YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, after Google, of course. So it only makes sense to use this global platform as another means to reach your audience. However, simply recording something on a cell phone and uploading it to your channel isn’t enough to make your video rank high on YouTube. This popular video platform is scanning video content every second to determine which videos are most relevant and which to rank highest. Keep reading to learn rank higher in YouTube search results by optimizing your video.
5 Ways to Optimize Your Video for YouTube
Use Keywords and Tags
Choose keywords that make sense for your video, but that are also popular among other videos like yours. The keywords should be terms that are related to your video’s content and are frequently searched for. A YouTube Traffic Source report can reveal some excellent keywords. When creating tags, make sure one tag is your exact keyword, then also include a few variations of it. You can also include tags related to other topics covered in your video. With these kinds of tags, you are more likely to show up on the related video sidebar as well. Oh, and don’t forget to put your keyword in the title of the video!
Use Closed Captions
Using the closed captioning feature gives your video an additional way to be indexed and make it into search engine results. Plus, how many times have you wanted to watch a video on your phone but were in a crowded area and didn’t want to crank the volume up? This happens ALL the time! If your video includes closed captioning, more people are likely to watch the video because they can still enjoy it and understand the message without needing to dig for their headphones or turn the volume all the way up. Additionally, with this feature, your video can be translated into different languages so that it can reach more people.
Add Detailed Descriptions
This is a pretty important step because adding a description will help YouTube and Google both understand what your video is about. The easier it is for the robots to understand your video, the higher it will rank. It could even show up on the Suggested Video sidebar! To write an effective description, the main keyword(s) will need to be used in roughly the first 25 words. Include it between two and four times throughout and make the description at least 250 words overall.
Stick to One Platform
When we suggest sticking to one platform, we don’t mean you can’t post your video across all of your social platforms. You absolutely should! What we mean is to launch your video from one source (YouTube) and then repost or embed it using the YouTube link. This way, all of the views, likes, comments, and shares the video gets will be in one place, which can help the video rank higher.
Create Quality Content
The real bottom line here is this: you can complete all of these steps, but if you don’t have a high-quality video in the first place, the chances of it ranking well are pretty low even if you optimize the heck out of it. The world of video has advanced exponentially over the last several years, so you want to be sure the quality of your video stacks up against the competition. Creating a script and planning out the flow for your video can help you get your main points across while also using language that is engaging and includes those keywords that will later be used in the description and closed captioning.
Lights, Camera, Action
The Evoke Group has a record of producing high-quality videos and is skilled in video optimization and distribution. Let’s chat about your next video project today or getting your video to rank higher in YouTube search results
