You’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into your YouTube videos. You’ve crafted engaging content, added the perfect music, and made sure the quality is top-notch. But there’s one thing you’re missing: optimization for YouTube search.
Just like with Google search engine optimization (SEO), optimizing your YouTube videos is essential if you want them to be seen by your target audience. Luckily, we’ve got you covered. In this blog post, we’ll share the top six ways to optimize your videos for YouTube search. By following these tips, you can ensure that your videos are being seen by the right people at the right time. Let’s get started!
1. Use Keywords in Your Video Title
One of the easiest ways to optimize your videos for YouTube search is to use keywords in your video title. According to a leading SEO Services Company, just like with blog posts, the title of your video is one of the first things that potential viewers will see. This makes it the perfect place to include relevant keywords that describe what your video is about.
For example, let’s say you have a cooking channel and you’ve just published a new recipe video for healthy banana bread. Some keywords that you might want to include in your video title are “healthy,” “banana bread,” “recipe,” and “cooking.” These keywords will help YouTube understand what your video is about and match it with users who are searching for that type of content.
2. Use Keywords in Your Video Description
In addition to including keywords in your video title, you should also use them in your video description. SEO Agency Kansas City explained that the description is another important factor that YouTube takes into account when determining which videos to surface in search results.
When writing your description, be sure to include a mix of both broad and specific keywords. Broad keywords are general terms that describe your video’s topic, while specific keywords are more specific phrases that describe what your video is about. For our example healthy banana bread recipe video, some broad keywords might be “healthy recipes” or “cooking,” while some specific keywords could be “healthy banana bread recipe” or “how to make healthy banana bread.”
3. Use Keywords in Your Video Tags
Video tags are another great way to optimize your videos for YouTube search. Tags are keywords that you can add to your videos to help YouTube understand what they’re about. When adding tags to your video, be sure to include both broad and specific keywords that describe your content.
4. Optimize Your Thumbnail Image
Another important factor that YouTube takes into account when ranking videos in search results is the thumbnail image. The thumbnail is the small image that appears next to your video’s title in search results, so it’s important to make sure that it’s clear and engaging.
Thrive Digital Marketing Agency shared that when selecting a thumbnail image for your video, try to choose one that is bright and colorful. You also want to make sure that the image is relevant to your video’s content. For our example healthy banana bread recipe video, a good thumbnail image might be a close-up of the finished product with a few bananas in the background.
5. Create transcripts of your videos
YouTube also gives preference to videos that have transcripts. A transcript is a written version of your video’s dialogue and can help YouTube understand the contents of your video better. In addition, transcripts can be helpful for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, as they provide a written record of what is being said in the video.
If you don’t have transcripts of your videos already, you can generate them using YouTube’s automatic captioning feature. To do this, simply go to your video’s settings and select the “Subtitles/CC” tab. From there, you can choose to have YouTube automatically generate subtitles for your video.
6. Promote your videos on social media
Finally, don’t forget to promote your videos on social media! When you share your videos on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you’re giving them exposure to a whole new audience. Social Media Marketing Agency Ohio reiterated that this can help increase views and engagement, which are both important factors that YouTube takes into account when ranking videos in search results.
By following these tips, you can optimize your videos for YouTube search and ensure that they are being seen by the right people. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!
