As you may already know, SEO is a set of techniques to get a website to achieve a good ranking on the search engine results page. It includes a series of techniques and strategies related to the web, from its design, loading speed, content, data, tags, to keywords and much more.
Normally when we talk about SEO we refer to searches on the giant Google, but today we are going to explain where to start to do SEO on YouTube, that is, how to get a video or a channel to rank quickly on this platform and achieve visibility, generate traffic and get many subscribers.
The best tips to start with an effective SEO on YouTube
- Start by looking for the best keywords. Keyword research is one of the most important processes in any SEO strategy, and of course it is no different for YouTube SEO. Video keywords will help you to better organise your content and give your YouTube channel a much better focus. Remember that there are free tools such as Google Trends or Ubersuggest that can help you do this.
- Name your video file before uploading it to YouTube. YouTube cannot understand what is inside the video, so it will rely on the name of the video file you have on your computer to get a first idea. Choose to name your video with your main keyword, so it will be in harmony with the title of the video and will make it easier for YouTube's search engine to find it.
- Write SEO-optimised descriptions in your YouTube video. The video description is a great opportunity to engage your audience and provide them with useful information. It is advisable to write long descriptions, between 300 and 500 characters, in which you include your CTA, links or any extras you see necessary.
- Spend time adding subtitles (CC) to your video. Manually adding subtitles to your video takes a bit of time, but your video will reach more people, such as the hearing impaired or foreigners. Also, translating your transcripts and subtitles into other languages can globalise your channel faster and reach the world's population.
- Don't use the automatic subtitles provided by the platform. Transcripts or subtitles add up when it comes to ranking in YouTube's algorithm, but it's not good to leave it to the automatic subtitles that the platform generates, as they often contain errors, both in timing and spelling.
- Assign relevant tags to your YouTube video according to your SEO strategy. Tags make it easier for your video to be found, but only if you use relevant and popular tags, so look for and choose the tags that are most searched by your target audience, with long tail keywords or phrases.
- Create a personalised thumbnail of your video. By default, video thumbnails appear as the cover of the video in the results lists, as they are automatically created by YouTube by selecting a screenshot of your video. But our recommendation is to personalise your video thumbnails by using striking images that catch the user's attention.
- Create useful YouTube playlists based on SEO keywords - YouTube playlists are very effective for better organising all the content on your channel and for having extra content.
- Encourage interaction with your subscribers and respond to comments. The best way to get what users want is to ask them questions and encourage them to express themselves openly on your channel. For this reason, it is advisable to read the comments, respond to them, show empathy towards their messages, show them that you are close to them..
- take care of the length of your videos. Generally, those who go to YouTube to look for something sudden is because they want things to be punctual, simple, understandable and quick. Time matters a lot in the multimedia world in which we live, therefore, prepare your videos trying not to be unnecessarily long, rather take advantage of the first 15 or 30 seconds to give interesting messages to your audience and urge them to watch the whole video. Likewise, as a fact we provide you that the most viewed videos on YouTube have an average length of, simply, between 4 and 6 minutes.
- gain video views from other websites. A good strategy to gain views is to get people interested in your videos from platforms outside of YouTube, such as promoting them on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Facebook. So find out which social networks are best for sharing your videos and get to work.
- link to your social accounts from your videos. Just as you should promote your videos on your other social networks, you should also link to your social networks in your videos. This is positive for you to gain more audience.
After knowing these 12 strategies for your YouTube content to have a good SEO, you just have to put them into practice and have some luck so that your content spreads like wildfire.
