Optimization of YouTube videos for higher organic reach

You already know how to create a YouTube channel and upload videos to it. But how do you get more views on your videos? One way to do this is through video search promotion. The goal is higher positions in the search results on YouTube itself and in search engines. To achieve this goal, you need proper SE optimization of YouTube videos. We will take a step-by-step look at how to independently optimize a video for search engines and what factors should be taken into account.

Video ranking factors in search

Before moving on to SEO optimization, let's take a look at the parameters by which videos are evaluated by the search engine. One of the key factors is average viewing time. Given this, it is better to make short videos of 4-8 minutes, and if you want the video to go viral, then 1-2 minutes is just right.

Key phrase in the title. The name of the video should correspond to the phrase by which it will be most often searched for (you can see YouTube query statistics in Google Trends).

Keywords in description and tags. It's almost like a Description when optimizing a website page.

The number of views. The more views, the more popular the video and the higher it is shown.

The number of channel subscribers. When other factors are equal, such as the number of views, the video from the channel with the most subscribers will be shown above.

Comments below the video. The more active users in the comments, the better.

YouTube video SEO step by step

For the sake of simplicity, we have broken down the entire YouTube video SEO process into steps. When starting to optimize videos, remember that in the case of videos, the main thing is content, usefulness and quality. If you name the video "How to make money on YouTube" and at the same time upload a video about animals and get views, such a video will not be shown in the search. Now let's come up with a small task, according to which we need to optimize the video. Let's say this is a video from the VeloTron online bike store that talks about what you need to pay attention to when choosing a bike.

Keywords in video title

When searching, the first thing we pay attention to is the name of the video. The correct title of the video will determine what kind of clickability it will have. Check the image below - when you search on "How to sell on Amazon" on YouTube, all the top-level videos have keyword included in the title!

Therefore, when compiling a title for a video, you need to consider three factors:

• compliance with the key request;

• Attractiveness;

• compliance with the content.

• In addition, the title should be concise, preferably up to 70 characters (just like Title ). So, here's what we got:

“How to choose a bike?”

This heading is relevant to the content, it has a keyword and it is attractive to the user because it has specifics.

Video description optimization

The description is displayed under the video itself on YouTube, and is also displayed as a snippet in the search results. The character limit is 1000 characters with spaces, but the most important thing is to fit in the first 100-120 characters.

• key phrase;

• Data;

• link to the site or social networks.

This is what will be shown in the preview of the description, the rest will be hidden under the “More” button, which means that it will be taken into account by the search to a lesser extent.