As you know visual content is becoming common day by day. With this increased demand the competition in content creation industry is also increased. YouTube being the largest source of visual content is a major platform that creators choose to start their content creation journey. But due to high competitive environment it is very difficult to stand out. That`s where SEO comes in.
What is YouTube SEO?
YouTube SEO is method of optimizing search results of your content in YouTube search engine. It ranges from using relevant keywords to using hashtags that attract more viewers.
Why is SEO Important?
Every creator want more traffic more subscribers and good ranking of their content. SEO helps you in achieving your desired results. It helps the suggestion system understand what your content is about. The ultimate goal of YouTube SEO is to take videos on high ranking and receive more views.
SEO Tips to Optimize Your Content
Here are some key points from experts` experience that can help you to optimize your channel viewership:
1: Choose Target Keyword for Your Content
Similar to Google SEO, keywords as equally important in YouTube SEO, as they helps platform in identifying the subject of your videos. Through keywords the search engine indexes the content and associates it with users` search. Before selecting a keyword you must know; competitiveness, search volume, matching terms etc.
High volume and low competition means an excellent keyword. So, choose the keyword accordingly and use relevant terms in title, tags and hashtags.
2: Use Keyword in Title
Video titles play important role in ranking and indexing of any video. So make sure that you title is as close to user`s search term as possible. Your video title should clearly represent the video content to get higher attention.
3: Optimize Video Description
Where the video title describes the key subject of the video, the video description tells the details of your content. Majorly, it helps search algorithms in identifying your content through a bunch of keywords. According to research, front-loading description brings more traffic.
If you want to expand the description, you can add CTAs i.e. ebook link, ask to subscribe, link to purchase some product or any other affiliate link. Via description you can use multiple hashtags without overwhelming the context.
4: Use Custom Thumbnails
Video thumbnails are the first visual interaction between your content and viewers. So try to use attractive and appealing thumbnail images that reinforce viewers to click on the video. Thumbnail images have no direct impact on SEO but increase clicks through CTR. CTR between 2 to 10 percent gives signals to the search engine regarding performance of your video.
5: Use End Screens and Channel Cards
You may have seen, while watching a video, a circular icon with ‘i appear in the corner of the screen. These are actually info cards that inform you about related videos or suggestions given in the descriptions. You can add up to 5 cards in one video. These cards are of many types, i.e.
- Poll cards that allow you to pose a question for viewers
- Link cards that direct viewers to another video or an external site
- Donation cards to encourage fundraising
- Playlist cards that link related content to your video
- Channel cards that link your video with related channels
It is important to note that YouTube uses end screen or card testing to increase viewership of your videos.
Conclusion:
Visual content is become crucial for marketing business. No matter what content you choose SEO always matters. Try to use these expert tips to optimize marketing of your business through content creation.