Youtube is one of the largest search platforms on the Internet, second only to Google. It is not surprising that the video hosting has a whole system for searching for the video you need on request, and marketers diligently fulfill all of Youtube’s requirements in order to get to the top of the search results.
Video Search Ranking Factors
Before you start SEO optimization, you need to know what parameters search engines use to select videos.
- Key words in the title.
- Keywords in the description.
- Keywords in tags.
- Average viewing time. The longer video recent mobile phone number data hosting users watch a video, the more often it is displayed in recommendations and search results. The optimal length of a video is 5-7 minutes.
- Number of views of the video. The more people have seen the video, the higher it is ranked.
- Number of links to the video.
- Number of videos shared on social networks.
- Number of channel subscribers.
- Number of comments. The more people leave comments under the video, the better.
- Number of likes and dislikes. Youtube calculates the average ratio of likes to dislikes and determines a coefficient that indicates to the future of crm with artificial intelligence the system how interesting the video content is or corresponds to the stated topic.
YouTube Search Optimization Tips
Speaking about the popularity of videos, a lot depends on their content, quality, duration, usefulness, etc. Since YouTube is a search engine, you can influence the factors that affect the place of the video in the search results. Let’s consider them in more detail.
Name
When we search for a video, the first thing we look at is the title. Often, it is the title that determines whether a viewer will watch the video, so the title should not only be compelling, but also clear and concise. From an SEO perspective, the title should include the search query. Research conducted by Backlinko has shown that videos with exact marketing list keyword matches in the title have a slight advantage over those videos that do not include the search query in the title.
The title should be fairly short. It is recommended to limit it to 60 characters.
Description
According to Google, the official limit for YouTube video descriptions is 1,000 characters . However, remember that the viewer came to the video hosting site to watch the video, not to read the description. If you prefer to write a more detailed description, keep in mind that YouTube only displays the first two or three lines of text, which is about 100 characters. After that, viewers must click “More” to see the full description.
Include mid- and low-frequency queries in the description so that the video can rank in search engines for less competitive keywords. Also add links to other videos of the channel, social networks, the official website, etc.
The search query used in the title must be duplicated in the first line of the description.
Tag
YouTube Creator Academy suggests using tags to help viewers know what you’re talking about. The platform uses tags to understand the content and context of a video. This is how YouTube determines how to link that particular video to other similar videos, which can expand the reach of the content. Don’t use an unnecessary tag just because it might attract more viewers – Google may penalize you for that. It’s best to fill in 10-15 tags separated by commas, with the main tag mentioned first. You can use the same tags as your competitors. To find out what tags your competitors are using, you need to:
1. Right-click and select “View page source”.
2. The page code will appear in the window that opens.
3. Press Ctrl+F.
4. Enter the word tag and view the tags.
Category
Once you have uploaded your video, you will need to select a category for it in the Advanced Settings section . Selecting a category is another way to group videos with similar content on YouTube. This may not be as easy as it seems. The YouTube Creators Academy recommends that marketers pay close attention to the category they select. The content of the video should match the category you select, and it is advisable to select a category that has fewer competitor videos in it.
Preview
Just like the title, the thumbnail can help introduce the topic of the video to the viewer. While you can always choose one of the thumbnail options created by YouTube, it is highly recommended to upload a pre-made (custom) thumbnail. The Creator Academy reports that 90% of the best videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails.