How to optimise your YouTube SEO tactics

In the modern world, most businesses simply can’t function successfully without the use of a YouTube page. There is no denying that the traffic YouTube attracts is filled with great potential. The only problem with using YouTube marketing techniques is the problem that is accustomed to a lot of large, popular websites: competition.

YouTube SEO

Indeed, YouTube is inundated with a deluge of content every minute, so much so that YouTube now includes features that inform users of how much content they have viewed and recommended break times. Hence, it’s incredibly important that you utilise key SEO techniques to ensure your videos are getting the exposure and playbacks they need. It’s really hard for a lazy upload to go viral, so if you’re thinking that a simple upload will give your company brand name a solid boost, you’d be wrong. So what do you need to be doing?

Utilise “video” keywords

Google is known for giving YouTube videos a slight boost in search engine results pages (SERPs). Having said this, this is only true for some keywords, not all. Put simply, you could benefit from using keywords that generally have video results attached to them on the first page of Google’s listings.

So what type of keywords are we looking for? Take for example the phrase “wrist sprain.” There’s a good chance the first page will be filled with text articles outlining symptoms and treatment options. People don’t need videos for diagnosis; they need raw information to treat their wrist.

Alternatively, the keyword phrase “cute dogs” will feature a lot of video links on the first page of Google. In essence, do your research and find the right keywords for your campaign and ones that consist of more video-based links on the first page. From there, tailor your content around those keywords.

Subscriptions are important

If you’ve ever watched a YouTube video on a fairly popular page, you’ll notice that most videos end with a prompt to subscribe to the page. This isn’t just to enhance the subscription base for prestige. In fact, the YouTube algorithm works differently to Google’s algorithm, in the sense that it puts a lot of emphasis on the user experience. Subscriptions and ‘likes’ on videos are the two main methods of measuring user experience on YouTube.

As a result, YouTube will monitor the amount of subscribers and likes you receive on your videos, which will help boost your rankings in YouTube’s search results. Whilst subscriber numbers are more potent, the number of likes you receives can still be really effective. Therefore, if you’re looking at ways to boost your YouTube strategies, make sure you’re encouraging viewers to subscribe.

Playlists are not just for show

YouTube optimisation

A lot of YouTube pages are nicely organised into playlists. To the viewer, this might come across as the host’s way of creating a clean, accessible page. This is partly true. One of the most effective ways to generate YouTube search traffic, however, is to organise your video content into keyword-rich playlists. Titles are really important when it comes to content marketing. This provides YouTube with a lot of information regarding the content of your videos.

You should definitely be looking at the keywords relevant to your industry and organised playlists framed around those keywords. When users search those relevant terms, you’re creating more touch points for more of your videos.

Long video descriptions can help

YouTube can only glean what your video is about from the text provided in the description. So, the more you write, the more YouTube knows about your video. Educational content, like tutorials and guides, tend to rank highly. This allows YouTube to can give a more confident ranking for your targeted keyword.

YouTube will peruse your written content to rank your video for long-tail keywords. You don’t want to write an entire essay in the description but even anything over 200 words is going to help you tap into several keywords and enhance your exposure.