YouTube SEO: How to Optimize Your Videos for More Views

YouTube is the world\’s second most popular website, with over 2 billion monthly active users. It’s also a powerful search engine that can help you reach your target audience and grow your brand. But how do you make sure your videos get found and watched by the right people? That’s where YouTube SEO comes in.

YouTube SEO is the process of improving your videos’ visibility and relevance in YouTube search results. By following some proven YouTube SEO tips and best practices, you can increase your chances of ranking higher and getting more views.

In this blog post, we’ll show you how to optimize your videos for YouTube search, from keyword research to video creation to promotion. Let’s get started.

How to Rank Videos on YouTube

Before we dive into the specific YouTube SEO tips, let’s first understand how YouTube’s algorithm works and what factors it considers when ranking videos.

YouTube’s algorithm has two main goals: to provide the best possible user experience and to keep people on the platform as long as possible. To achieve these goals, YouTube evaluates various signals and metrics when ranking videos, such as:

• Relevance: How well does your video match the user’s search query and intent?
• Engagement: How much do users interact with your video, such as liking, commenting, sharing, subscribing, etc.?
• Watch time: How long do users watch your video and other videos on your channel?
• Authority: How credible and trustworthy is your channel and your content?
• Freshness: How recent and up-to-date is your video and its information?

To rank well on YouTube, you need to optimize your videos for these factors and create content that satisfies both the algorithm and the users.

Is it a good strategy to boost your video performance on YouTube?

You might think that optimizing videos on YouTube is a waste of time. After all, it seems like only the most famous influencers and content creators can get any attention on the platform. But that’s not true.

As a business, you can benefit from creating and ranking videos on YouTube, as long as you know who your target audience is and what they need. In fact, knowing and serving your target audience is more important than making a “beautiful” video.

If your YouTube videos can solve the concerns of potential customers, you have completed the majority of the YouTube optimisation effort. Plus, ranking videos on YouTube is a key part of your inbound marketing strategy, even if it doesn’t seem like it.

Inbound marketing is all about attracting and engaging your ideal customers with valuable content that helps them achieve their goals.

A decade ago, inbound marketing was mostly focused on written content, such as blogs and ebooks. Today, inbound marketing includes a variety of content formats, such as podcasts, visuals, and videos.

And with the rise of different content formats comes the need to optimize them for search. One of the most important places to do that is on YouTube. YouTube is not only the second most popular website in the world, but also the second largest search engine after Google.

That means millions of people are searching for and watching videos on YouTube every day.

So, is it worth optimizing videos on YouTube? The answer is yes.

If you want to reach and connect with those people, you need to optimize your videos for YouTube search. By following some proven YouTube SEO tips and best practices, you can improve your videos’ visibility and relevance in YouTube search results. This will help you get more views, subscribers, and customers for your business.

YouTube SEO is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process that requires constant testing, tweaking, and improvement. But by doing it right, you can leverage the power of YouTube to grow your brand and your business.

YouTube SEO Tips

Now that you know what YouTube looks for when ranking videos, let’s see how you can apply some YouTube SEO tips to optimize your videos for each factor.

1. Do keyword research to find what your audience is searching for.

Keyword research is the first step of YouTube SEO. It helps you find out what your target audience is searching for on YouTube and what kind of content they are interested in.

By doing keyword research, you can:

• Discover popular and relevant topics for your videos
• Identify user intent and expectations
• Find low-competition and high-volume keywords
• Optimize your video title, description, tags, etc.
• Track and measure your video performance

To do keyword research for YouTube, you can use various tools and methods, such as:

• YouTube’s autocomplete feature: Simply type a word or phrase in the YouTube search bar and see what suggestions pop up. These are the most common and relevant searches that users are making on YouTube.
• Google Trends: This tool allows you to compare the popularity of different keywords or topics over time and across regions. You can also filter by YouTube search to see the trends specifically for YouTube.
• Keyword research tools: There are many tools that can help you find and analyze keywords for YouTube, such as TubeBuddy, vidIQ, Keyword Tool, etc. These tools can provide you with useful data and insights, such as search volume, competition, difficulty, related keywords, etc.
• Competitor analysis: You can also learn from your competitors by looking at their videos and seeing what keywords they are using and how they are ranking for them. You can use tools like TubeBuddy or vidIQ to see the tags, views, likes, comments, etc. of any video on YouTube.

2. Rename your video file using a target keyword.

One of the easiest ways to optimize your video for YouTube SEO is to rename your video file before uploading it to YouTube. This helps YouTube understand what your video is about and index it accordingly.

To rename your video file, use a descriptive name that includes your main keyword. For example, if your video is about how to make vegan brownies, you could name it something like “how-to-make-vegan-brownies.mp4”.

3. Insert your keyword naturally in the video title.

The title of your video is one of the most important elements of YouTube SEO. It tells both YouTube and users what your video is about and influences their decision to click on it or not.

To optimize your video title, make sure to include your main keyword in a natural and compelling way. Don’t just stuff keywords randomly or use clickbait titles that don’t deliver on their promise.

Instead, use clear and concise titles that capture the essence of your video and entice users to watch it. For example, a good title for a video about how to make vegan brownies could be “How to Make Vegan Brownies in 15 Minutes | Easy Recipe”.

4. Optimize your video description.

The description of your video is another key element of YouTube SEO. It provides more information about your video and helps YouTube understand its context and content.

To optimize your video description, follow these tips:

• Write a brief introduction that summarizes the main points of your video and includes your main keyword.
• Use bullet points or timestamps to break down the structure of your video and highlight its key sections.
• Add relevant keywords and phrases that describe your video topic and match user intent.
• Include a call to action that encourages users to take action, such as subscribing to your channel, liking or commenting on your video, or visiting your website.
• Add links to your social media accounts, website, or other resources that are related to your video topic.
• Keep your description under 5000 characters and make sure it’s readable and engaging.

Here’s an example of a well-written video description:

5. Tag your video with popular keywords that relate to your topic.

Tags are another way to help YouTube understand what your video is about and rank it for relevant search terms. Tags are words or phrases that describe your video topic, category, genre, style, etc.

To optimize your video tags, follow these tips:

• Use a mix of broad and specific tags that cover different aspects of your video topic.
• Use keywords that you also used in your title and description to reinforce your video relevance.
• Use tools like YouTube’s autocomplete feature, Google Trends, or keyword research tools to find popular and related keywords that users are searching for.
• Don’t use too many tags or irrelevant tags that don’t match your video content.
• Put the most important tags first and separate them with commas.

Here are some examples of good tags for a video about how to make vegan brownies:

how to make vegan brownies, vegan brownies, vegan brownies recipe, easy vegan brownies, vegan dessert, vegan baking, chocolate brownies

6. Create an eye-catching thumbnail image.

The thumbnail image is the first thing that users see when they browse YouTube search results. It’s a small preview of your video that can make or break your click-through rate.

To optimize your thumbnail image, follow these tips:

• Use a high-quality, clear, and sharp image.
• Use bright colours and contrast to make your image stand out from the background.
• Use text overlays or captions to highlight the main benefit or message of your video.
• Use fonts and colours that are consistent with your brand identity and style.
• Use faces or emotions to capture attention and evoke curiosity.
• Make sure your image is relevant and accurate to your video content.
• Test different images and see which one performs better.

Here’s an example of an eye-catching thumbnail image for a video about how to make vegan brownies:

7. Add subtitles or closed captions to your video.

Subtitles or closed captions are the text versions of your video’s audio that appear on the screen. They help users who are deaf or hard of hearing, who speak a different language, or who watch videos in noisy environments to follow along and understand your video.

They also help YouTube to index your video content and rank it for relevant keywords. By adding subtitles or closed captions to your video, you can improve your YouTube SEO and reach a wider audience.

To add subtitles or closed captions to your video, follow these tips:

• Use YouTube’s built-in tools to create or upload subtitles or closed captions in different languages.
• Use accurate and synchronized subtitles or closed captions that match your video’s audio and timing.
• Use proper punctuation, capitalization, and spelling to make your subtitles or closed captions easy to read and understand.
• Avoid using background noise, music, or sound effects in your subtitles or closed captions unless they are relevant to your video content.
• Review and edit your subtitles or closed captions before publishing them.

8. Optimize your video for watch time and audience retention.

Watch time and audience retention are two of the most important metrics that YouTube uses to measure the quality and performance of your video. Watch time is the total amount of time that users spend watching your video and other videos on your channel. Audience retention is the percentage of your video that users watch from start to finish.

To optimize your video for watch time and audience retention, follow these tips:

• Hook your viewers in the first 15 seconds of your video with a catchy intro that tells them what to expect and why they should watch.
• Deliver on your promise and provide value to your viewers throughout your video.
• Keep your video concise and focused on one main topic or goal.
• Use transitions, graphics, animations, or music to keep your video engaging and interesting.
• Avoid distractions, interruptions, or filler content that might cause your viewers to lose interest or click away.
• End your video with a strong outro that summarizes your main points and includes a call to action.

9. Promote your video on other platforms and channels.

The last step of YouTube SEO is to promote your video on other platforms and channels where your target audience hangs out. This will help you drive more traffic, views, and engagement to your video and boost its ranking on YouTube.

To promote your video on other platforms and channels, follow these tips:

• Share your video on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
• Embed your video on your website or blog posts that are related to your video topic.
• Email your video to your subscribers or contacts who might be interested in it.
• Collaborate with other influencers or creators who have a similar audience or niche as you.
• Participate in online communities or forums where you can share your video with relevant users.

10. Analyze and improve your YouTube SEO performance.

YouTube SEO is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process that requires constant testing, tweaking, and improvement. To measure and improve your YouTube SEO performance, you need to track and analyze various metrics and data, such as:

• Views: The number of times your video has been watched by users.
• Impressions: The number of times users saw your video thumbnail on YouTube.
• Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks on your video thumbnail.
• Watch time: The total amount of time users spent watching your video and other videos on your channel.
• Audience retention: The percentage of your video that users watched from start to finish.
• Engagement: The number of likes, dislikes, comments, shares, etc. that users made on your video.
• Subscribers: The number of users who subscribed to your channel after watching your video.
• Traffic sources: The places where users found and watched your video, such as YouTube search, suggested videos, external websites, etc.
• Keywords: The words or phrases that users searched for on YouTube and found your video.

You can use YouTube’s built-in analytics tools or third-party tools like TubeBuddy or vidIQ to access and monitor these metrics and data. By doing so, you can:

• Identify what works and what doesn’t work for your videos
• Discover new opportunities and trends for your videos
• Compare your performance with your competitors
• Optimize and adjust your YouTube SEO strategy accordingly

11. Optimize your channel page.

Your channel page is the home of your YouTube presence. It showcases your brand, your videos, your playlists, and your community. It also influences how YouTube ranks your videos and how users perceive your channel.

To optimize your channel page, follow these tips:

• Create a catchy and memorable channel name that reflects your brand and niche.
• Write a compelling channel description that summarizes who you are, what you do, and why users should subscribe to your channel. Include links and keywords that are relevant to your website or social media accounts.
• Design a professional and attractive channel banner that displays your logo, tagline, and value proposition. You can use tools like Canva or Snappa to create your channel banner.
• Upload a high-quality and recognizable channel icon that represents your brand and personality. You can use your logo or a photo of yourself as your channel icon.
• Organize your videos into playlists that are relevant and helpful to your audience. Use descriptive titles and descriptions for your playlists and add keywords and tags to them.
• Feature your best or most recent video on your channel trailer or featured video section. This is the first video that users see when they visit your channel page. Make sure it’s engaging, informative, and representative of your channel content.
• Encourage user interaction and feedback on your channel page. Respond to comments, questions, and suggestions from your viewers. Create polls, posts, or stories to interact with your audience and keep them updated on your channel activities.

12. Encourage viewers to subscribe, like, comment, and share.

One of the best ways to boost your YouTube SEO is to encourage viewers to subscribe, like, comment, and share your videos. These actions signal to YouTube that your videos are valuable and engaging to users. They also help you build a loyal and active fan base that can support your channel growth.

To encourage viewers to subscribe, like, comment, and share, follow these tips:

• Ask viewers to subscribe to your channel at the beginning and end of your video. Explain the benefits of subscribing and what they can expect from your channel.
• Ask viewers to like your video if they enjoyed it or found it helpful. Explain how liking helps you reach more people and improve your ranking.
• Ask viewers to comment on your video with their thoughts, opinions, questions, or feedback. Explain how commenting helps you create a community and improve your content.
• Ask viewers to share your video with their friends, family, or social media followers. Explain how sharing helps you spread the word about your channel and attract new viewers.
• Use annotations, cards, or end screens to add clickable buttons or links that prompt viewers to take action. You can also use these features to promote other videos or playlists on your channel or external websites or resources.

13. Use hashtags to categorize your video.

Hashtags are keywords or phrases that start with a # symbol and help users find and filter videos by topic, theme, or category. They appear on the video title, description, or comments, and they link to a page that shows other videos with the same hashtag.

To optimize your video hashtags, follow these tips:

• Use relevant and specific hashtags that describe your video content and match user intent.
• Use up to three hashtags per video and place them at the end of your video title or description.
• Avoid using generic, misleading, or offensive hashtags that might harm your video ranking or reputation.
• Research popular and trending hashtags in your niche or industry and use them wisely to increase your video exposure and reach.

Here are some examples of good hashtags for a video about how to make vegan brownies:

#veganbrownies #vegandessert #veganbaking

14. Optimize your video length according to your goal and audience.

The length of your video is another factor that affects your YouTube SEO and user experience. There is no definitive answer to how long your video should be, as it depends on various factors, such as:

Your video goal: What are you trying to achieve with your video? Is your goal to provide knowledge, entertain, encourage, or influence your audience?

Your video topic: What are you talking about in your video? Is it a simple or complex topic? How much information must you cover?

Your audience preference: Who are you targeting with your video? What are their interests, needs, and expectations? How much time do they have or are willing to spend on watching your video?

To optimize your video length, follow these tips:

• Research the optimal video length for your niche or industry and see what works best for your competitors and peers.
• Experiment with different video lengths and see how they affect your views, watch time, retention, and engagement.
• Analyze your audience\’s behaviour and feedback and see how they respond to different video lengths.
• Keep your video as short as possible but as long as necessary to deliver your message and value.

Generally speaking, shorter videos tend to perform better on YouTube, as they can capture and retain users\’ attention more easily. However, longer videos can also work well if they provide in-depth and valuable content that users are looking for.

15. Use YouTube\’s autocomplete feature to find long-tail keywords.

Long-tail keywords are keywords or phrases that are more specific and less competitive than short-tail keywords. They often contain three or more words and have a lower search volume but a greater conversion rate.

For example, \”how to make vegan brownies\” is a long-tail keyword, while \”vegan brownies\” is a short-tail keyword.

Long-tail keywords are great for YouTube SEO because they can help you rank higher for niche topics and attract more qualified and targeted traffic.

To find long-tail keywords for YouTube, you can use YouTube\’s autocomplete feature. This is the feature that suggests possible search terms when you type something in the YouTube search bar.

To use this feature, follow these steps:

• Type a seed keyword related to your video topic in the YouTube search bar.
• See what suggestions pop up and note down the ones that are relevant and interesting.
• Add modifiers like \”how to\”, \”best\”, \”review\”, etc. to your seed keyword and see what suggestions pop up.
• Repeat the process with different seed keywords and modifiers until you find enough long-tail keywords for your video.

Here are some examples of long-tail keywords for a video about how to make vegan brownies:

how to make vegan brownies without eggs

how to make vegan brownies with avocado

best vegan brownies recipe ever

easy vegan brownies from scratch

vegan brownies review

16. Add timestamps to your video description or comments.

Timestamps are links that allow users to jump to a specific part of your video. They appear as clickable timestamps in the format of hours:minutes:seconds (e.g., 0:00) in your video description or comments.

Adding timestamps to your video can help you improve your YouTube SEO and user experience in several ways, such as:

To add timestamps to your video, follow these tips:

• Divide your video into logical sections or chapters based on the main points or topics you cover.
• Write down the start time of each section or chapter in the format of hours:minutes:seconds (e.g., 0:00).
• Write a brief title or description for each section or chapter that summarizes what it is about.
• Add the timestamps and titles or descriptions to your video description or comments and separate them with a line break.
• Test the timestamps and make sure they work correctly and link to the right parts of your video.

Here\’s an example of how to add timestamps to your video description:

17. Include a clear and strong call to action in your video.

A call to action (CTA) is a statement or request that encourages users to take a specific action after watching your video. It can be anything from subscribing to your channel, liking or commenting on your video, sharing your video with others, visiting your website, or buying your product or service.

Including a clear and strong CTA in your video can help you improve your YouTube SEO and user engagement in several ways, such as:

• They help you achieve your video goal and convert your viewers into leads or customers.
• They help you increase your video engagement and signal to YouTube that your video is valuable and relevant to users.
• They help you build a loyal and active fan base that can support your channel growth.
• They help you drive more traffic and sales to your website or business.

To include a clear and strong CTA in your video, follow these tips:

• Decide what action you want your viewers to take after watching your video and how it benefits them.
• Use annotations, cards, or end screens to add clickable buttons or links that prompt viewers to take action.
• Use verbal cues or visual cues to direct viewers\’ attention to your CTA.
• Use persuasive language and urgency to motivate viewers to take action.
• Place your CTA at the end of your video when viewers are most likely to take action.

Here\’s an example of how to include a clear and strong CTA in your video:

I hope you enjoyed this video and learned how to make vegan brownies in 15 minutes. Please give it a thumbs up if you liked this video, and leave a comment below. And don\’t forget to subscribe to my channel for more easy vegan recipes.

Also, if you want to get the full recipe and more tips on how to make vegan brownies, check out my blog post here: [link]. You\’ll also find other delicious vegan desserts that you\’ll love.

So go ahead and click on the link in the description or on the screen right now and get the full recipe for these amazing vegan brownies. Trust me, you won\’t regret it.

Thanks for watching and see you next time!

18. Use YouTube Analytics to track and improve your YouTube SEO performance.

YouTube Analytics is a tool that allows you to access and monitor various metrics and data related to your YouTube channel and videos. It can help you measure and improve your YouTube SEO performance by providing you with useful insights, such as:

To use YouTube Analytics, follow these tips:

• Access YouTube Analytics from your YouTube Studio dashboard or from the Analytics tab on each video page.
• Explore the different reports and tabs available on YouTube Analytics, such as Overview, Reach, Engagement, Audience, Revenue, etc.
• Filter the data by date range, geography, device type, traffic source, etc. to get more specific insights.
• Identify what works and what doesn\’t work for your videos based on the data.
• Optimize and adjust your YouTube SEO strategy accordingly.

19. Pin a comment that adds value to your video.

Pinning a comment is a feature that allows you to highlight a specific comment on your video and make it appear at the top of the comment section. It can help you improve your YouTube SEO and user engagement in several ways, such as:

• It can provide more information or context about your video that might not be covered in your title, description, or tags.
• It can showcase a positive or helpful comment from your viewers that might encourage others to watch your video or interact with your channel.
• It can address a common question or concern that your viewers might have about your video or topic.
• It can promote your other videos, playlists, website, or social media accounts that are related to your video or topic.
• It can ask for feedback or suggestions from your viewers on how to improve your content or channel.

To pin a comment to your video, follow these tips:

• Write or choose a comment that adds value to your video and supports your video goal and message.
• Make sure the comment is relevant, accurate, and respectful to your video and audience.
• Avoid pinning a comment that is spammy, self-promotional, misleading, or offensive.
• Go to the comment section of your video and click on the three dots icon next to the comment you want to pin.
• Select “Pin” from the menu and confirm your action.

Use YouTube SEO tools to optimize your videos

YouTube SEO tools are software or applications that can help you optimize your videos for YouTube search and ranking. They can help you with various aspects of YouTube SEO, such as:

Keyword research:

YouTube SEO tools can help you find and analyze the best keywords for your videos based on search volume, competition, difficulty, relevance, etc.

Tag generation:

YouTube SEO tools can help you generate and optimize the tags for your videos based on your keywords and video content.

Channel audit:

YouTube SEO tools can help you audit your channel and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your videos and channel performance.

Rank tracking:

YouTube SEO tools can help you track and monitor the ranking of your videos for different keywords and search terms on YouTube and Google.

Competitor analysis:

YouTube SEO tools can help you analyze and compare your videos and channel with your competitors and see what they are doing right or wrong.

Video optimization:

YouTube SEO tools can help you optimize your video title, description, thumbnail, subtitles, etc. based on best practices and recommendations.

Video promotion:

YouTube SEO tools can help you promote your video on other platforms and channels and drive more traffic and views to your video.

There are many YouTube SEO tools available online, both free and paid. Among the most well-known and effective ones are:

TubeBuddy:

TubeBuddy is a browser extension that integrates with YouTube and provides a comprehensive set of tools for YouTube SEO, such as keyword research, tag generation, channel audit, rank tracking, competitor analysis, video optimization, video promotion, etc.

vidIQ:

vidIQ is another browser extension that works with YouTube and offers a similar set of tools as TubeBuddy for YouTube SEO. It also provides additional features such as video analytics, keyword suggestions, trend alerts, comment moderation, etc.

Keyword Tool:

Keyword Tool is a web-based tool that uses YouTube’s autocomplete feature to generate highly relevant long-tail keywords for your videos. It also provides data such as search volume, competition, cost-per-click, etc. for each keyword.

Rank Tracker:

Rank Tracker is a desktop tool that allows you to track and monitor the ranking of your videos for different keywords and search terms on YouTube and Google. It also provides data such as traffic, views, clicks, etc. for each keyword.

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer:

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is a web-based tool that allows you to research and analyze keywords for YouTube and other platforms. It provides data such as search volume, difficulty, clicks, return rate, etc. for each keyword.

Using YouTube SEO tools can save you time and effort in optimizing your videos for YouTube search and ranking. They can also provide you with valuable insights and suggestions to improve your video content and performance. However, you should not rely solely on these tools and always use your own judgment and creativity when creating and optimizing your videos.

Conclusion

YouTube SEO is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process that requires constant testing, tweaking, and improvement. By following these YouTube SEO tips and best practices, you can optimize your videos for YouTube searches and get more views, subscribers, and customers.

I hope you found this blog post helpful and learned how to optimize your videos for YouTube SEO. If you did, please share it with others who might benefit from it. Thanks for reading!