Youtube SEO: Youtube Optimization for Higher Website Ranking

SEO does not only work on general search engines like Google, Bing, and others. The optimization can also work on video search engines like Youtube. Therefore, YouTube SEO is often used to achieve maximum results by content creators.

In this guide on Youtube SEO, cmlabs will explain how it works and how you can do it to get higher rankings for your videos.

What is Youtube SEO?

Youtube SEO is a video optimization strategy carried out on Youtube. Its goal is to make the videos you upload searchable and watchable by a large audience.

The Youtube algorithm works like a search engine. This platform provides the information that the audience is looking for in the form of videos. The database in the form of videos on Youtube can be found by users by entering a search query.

The similarity of how Youtube works with search engines means the optimization steps taken are almost the same. For example, the use of target keywords, tags, titles, and so on.

Youtube SEO optimizes your videos not only on the Youtube platform but also in video search results on Google. This is because Youtube is part of Google, and optimized Youtube videos will have the opportunity to appear in Google search results (SERP).

With the large number of viewers and subscribers on Youtube, you can promote products, build branding, earn advertising commissions, and direct audiences to visit your website.

Youtube SEO Benefits

You may think that in order to get a large audience and subscribers, the content you create must have high display quality with high production costs. In fact, these two things are not the main factors that increase video performance on Youtube.

Targeting the right audience can give you well-performed content. As long as your video content is relevant and addresses the needs of your target audience, most of the video optimization efforts will be successful. In this case, the benefits of Youtube SEO are that it increases the number of viewers and helps you capture a larger market share.

Effective Steps to Implement Youtube SEO

After understanding what Youtube SEO is and its benefits, now is the time for you to know how to implement it. You can follow the guide on Youtube SEO below:

Conduct Keyword Research

Youtube works by using search queries to find the content needed by the audience. Therefore, keyword research is also needed in Youtube SEO. Determine target keywords based on specific niches.

Like SEO on a website, you need to target potential keywords that are sought after by the target audience, but the competition is still low. Knowledge related to keyword types and LSI keywords will be needed at this stage.

Placement of keywords is also a crucial thing, just like content on a website. This is because Youtube can't see the content of the video, so you have to give context to the content with the right keyword placement. You can put keywords in the video file name, title, description, tags, and hashtags.

To do keyword research, you can start by taking advantage of the search suggestions feature that will appear when you type a query in the 'Search' column. You can also use YouTube SEO tools to research keywords, such as Google Keyword Planner and others.

Trend Analysis

Youtube has a trending page that displays the videos that are being watched the most. This is why you should always monitor what content is trending and analyze the most discussed topics on those trending pages.

You can do more than just trend analysis on the Youtube trends page. You can also take advantage of free YouTube SEO tools like Google Trends.

With this tool, you can monitor what topics are being searched for on the Google platform. You can also monitor trend growth charts for each topic and compare them with other topics.

Produce High-quality Content

Whatever digital marketing medium you use, content should be your top priority. Quality video content must be able to meet the needs of the audience, whether it's entertaining, informing, educating, and so on.

To create high-quality content, there are several video aspects that must be considered, namely originality, thumbnails, duration, editing, and subtitles. In addition, it is also necessary to know some videos that have the potential to be blocked by YouTube because they violate the rules and copyrights, such as graphic content, crime, hate speech, violence, and misinformation.

Original Video

Youtube attaches great importance to the originality of the content. If plagiarism is found in a piece of content, especially if it is a video or piece of music with a patent, then the content will definitely not be monetized or even displayed to users.

Professional original content is not easy to create because the process is not short and the cost is quite expensive. Even so, think of the content you create as an investment that will benefit your business in the long run.

Attractive Thumbnails

Thumbnails are images that appear with your content in Youtube video listings. Users will see thumbnails when they scroll to find the video they want to watch.

Thumbnails can be selected automatically from the video or you can pick a custom one. It is recommended that you use a custom thumbnail by adding effects, text, and so on to make it look attractive. With an attractive thumbnail display, the audience is more likely to watch your video.

Exact Duration

Youtube loves long video content. This is because the long duration makes the audience watch the video longer so that more ads can be displayed. Youtube will also only monetize videos with a long duration (at least 10 minutes).

Video content with a long duration will be easier to get a lot of viewers and high rankings. There are no exact figures on how long the best video length is. One thing for sure is the length of the video must be balanced with the quality of the video.

High-quality Editing

The quality of video editing can affect the audience's experience when watching videos. Content with good editing will make audiences more comfortable watching the video until the end.

Similarly to website SEO, a good user experience will improve the performance of video content. Thus, the Youtube algorithm will push your content to more audiences.

Add Subtitles

Youtube provides a subtitle feature to encourage content creators to create inclusive content. This is because content with subtitles can reach more audiences, such as audiences with different languages or audiences with disabilities.

Optimize Meta Information

Meta information consists of a title, description, and hashtags. These three pieces of meta information are used by Youtube to understand the content discussed in a video. If you want your video to perform well, then you have to maximize its meta information. Here are some meta information optimization tips you can do:

Optimize Titles

To make the title of the video interesting and generate a lot of views, you must put the target keyword in the title. Mainly, keywords are placed at the beginning of the title sentence. Even so, you don't need to force it if it doesn't feel right.

In addition, the length of the Youtube video title is only up to 60 characters. If it is more than that, the title will be truncated so that some of the title text can not be read by the audience. Make sure that your title only includes information that is important and, of course, relevant to the discussion.

Optimize Video Description

The video description can only be filled with a thousand characters. Also, it will only show the first 2-3 lines of the description. The rest can be seen by the audience when they press 'Show more'.

Because of this, you should optimize the first 2-3 lines of the description with only the most important information, such as keywords, CTA, and website link URLs.

Add Relevant Hashtags

Youtube provides a hashtag feature that can make it easier for audiences to find content with certain topics. In addition, it can also be used by content creators to target a keyword.

You can use target keywords or brand names as hashtags. Youtube will display the hashtag at the top of the video title. 

Link Building

Link building is a very important strategy to be implemented across various Google platforms. You do not only apply link building on the website, but also on Youtube content. The link building strategy for YouTube SEO is divided into two, namely:

Internal Link to Other Videos

Build internal links that direct your audience to visit your other video content. You can put internal links in the description or use features like playlists. 

Use Social Media to Promote

In addition to building links on the Youtube platform, you can also promote your video content on various other platforms. Examples are websites with embedded videos or social media.

Thus, a complete guide on YouTube SEO and how to do it. Hopefully, with this guide, you can apply the proper strategy to your business and achieve a satisfactory result.