Youtube SEO Guide – How to optimize your Youtube channel?

With YouTube becoming one of the most common ways of livelihood, more people are looking for strategies to improve their YouTube SEO. It is a strategy that helps optimize videos and channels, which again improves the placement of videos in the search results. Being one of the biggest video platforms available in the market and is considered the biggest search engine, it is a must for the video creators of the YouTubers to have knowledge about doing the proper SEO for the YouTube channel.

So it is a must for you to know in detail about how to do SEO of YouTube channel? So without any further ado, let’s get started and find out more effective tips.

SEO strategies for YouTube

Most of the brands choose and create a robust SEO strategy for YouTube to make sure that their videos get the top ranking. After all, who would not like to get the first ranking in the biggest video platform available on the web?

YouTube has been a part of the internet since 2005. After its advent, it could easily acquire several users that caught its attention Google. It did not take YouTube much time to become a giant company by the year 2006.

This platform started playing a big role in transforming videos into content formats both for the viewers who want to get information and for digital marketers.

Thanks to YouTube, videos have now become accessible to everyone. Whether it is a personality or a brand, now everyone can publish their videos and watch plenty of other audiovisual content available on the internet. Due to so many videos available on the platform, YouTube was then forced to organize content for search engines.

The prime motto of Youtube SEO is to offer a good experience to the users on this platform. It would make sure that users can easily find videos and use them. So before we go ahead, we will first take a look at what is YouTube SEO?

What is YouTube SEO? 

Before we talk about what is SEO in YouTube, it is vital that we have a look by taking some steps back and understand what is SEO.

Search engine optimization is the strategic way of optimizing the user experience that completely improves the positioning of a page on the search engines. It requires designing, programming, content production, and creating links with other sites. When a website can encompass all the requirements, it is offered the best results on the search engine rankings.

Of course, when it is about SEO, the first thing that you need to do is to reach the top rankings in Google search. There is no doubt that this internet giant has dominated over 90% of the overall searches.

Just like Google, which has several algorithms that people or website owners have to perform to get the top rankings, YouTube also has its own algorithms. When the YouTube content creators follow this, it can offer the best results. YouTube has a robust search system that can help users to find videos and channels that they are searching for.

How do YouTube SEO services work?

YouTube was taken over by Google. Hence it has started adopting the same search intelligence as the search engine does with the same purpose of offering the best user experience.

When any user types their search term on the Google platform, the robots on this platform will search different channels and videos which can deliver the best answers to the query. However, this is done based on the order of relevancy. To determine the best results for every person, several factors are considered by this platform.

Browsing and usage search histories: Similar to Google, this is considered an important point when it comes to customizing their results page. However, people who are publishing content on YouTube channels need to have knowledge about the algorithm so that it can improve their optimization and engagement, which will have an outcome on the search ranking.

To give an example, a video that has properly filled the tags, description, and title fields will have better placement on the YouTube platform. A channel that gets a lot of comments and likes will also get better positioning. 

Why does this happen? The only reason is that YouTube understands that search videos can offer a better experience to their users. And this is also something that the Google algorithm also understands. Being the search engine and YouTube belong to the same company, the same implementation is there on both the platforms.

So, now the optimization that you are making on the video for YouTube is not only helping you to get the ranking on only YouTube platform but also get a better ranking on Google search.

What are the best youtube SEO tips? 

You must know that YouTube video SEO is not an easy recipe. Even when you follow all the guidelines offered by this platform, the eventual decision about the appearance of the results will depend on the algorithm of the platform. It is extremely complex.

There is a range of calculations whose criteria is available that determines the ranking. It includes the factors which are independent of your actions, like user navigation. However, when you earn more points on the search algorithm of YouTube, it increases the chances of reaching the best position on this platform.

So here, we will find out the best YouTube SEO tips that you can opt for to improve the placement of your videos and channel on the search results.

Conduct a proper keyword research

Keywords are vital for YouTube SEO, along with Google. With their help, the platform can easily identify the subject of the video, index the content, and associate them with the user searches.

For this, there are some fields that need to be filled, like titles, descriptions, and tags. You will also be able to find them while uploading any video file, as YouTube will collect this information which they will use later in their ranking process.

So you must have an understanding of the keywords that will identify the videos in the best manner along with attracting more viewers to the channel. All you need is to find out the quality keyword which will focus on your YouTube video and improve its ranking. The keyword serves to offer users the results based on the terms they are searching on the network. 

Using the basic tool of the search bar on YouTube can perform the best. It can help creators find the keyword ideas that have huge demand on this platform. Using this on their video will increase the potential of viewers.

Apart from this, there is also another step that serves as the benchmark. Your competitor can be the best help for you too. In order to do this, you have to check the competitors in your vertical. If they’re getting great views and audience, they are definitely adopting the best SEO practices for YouTube.

Moreover, you will also be able to analyze the channel statistics. When you take a look at the traffic source analyzes, which are mostly used terms for reaching the videos, it can help you to include those keywords and improve the viewers. You can also find some of the most effective tools like Keywords Everywhere, Google trends, and VidIQ.

Choose keywords that have good reach potential

With the above-mentioned tip, you definitely will be able to find a good list of keywords that can be used for your YouTube video. So now it comes to how you can pick the best keywords?

Of course, you will find the words that are most commonly used in the searches. Yes, there is no doubt that the popular terms will attract more people. However, you must know that they have huge competition and big brands and influencers who have already taken their place, so it is really hard to compete with them.

So here is a trick. If you are a small business, you can choose long-tail keywords. Even when they would not have huge traffic, they don’t have competition either. So, it becomes easier for you to get better placement with the use of long-tail keywords. Apart from this, you will mostly find the long-tail keywords appearing in the bottom final of the searches.

But how do you understand long-tail keywords? Well, the answer is when a keyword has more than three words, it is a long-tail keyword. Suppose, if you are choosing “content marketing” as an example, this is a top-funnel word. However, you can narrow it down to “content marketing Instagram stories,” “Instagram content marketing,” and other long till keywords that you will get more specific traffic.

All you need is to keep in mind that you choose the keywords based on your YouTube channel. It will help you to improve your engagement and ranking.

Use a proper title for your YouTube video

Now that you have got the knowledge about the way to find keywords and choose the keywords, it is time that you actually post a video. Now, one of the major fields on YouTube will be the video title. It is also something that will appear on YouTube.

Remember that video title is one of the most crucial factors of ranking and indexing on YouTube. The video titles that appear close or ranked higher have the titles that exactly reciprocate what the video will provide.

When it comes to the titles, the first place will always be taken off by the videos that have used the exact keywords on their title. Even research has shown that titles that are long will perform the worst on YouTube ranking. So you have to make sure that you keep an average of 47 to 48 characters in the title and a maximum of 100 characters.

So try to maintain concise titles with exact keywords to be able to get the top rankings on the YouTube search.

Add proper tags on the video

If you have knowledge of Google SEO, you might know that using keywords in the meta descriptions and tags will no longer make any sense. Search engines will no longer use this as the ranking factor as it is most widely used as Spam.

However, on YouTube tags are mostly used for video ranking. These are considered a factor that YouTube considers for identifying video subjects and indexing them correctly. Apart from this, it also is used for recommending related videos. These suggestions play a crucial role in improving video traffic.

YouTube will offer you a field where you will be allowed to write 120 characters. So it is advisable to use 2 to 6 words and not confuse the algorithm with different tags that do not have any relevance to the content.

Write a smart description

The YouTube description is another crucial field that should be filled while uploading the video. The text should be informed about what the video is all about in a descriptive manner. The title can be concise, but the description can be more detailed and longer. You can create a title of up to 5000 characters.

Generally, for two basic reasons that make description an effective inclusion. Since the initial part will appear on the search result, it can work as an instrument to help users get access to the video. So try to include the main information at the beginning of the description.

The description also plays a major role in the YouTube algorithm as it helps to identify the video content. So you can also use as many keywords on the description so that it becomes easier for the platform to rank on these terms. You will also be able to use the call to action in this section.

If you wish, you can also add hashtags that can generate links for users. However, it is recommended not to overstuff it.

Create captions and transcriptions for videos

You must know that the algorithm of YouTube will not be able to read your videos or images but only records and texts. Therefore, one of the basic strategies you have to adopt is creating captions and transcription to help YouTube understand your video content.

Translations are the transformations into text about what the video is saying. You can manually do it or use the YouTube tools, which will reduce your work. 

When you add timestamps on the transcript, you can easily turn them into captions. They are generally employed so users can follow the videos even when they cannot actively listen to the audio. It can be an effective tool for people with hearing impairment.

Improve interactions with videos

Even if you’re a beginner, YouTube SEO for beginners is highly understandable. You can use the YouTube SEO tools to improve your YouTube channel ranking and get more engagement on your videos.

When it comes to YouTube, link building is not a prominent ranking factor. On the video platform, off-page SEO is referred to as video engagement. Remember that when your video receives more likes and comments, it will improve the engagement of the YouTube videos. It is one of the biggest algorithms that can help you to improve your engagement.

So it is always recommended that you encourage your viewers by interacting with them. Encourage them to like, subscribe, share and comment as it will heavily work as a YouTube ranking factor.

Create proper video thumbnails

Isn’t it always easier to understand if the video is of any help by watching the thumbnail? If yes, you definitely have knowledge about the importance of thumbnails on videos. Especially when it is a YouTube video, it is not only valuable but also can be a major ranking factor for YouTube.

You must know that the thumbnail is the very first thing that is viewed by your viewers before they choose to play the video. So if you create a thumbnail that is appealing and that shows what the video is all about, it can encourage the viewers to keep watching your videos. It has been observed that great thumbnails have increased the watch times and traffic of videos which have resulted in improving the search rankings of videos on the YouTube platform.

So make sure that you are using creative thumbnails if you want to improve your YouTube SEO results. Be creative and show everything about the content in the video to encourage your viewers.

Keep an eye on the analytics

The most distinctive way to get success in your YouTube video SEO is by monitoring your analytics closely. It is the best way to understand if you are doing the right thing for your channel and videos.

Here are some of the major metrics that you need to check as they can affect a lot of the ranking factors. Some of the major ones include watch time, impression sources, traffic sources, card CTR, subscriber growth, and unique visitors.

You have to make sure that you are paying attention to each and every factor written above. When all the metrics are going equally, you can enjoy a better result throughout.

Which are the best YouTube SEO tools?

Now that you have got an idea about how to do SEO on a YouTube channel, you must be looking forward to creating a video. However, you need to have knowledge about the best YouTube SEO tools that you have to use. Overall, this will help you manage the viewers’ count and improve the results.

• Canva: This is a must-have tool for content creators or marketers as this user-friendly designing tool can simplify the process of creating cards, social media graphics, logos, and a lot more. Since thumbnails are crucial, use Canva to create a perfect thumbnail.

• VidIQ Vision: This is a must for every YouTube marketer and content creator. You will be able to use it for analyzing the video performance. It can also be a great tool for optimizing tags and improving the content. 

• TubeBuddy: You can use TubeBuddy and the features like rank factors, keyword explorer, and automatic language translators to make the perfect YouTube video.

• Cyfe: Cyfe is a great software that helps you keep track of your performance. You can check which keywords are doing well and make better steps for improvements. 

Wrapping Up: 

So, now that you have acquired complete details about how to do SEO of your YouTube channel, what are the best YouTube SEO tools, and The top YouTube SEO tips, hopefully, it will become easier for you to promote your YouTube channel and videos effectively.

However, if you are still struggling, you can get in touch with Digital Habibi, as I have expertise in YouTube SEO. Being someone associated with promotion for the last seven years, I can offer the best results with my YouTube SEO services in Dubai. With all the experience that I have gathered, I can make sure that you will gain a better ranking on YouTube. So, when you’re giving so much effort to making an SEO for a YouTube channel, why not choose the best SEO expert who can help you to enjoy getting a better outcome.

Youtube SEO FAQs