Internet marketers tap into the power of YouTube in many ways. It has limitless potential as a traffic-provider for a blog, website, or affiliate sales page, but with over 100 hours of video being uploaded every minute competition is fierce. That being the case, taking some time to learn how to optimize YouTube videos for more traffic can be time well spent.
How can you optimize YouTube videos and get more traffic?
By applying some simple SEO techniques.
Some YouTube Ranking Factors
YouTube’s algorithm takes many factors into account when it is deciding how well videos compare to the competition. The following list is not exhaustive, but some of the main ranking factors are:
- The title tag information
- The keywords in the description tag
- The length of the video
- The percentage of fresh subscribers resulting from video viewings
- Audience retention (do they click away? Or watch right through?)
- Video likes/dislikes
- Comments
5 Simple SEO Tips to Optimize YouTube Videos and Get More Traffic
1. Use an Appropriate Title that Contains Relevant Keywords
If it’s a video review of an iPhone 5s 64GB Gold, it’s not just an iPhone and it’s certainly not an iPhone 5c, be specific—and remember to use the word ‘review’.
2. Use Descriptions to your Advantage
Write lengthy video descriptions—written for a human reader, but containing relevant keywords for the search engine. Many YouTube users write short, irrelevant descriptions—no keywords included!—and some YouTubers don’t provide a description at all.
3. With a Little Help from my Friends . . .
Sharing (useful/entertaining) videos via social networks (*not spamming social networks*) is a very good way to gain extra video views and if enough people like the video a ‘share and share alike’ mentality could push traffic figures through the roof.
4. Use a call to Action
At the end of the video and the description post a reminder: ‘If you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to subscribe’. You’ve come across that one before—right? You should have, savvy YouTubers use it a lot and it works. You can ask for comments and ‘likes’ as well.
5. Play the YouTube Playlist Game
Information posted on blogs and websites is usually organized into categories, but many YouTubers are happy to leave their YouTube stations a disorganized mess. Placing videos into one or more relevant playlists, and making good use of keywords, can result in videos being returned in an increased number of searches. This will attract more viewers, who will then be given the chance to interact with your videos, so playing the YouTube playlist game is an extremely effective way to optimize YouTube videos.
