediction results.
These words can give you an idea about trends and your content.
You can see YouTube’s search volumes from Google Trends , as there is no official tool to see search volume . You can also compare your keyword with Google Trends and see which one gets the most searches.
Search for your target keyword on Google.
Search for one of your keywords on Google and review the results. Analyze the results based on video length, titles and views.
Step 2
Determine the search intent
Search intent (or search intent) is the result that a user is trying to reach with a search engine query. Youtube predicts what a user is searching for, before actually searching. It’s actually too long to explain how he did it, but to summarize, Youtube categorizes everyone and everything.
If other users in your category are searching for something with the same search term, watching and interacting with a video, Youtube thinks you will like this video and shows it to you. At the same time , it gets help from the search data we call Google Cookies . Thus, it understands the user’s intent. Therefore, the results when performing a search can be a good guide for you to understand search intent.
Step 3
Try to keep the audience coming from the search results in your video
YouTube determines whether the user is satisfied with the content by looking at the length of time the audience stays in the video. The high duration of the audience in the video also brings interactions such as likes, shares, comments. This means you rank higher.
YouTube’s goals are :
“To help viewers find the videos they want to watch and ensure long-term viewer engagement and satisfaction.”
That’s why your goal should be to capture the attention of viewers and create videos with high watch times. You can read the article I wrote about ” How to increase the number of subscribers “.
Step 4 On
-Page Video Optimization
On-page SEO for YouTube is based on 4 factors:
- Title
- Explanation
- labels
- Cover photo of the video
Each of these factors affects your video’s click-through rates. Set a good video title and a cover image.
YouTube encourages creators to increase clickthrough rate.
If the click-through rate is high, YouTube will recommend your content to more users.
There are several apps you can use to get your videos more recommended to viewers.
1. Use your keyword in the title
90% of the top videos on YouTube have a keyword. YouTube’s advice is to use your keyword in your title, but don’t use too many of the same search terms. We recommend finding synonyms instead. Fill your titles under 60 characters with concise information.
2.Use your keywords in your video description.
YouTube says using the right keywords in the description of your video helps your videos appear in search results, increasing views. It has been determined that 75% of the results that appear in the first place in any search on Youtube include broad match keywords in the description text. But don’t use too many of the same keywords. Include synonymous or related keywords instead.
3. Labels
Tags help your video rank higher in YouTube search and appear in recommendations. YouTube makes this easy by suggesting that you include the keywords and phrases that are most descriptive for your video.
Creating tags is a simple process as you optimize your keyword research, title, and description with keywords.
4.Create a cover image that fits your content
Cover photos are often the thing to look at before clicking on a video. you can use this for YouTube SEO, your cover photo should have a call to action text or image, but keep it consistent with your content. Don’t clickbait and trick users into adding stuff that isn’t in your content.
Step 5 In
-Video Optimizations
There are additional optimizations you can make to your video to increase viewership and create a better user experience for your viewers.
YouTube cards are an interactive feature that encourages viewers to take one of five actions:
- Watching another video or playlist.
- Discovering another YouTube channel.
- Donate to a nonprofit.
- Answering a survey.
- Visiting a link.
Select the type of card you want to use, select an appropriate option (eg video or playlist), and then choose a time you want the card to appear.
When the viewer arrives at the time you appear, the suggested video or the poll to be answered will appear in the corner of the video. Also, when the user clicks on the info icon, they can choose to watch the suggested video. You can keep viewers on your channel more if you add to the cards relevant to the same or similar topic as the video they watched.
add youtube card.
2. End screen
The end screen is like cards, the purpose is to encourage viewers to spend more time on your channel. It can help you get more subscribers and get viewers to watch more of your videos.
SUMMARY
YouTube SEO is technically easy, based on success and engagement. Track keywords and trends with search volume. Understand your target audience’s search intent. Try to keep traffic from search results with your video. Use your keyword in the title and write compelling titles. Fill your titles under 60 characters with concise information, while also adding phrases that are intriguing or highlight a value in your content.
To do YouTube SEO, avoid repeating your keyword frequently…
Create a cover image that fits your content Cover photos are often the thing to look at before clicking a video. Don’t clickbait and trick users into adding stuff that isn’t in your content.
Use your keywords in your video description. Use tags. It helps your video rank higher in YouTube search and appear in recommendations. Don’t forget the subtitles. Set up cards and end screens, this will help your audience spend more time on your channel.
Above, I explained the success factors for YouTube SEO step by step. If there is something you don’t understand, tell me in the comments and I will definitely answer you. If you have something that is not written in this article, but you are curious about it, you can write it in the comments section. Also, if this article was helpful to you, please let me know in the comments.
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