Building your business’s presence on YouTube is a smart way to provide value to your market and drive revenue, brand loyalty and traffic to your website. In this article, we will discover expert tips to optimize your videos for a killer YouTube presence.
According to Statista, more than 500 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every single minute, as of May 2019. With so much content on the site, you have to take steps to optimize yours to help it stand out. Helping your video content rank of YouTube increases the chances of it being viewed by more people. More people viewing your content means more people becoming aware of your business and discovering what you’re all about. Luckily there are some simple ways to optimize your videos for YouTube.
Why It’s so Important to Optimize for YouTube
Even if growing your YouTube channel isn’t your main focus and priority, taking steps to optimize your videos has many benefits. YouTube is not only a site for uploading videos, as it’s also the second most popular search engine, just behind Google. When people perform a Google search, videos will appear in the results. Making sure that your video’s metadata is correct helps boost your chances of appearing in the search results for both Google and YouTube. When someone performs a search for the very topic your video is discussing, you want to be found.
Create Content Worth Watching
The first thing to do is to create content that’s worth watching. It doesn’t matter how well you optimize it for SEO if it doesn’t interest and intrigue your target audience. Here are the best ways to ensure that your content is compelling:
- Connect on an emotional level
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Strive to make a connection with your viewers if your main purpose is to entertain, rather than to educate. Keep in mind that not every video that you create is going to be compelling on an emotional level.
- Entertain while achieving your goal
For videos that are designed to provide your viewers with information and to teach them something useful, aim to entertain. You can get the important information across while keeping your viewer’s attention. To do this, use strong corresponding visuals, great sound quality, and
- Provide value to viewers
For each video that you make, have a clear message for viewers to take away. Defining your message before filming makes it easier to convey it through the combination of visuals and verbal content.
Help YouTube Understand Your Content
Uploading your video to YouTube isn’t enough. You need to include metadata so that the site understands what your video is all about. Metadata is the information that’s hidden within the video file.
- Keyword optimized title
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Your video’s title should be descriptive, but brief. It should sound natural but include your main SEO keyword. This helps it to be found by viewers performing a search for videos related to that keyword.
- Detailed description
Next is the video’s description. You do want to take advantage of this section to clarify and explain what is in your video. This needs to be detailed and accurately describe the video’s contents. You can include keywords in the description, as well as a URL that directs viewers to the relevant website page that corresponds to the video.
- Include a transcript
A transcript is another great way to make the contents of your video clear. It helps YouTube determine the value of your video and also allows viewers to take in your content without turning up the sound. They may be watching from work or a public space and unable to turn the volume up, so rather than clicking away, they can discern the key info from your video just by reading.
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- Organize content by using Playlists
Playlists allow to organize and arrange your video content according to topics. This can drive more traffic to all of your content and help you reach more viewers in your target market. It also provides another way for YouTube’s search algorithms to know what your content is all about.
- Create a Cohesive Look with Branding
Take ownership of your page by customizing its overall look and feel. Brand your YouTube channel so that it matches or complements your website, as well as your other social media profiles. Use a custom background to give your page a distinct, unique look. Fill in all of the information about your channel and include the links to your website and social media profiles so that viewers can easily find you elsewhere.
Don’t Forget the Call to Action
When you have an awesome video that’s getting views, you need to keep the momentum going. Always include a strong call to action that encourages your viewers to take the next step. Make use of the YouTube Annotations to drive viewers to your CTA.
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Embed and Promote
After you’ve taken care of all of the optimization directly on YouTube, you’re ready to embed the video on your website and start sharing it. Promoting your videos on all of your social media profiles and through newsletters or email updates will bring you views and shares.
The more views and shares that your videos receive; the more potential customers will be introduced to your brand. These metrics are also helpful in boosting your video’s ranking. The better your ranking, the greater the chance of having it appear higher in search. Optimizing offers so many benefits that will build momentum on your videos and keep it going after the initial upload and shares.
Wrap Up
With over 2 billion active monthly viewers watching video content on YouTube today, you’d be mistaken if you didn’t take advantage of what the platform offers. You can bring more attention, awareness, and interest in your brand by building your YouTube channel. It may not be the central focus of your video marketing efforts, but it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked. Use these simple tips to optimize your videos and increase views on YouTube.
Prefer to take your video game to LinkedIn? Find out the secret “pumpkin spice” to making videos sweet on LinkedIn. Also! Learn how to make posts go viral here.