YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, yet many creators still underestimate the power of optimising videos. According to current statistics, users play more than a billion hours of video on YouTube every day. Do you want your videos to reach a wider audience, gain more views and bring real results? Set your YouTube SEO up properly. In this article you will find out why optimisation matters and how YouTube rates content.
What YouTube SEO is and why it matters
YouTube SEO is a process aimed at optimising a YouTube channel along with its videos in order to gain higher positions in search results. Like Google, YouTube has its own complex algorithm that decides how and where videos will be shown. Videos can be optimised not only for YouTube but for other search engines too (Google, Bing and so on), where they can also appear.
How does YouTube rate videos?
If we want videos to rank on YouTube, we first have to grasp the algorithm and the ranking factors it takes into account. YouTube's aim, like every search engine's, is to give the user quality, relevant content. When rating, YouTube takes several key factors into account:
- the video's title and description;
- video tags;
- video metadata;
- the time users spend watching your videos;
- metrics such as comments, likes and shares.
The advantages YouTube SEO brings
Optimising videos on YouTube brings the same advantages as optimising websites for Google. We consider the main advantages to be:
- Raising visibility on YouTube: users will find your content faster.
- Boosting user engagement: with the right optimisation you ensure YouTube suggests your video to users who are more likely to react to it too.
- Gaining traffic to your website: optimising videos raises the chance that users will click through to your site.
- Building brand awareness: by creating high-quality videos you can present your brand's unique value and gain new customers.
- Supporting growth in conversions: if you raise traffic to your website through videos, you also raise the chance that they will carry out the conversion you want.
Optimising videos serves to gain the results you want on YouTube, but it can also have a positive effect on your ranking in Google search.
How to optimise YouTube SEO?
Proper SEO optimisation is a key element if you want to gain better positions and more views for your videos. In this part we will go through the steps that will help you raise your videos' visibility and attract more followers.
Prepare a keyword analysis
- Just as with optimising for Google search, with YouTube it matters to carry out a keyword analysis first.
- Try to gather as many keywords as possible related to the content you want to present.
- Analyse the keywords thoroughly and choose the most relevant for you.
Publish videos with a high retention rate
- First of all you need to ensure users watch your videos for as long as possible.
- The length of a video users watch is also called Audience Retention. YouTube considers this metric one of the most important factors.
- So create interesting, relevant videos users will be glad to watch.
- Comments are an excellent indicator that people have interacted with your video. Try to encourage users to leave a comment.
Gain subscribers
- A user who subscribes to your channel after watching a video is a signal that your video is beneficial and interesting.
- So do not be afraid to ask your viewers to subscribe at the end of a video.
Track and raise the click-through rate
- The percentage of people who click on your video is called the click-through rate - the higher this figure, the better.
- YouTube actively tracks this metric. The higher the click-through rate you can gain, the more positively YouTube judges the video.
Do not be afraid to create longer videos too
- The optimal length of a video on YouTube is not strictly given. If it makes sense for your video to be longer, though, do not be afraid of that. If it is relevant and interesting for people, they will certainly watch it all.
Mention the main keyword in the video
- YouTube automatically transcribes videos' content. When you genuinely say the keyword you are optimising for, YouTube grasps better that your video is aimed at exactly that keyword.
Choose a suitable title and description for the video
- A video's name should consist of at least five words, which lets you state the whole keyword. Do not be afraid to create a catchy title.
- A video's description helps grasp your video's content better, so invest time in preparing it thoroughly.
- The description should be at least 250 words. Place the main keyword within the first 25 words. We recommend mentioning the keyword at least 2 to 4 times throughout the text.
- Above we mentioned the importance of the Audience Retention metric and the user experience.
- YouTube can only measure these metrics on a video users are watching, though.
- To gain views, try sharing the video on social media, for instance, or in your articles or newsletter.
Do not forget your YouTube channel
- Optimising a YouTube channel can help you in two ways. First of all, you can rank with your channel's page on YouTube too.
- Secondly, thanks to a professional-looking page you can gain more subscribers, which has a positive effect on YouTube's rating.
Thanks to the steps stated above you can gain better positions in YouTube search results for the main keyword you have chosen. If you have not invested time in your YouTube channel, now is the right time to start optimising. If you would like to put your SEO management in experts' hands, we are here for you.
