WHAT SEO METHODS CAN YOU USE TO GET YOUR VIDEO SEEN ON YOUTUBE?
What are the best SEO methods for a YouTube video?
In other words: what can you do, once you’ve put your video online, to give it the best possibility of getting found?
We know that YouTube looks for the topic of your video to be in each of the
following elements of your video: the title if someone is looking for content
about a topic, that topic better be in the title the description, the keywords and
the transcripts. See the chapter on closed captioning for transcription options.
If at all possible, it would be of extra value to you to include the topic inside of
the channel name too. Let me give you an example. If you have a channel called
“Colligan” that features yoga videos, there is no real connection between
Colligan and yoga videos (especially if you know me.)
But a yoga video and a
channel called “Free Yoga Videos” makes a lot of sense.
Moreover, getting
multiple channels that match up with your content might be something that is
worth considering.
So, to recap, include the topic in the title, the description, the keywords, the
transcripts and the channel name if at all possible.
We know Google tracks all links online and the keywords associated with them,
no matter what kind of content Google is linking to. This is the core of their
search strategy and, let’s admit, it has worked well for them.
As a result, it
would be incredibly valuable for you in your YouTube video SEO strategy to
include keywords in the link that takes people to your videos.
For example, if
you have a video called “Free Yoga Workout Video,” the link should be called
“Free Yoga Workout Video.” This is what Google looks for, and it makes sense.
Another effective SEO method for YouTube is embedding videos on sites about that topic
If you embed a YouTube video about yoga (with the topic-rich
description, title, transcript, keywords and channel name) on a website about
yoga, Google is going to know that your video is a match for that topic - and is
therefore much more likely to send people there.
And think about it: if you have a video and several relevant websites containing
the link about your topic, doesn’t that start to come together for you quite
nicely?
Finally, have a video that people watch to the end. This is a tremendously
important strategy that can’t be overstated.
We know that YouTube tracks how
far people watch their videos. If you set up the title, the description, the
keywords, the transcripts, the channel name, the links and the site that the video
is embedded in to reflect a certain topic, but people don’t watch the video to the
end, it will all have been for nothing. Google will know that you are playing a
game - but that your content isn’t up to the same standard as the game that you
are playing.
What are your action items for optimization?
Number one: figure out the keywords that you want to be found for.
Once you
decide the keywords that you’re looking to be found for inside of YouTube, this
realization will let you plan everything out accordingly. A lot of people want to
be found for X, but they make a video about Y.
They realize they want to be
found for X, so they could integrate X into that video, even if that video is a little
bit Y.
Again, remember that you want them to watch the video through to the end.
Design a video that will be watched all the way through that contains those
keywords, and now you have Google validating your work as being both viable
and valuable. In fact, editing your video down to size might turn out to be one
of your best SEO strategies.
If possible, get the video embedded on sites about that topic. If you’re marketing
on YouTube about a certain topic I’m going to guess that you probably have
sites related to that topic. You might want to work with co-authors and
competitors if necessary.
Finally, set up links containing the desired keywords from sites containing the
keywords to your YouTube video. Those are the best SEO methods for your
YouTube video.
Don’t Forget Your Research
Research is key in SEO; for YouTube videos or for anything else. Knowing
what your audience is looking for and knowing what works will give you actual
goals to optimize for. Sadly, most people publish a video online without the first
idea of what they’re optimizing for. In the “Automated YouTube Marketing”
and Mecri Favorite Tech” chapters of this book, I examine a number of tools
that will let you automate that research process.
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