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Profitworks is proud to present the following guest post. Contact us today if you have any YouTube SEO questions.

About the author:

Kas Szatylowicz is a social media manager and outreach coordinator at Nightwatch — a search visibility tool of the next generation. Check out the Nightwatch blog and connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter: @KasSzatylowicz.

 

The Ultimate Guide To YouTube SEO In 2019

There’s Google SEO … and then there’s Youtube SEO. It’s a whole different kettle of fish, but it matters just as much because YouTube is the world’s second biggest search engine. Yup, it’s massive. And sadly, it doesn’t matter how awesome your video is. If you haven’t optimised it for SEO, it won’t be visible to the right people.

But it’s totally okay because we’ve got you covered. Let’s take a look at all you need to know about taking your YouTube video marketing to the next level.

 

Create Awesome Videos

It goes without saying that the first thing you need to do is create an awesome video that has a chance to bring you traffic. A video that is engaging and which keeps people watching is always going to do well on YouTube because retention matters. The longer viewers watch your videos for, and the more they engage with them, the higher you’ll rank.

So what’s the science behind an awesome YouTube video?

Well, it all starts with length. According to reports, short videos perform better than longer ones, with 4.4 minutes the optimum length. If you can condense your message into just 4 minutes, you’re onto a winner already.

This is where good editing comes in. Editing is all about cutting out all the unnecessary bits and making your video pop so that it gets to the point as fast as possible. If something is superfluous, just get rid of it.

Storytelling really matters, too. The more unique, engaging, creative and interesting your storytelling is, the more people will keep watching.

The main thing to bear in mind is the amount of value you offer. If you’ve made a ‘how to’ video, make sure you deliver as many practical tips as possible. Leave no stone unturned!

 


Go here for more information on the types of video content that will grow your traffic.

 

Do Your Keyword Research

Keywords are how people find your videos, and they work in a similar way on YouTube as they do on Google.

Once you know what search times you want to rank for, you’ll also be able to produce more content that people actually want to see from you.

One of the best ways to find relevant keywords is to pop your main keyword into the search bar and see what YouTube automatically suggests. There’ll be a list of suggestions, and these are all keywords that people are using to find videos just likes yours.

You can also use a tool like KeywordTool.io to find keywords that are specific to YouTube.

 

 

There are  Google Chrome extensions, too, such as Tags For YouTube that help you find keywords your competitors are using.

 

 

Optimize Your Videos

A key part of SEO is the optimization of your videos. To rank as highly as possible in your niche, here’s what you need to optimize:

 

1. Filename

A filename shouldn’t look like this:1920203.JPEG

Instead, it should contain your main keyword. Otherwise, you’re missing out on a massive trick to boost your visibility.

 

2. Video Title

A good video title should contain around 10 words. This gives you enough room to fit your focus keyword in there without it looking too spammy. It also lets you target people with a really compelling headline.

Here’s an example: “How Beginners Can Boost Their SEO For More Traffic”

 

3. Video Description

It’s not easy to write a good description. The main things you need to take care of are:

  • Keywords - Use the right amount (not too many) and use your focus keyword 2 or 3 times.
  • Add links to the top of your video - These links should include your social media profiles and any link that you mention in your video
  • Call To Action - What do you want people to do after watching the video? Add a CTA to your video and your description

Give some information away but not too much - You don’t want to give everything away in your description, but you need to give something away so that they’re actually compelled to watch it.

 

 

4. Tags

Tags are a great way to climb the rankings and get noticed by more of the right people. Your tags are basically keywords, niches and topics that are relevant to your video.

Make sure you only include ones that are relevant, otherwise people will click ‘play’ and quickly bail out. This will be very bad for your rankings!

 

5. Call To Action

The call to action is key, not simply in terms of getting people to do what you want. It’s also key in terms of SEO. How so?

Essentially, there are a few metrics that YouTube uses to asses the quality of your video. These include:

  • Subscriptions
  • Comments
  • Add to ‘Watch later’
  • Click through rate

In other words, the more people subscribe, comment, add to ‘watch later’ or click your link, the higher you’ll rank. Why? Because YouTube will see that your video is delivering lots of value.

To motivate folk to do any of the above, let them know in your CTA. Want them to subscribe? Tell them to subscribe at the beginning and at the end of your video! It’s simple but super effective stuff.

Then, check your YouTube analytics to see if people are taking the action you want them to. If they’re not, reconsider the way you present your CTA. Consider reminding them in your description.

 

Pay attention to the details for YouTube SEO

 

Promote Your Video

Lastly, you need to promote the heck out of your video if you want it to be seen and shared by more people (which is fabulous for SEO).

You can create a blog post for it on your website, share it on social media, and answer a relevant question on Quora before posting a link to your video. Quora is a great way to drive relevant and highly qualified traffic, and yet not many folks seem to be using it in their Youtube marketing strategy. Give it a try!

Consider guest posting on high traffic websites, too, before including a link to your video.

Finally, there are some common youtube marketing mistakes you need to be aware of, too. For example, doing paid advertising before you establish and get to know your audience will most likely end up being a waste of money.

 

 

Discover the importance of YouTube SEO!

First comes the video, then comes the optimization of it. You can’t have one without the other, and hopefully you’re much clearer about what you have to do when it comes to making and optimizing your videos. As you can see, there’s not too much hard work involved. YouTube SEO is actually pretty simple. What’s really important is that you keep monitoring your efforts so that you’re always on the right track.

You can also download the Ultimate SEO Checklist from Profitworks by clicking below!