Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a hot topic for businesses large and small. The term refers to web search engines such as Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo. SEO is good practice for businesses aiming to increase engagement and an invaluable part of any marketing strategy. What many business owners don’t consider is that they need to be ranking on platforms like YouTube.
Rich media content is one of the best ways to engage users more fully than with text posts alone and the most engaging of these media is video. A variety of social media platforms report that video content garners the most interactions of all posts and the majority of those videos are hosted first on YouTube, then shared.
If you’re making video content, you need to put as much focus on your SEO on YouTube as you do on your regular blogs, posts, and web content. The world of YouTube SEO is very similar to traditional SEO, but there are a few key differences you need to recognize in order to succeed. Focus on these three areas to understand the basics of YouTube SEO and grow your business.
1. Curate Your Keywords
Following are some of the best methods of keyword research for beginners that don’t necessitate the use of outside tools:
Leverage the Suggest Feature
When you type a word into the search bar, YouTube automatically suggests commonly searched terms relating to the word you entered. This is a great way to determine what people are searching and eliminate a large amount of guesswork.
Study Successful Videos
Videos that succeed on YouTube are shining examples of what keywords are being searched for the topic you’re looking into. Find a highly-viewed video on the subject of your content. Ascertain what keywords they used. Check the video title, tags, and description.
Check Your “Traffic Source: YouTube search” Report
This report simply relays what terms people searched that led to your videos. This is a good way to see what you’ve done well. You may find a very specific or niche term you haven’t been utilizing. Of course, you could always consult outside tools for keyword research, but many of those cost money. Smaller businesses can’t always afford extra costs like that, and when you’re just starting out, it isn’t absolutely necessary. The tips above are versatile enough to get you started on keyword research and keep your costs down.
2. Refine Your Video’s Description
Descriptions are so important, they need their own section. Realistically, your video title should contain only one or two quality keywords and while tags improve your searchability, they’re normally hidden from users. Your video description provides an opportunity to integrate more contextual keywords. Chances are your research turned up more than one excellent keyword that you couldn’t work into your title without keyword-stuffing. The description is also a good place for hashtags, links to social profiles, and company website addresses. All of these things provide more information about your product, brand, and mission. The more users understand your purpose, the better your video will perform.
3. Share Your Videos
Simply uploading your video and waiting for views likely won’t get you very far. Until you start publishing videos that rank well on their own and organically get views, you’ll need to give yourself a boost. This is where your other social accounts come in.There’s no reason to ignore the work you’ve done on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms. Use your followers on those sites to get traction on your videos. This is mutually beneficial for your socials too, as we mentioned before, rich media boosts engagement significantly.
Share your videos everywhere you can. Tweet them, embed them in blogs, and post links on Facebook. The easier it is to find your video, the more views it will get.
One last thing to consider is how you’re going to measure success. You can do all the research, optimization, and crafting possible, but if you’re not keeping track of how you’re performing, you’re missing out. YouTube has a robust analytics tracking program. There’s no need for third-party apps to track your performance metrics because YouTube does it natively and reports results on your dashboard.
Your job is to monitor YouTube’s analytics. If you notice that certain keywords regularly perform better than others, implement them more often. Conversely, if one of your keywords isn’t garnering the traffic you want, replace it.
We want to help you break into the world of SEO on YouTube and build your viewership. By utilizing keywords, perfecting your description, and promoting your content, you’ll maximize viewer engagement.. For more tips and guides, reach out to us here at The Profit Link, a small business support team based in Memphis, TN. We want to link your business to profit today!