Do you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet today after Google? Out of every ten videos displayed after a search result, eight of them are from YouTube. YouTube has become a constantly growing platform, with over 500 hours of videos uploaded every passing minute.
With this overwhelmingly high number of uploaded videos, how do you ensure that other videos do not overshadow your content? The best way to do this is by creating great content and then optimizing your videos for search using YouTube SEO. You should create an SEO strategy to increase engagement.
If you have been creating content for YouTube, you understand the basics of YouTube Search Engine Optimization, which includes having a Meta description, adding tags, and including keywords in your video’s title.
Don’t forget that search engines only understand the text and will not interpret audio or images in your video. For this reason, always ensure that you have an accurately-written transcript for all your YouTube videos. Use below additional 12 YouTube SEO tips to help you optimize your engagements:
- Always Use the Right Keywords
Using the right keyword is an essential part of marketing your YouTube channel. The keywords you use should be relevant to your content and included in your video description, title, and transcript. Take advantage of both long-tail and short-tail keywords to target both a larger audience and your specific higher-intent audience.
- Include a Transcript for All Your Videos
Adding a transcript to the video description is the best way to display your keywords on YouTube. The YouTube description field is designed to fit 4,850 characters, which also include spaces. This is enough for a 10-minute dialogue.
If your video is longer, you should try including a condensed transcript version with an external link to a different website where the full transcript is displayed. This makes it easier for search engines to skim through your video description when searching for specific keywords, which is great for your YouTube SEO.
- Translate All Your Transcripts and Include Multiple Languages Subtitles
In any language, captions will increase your audience, making your videos accessible to audiences from different geographic regions. Most YouTube viewers don’t speak English, which is an important fact to consider when uploading your videos.
Including subtitles in different languages on your video will allow people who don’t speak English to also enjoy your content. The best part is that Search Engines will also go through your translated subtitles and display your videos in search results in that particular language.
- Include Keywords in Your Tags, Title, and Description
Industry-specific keyword phrases should always relate to a user’s phrases and expressions when searching for content similar to yours on search engines. The keywords should also correspond with an accurate description of the content in your video.
- Mention the Target Keyword on Your Video
Mentioning the keyword in your video ensures that it’s also included in the video’s transcript. What is included in your caption and transcript files helps rank your YouTube video. However, ensure that the transcript is correct to avoid the auto-captions feature flopping your keywords.
- Use a Captivating Thumbnail
When uploading your video, YouTube allows you to choose the best frame to show the thumbnail. You can choose from the three screenshots presented by YouTube, use your own image, or select a photo from a certain part of the video.
The right thumbnail image will improve your click-through rate. Therefore, make sure you use high-contrast and high-quality images with an aspect ratio of 16:9. It’s advisable to use close-up facial images that represent what your video and keyword phrases are about.
- Pay Attention to User Engagement
The way users respond and connect with your videos is important to YouTube and other search engines. This is because it keeps viewers on their site.
To improve your videos’ watch time on YouTube, ensure you capture their interest in the first 15 seconds. You can do this by using a teaser at the introduction of the video.
YouTube also measures user engagement through session viewing time to understand how your video contributes to the overall user watch session. How do your viewers respond after watching your videos? Do they leave immediately, or they stay and watch a few more videos?
YouTube’s main goal is to ensure people stay as long as possible on their site; thus, they will favor and support content that helps them achieve their objective. If you’re creating videos to direct traffic to your website, your YouTube SEO will be hurt because you’re directing people away from YouTube instead of keeping them there.
- Take Advantage of Playlists
You can sub-categorize your videos into a group of four to six video playlists. This will improve user engagement and boost their experience with youth videos. This is also one of the easiest ways to increase engagement and share several content videos simultaneously.
- Use YouTube SEO Embed
Google prioritizes YouTube videos in search results. However, if your video doesn’t have the right Metadata, it won’t be easy to prioritize. Your video’s Metadata includes thumbnails, transcripts, description, and title.
SEO Embed will display all your videos’ Metadata to the top of your page, allowing Google to go through the text and index it properly. SEO embed is essential for both Google optimization and YouTube SEO.
- Include Closed Captions Instead of Relying on ASR Captions
Once you upload a video, YouTube automatically captions it. Remember that these automatic captions are not 100% correct. This could lead to your video having embarrassing captions.
Search engines favor results that are considered helpful to the user while penalizing spam. Incorrect or incomprehensible captions are also considered spam and using them could result in you losing your search rank for all your YouTube videos. Ensure you always add correct closed captions for all your uploaded videos.
- Understand Users’ Search Intent
Why are your users searching on Google for that specific keyword? Users’ search intent is the user’s intention when searching for something on the internet. To understand users’ search intent, look up your target keyword on YouTube to help you understand the type of content displayed on the results.
Please do some research and analyze the top results displayed to understand their content and what exactly they’re talking about on their channel.
- Engage With Your Viewers
Always try to engage with your viewers, especially in the comment section. Answer their questions, like their comments, and try to engage with as many people commenting on your videos as possible. This will make them feel loved and valued.
Are You Ready to Maximize Your YouTube SEO?
When making, uploading, and marketing your YouTube videos, it’s imperative to consider all parts of YouTube SEO. Using the above 12 tips will help you improve your search engine video ranking and stay on top of your game.
Ensure you also read other posts on our site for more SEO tips.
