With its vast number of subscribers, YouTube is a crucial social media platform for brands to include in their content marketing strategy. The platform offers limitless opportunities to share creative video content and targeted campaigns with specific audiences.
However, to gain traction and attract viewers to your YouTube channel, it’s crucial to optimize your video content for search results. As one of the world’s largest search engines, understanding YouTube SEO is vital to ensure your content ranks well and is visible to your target audience.
It’s worth noting that despite YouTube’s massive user base of around 2.6 billion active monthly users, only the top 10 videos for any given search query typically get noticed.
To help you make your mark in your niche and ensure your captivating social video content is discoverable on the platform, we’ve put together a helpful 2023 YouTube SEO guide.
How do you rank for keywords on YouTube?
To improve your video’s visibility on YouTube, it’s important to understand how to rank for keywords. One effective strategy is to put yourself in the viewer’s shoes and consider where they would expect to find your target keywords.
For instance, Netflix is a content streaming giant that provides a great example of how to optimize your YouTube content for a specific keyword while promoting a relevant product or service to your audience. Here are the key areas where you should add your target keyword:
Credit: YouTube via Screengrab
- Title: Your video’s main descriptive title should include your target keyword. In the example of the top-ranking Netflix video, the title is “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals | Official Trailer | Netflix.”
- Description: Below the title, you can provide additional information about your video, including the target keyword seamlessly integrated into the content. This section provides an opportunity to elaborate on your title and explain to viewers why they should watch your content.
- Tags: When uploading your video, add relevant tags that reflect your video’s theme or content. It’s important to include your target keyword and similar variations, as long as they are relevant to your video’s topic.
How to find keywords that rank on YouTube?
To start experimenting with keyword research for your YouTube video content, begin by considering which general key terms you would use to search for similar content. If you need assistance finding the right keywords, you can refer to the five steps to keyword research.
As you begin typing a query into the YouTube search bar, you’ll notice a list of suggested popular searches, much like Google. These suggestions can inspire ideas for your content’s target keyword.
Another effective strategy for discovering high-ranking keywords for your videos is to explore YouTube’s latent semantic indexing (LSI) keywords. These keywords are particularly useful for SEO, as they can help your videos rank on both Google and YouTube, expanding your reach.
To find potential LSI keywords, scroll to the bottom of a related Google search and take note of the suggested phrases or terms. These can provide valuable inspiration for boosting your video’s SEO.
Examples of YouTube SEO tools
Below are various digital tools that can aid in optimizing your YouTube SEO content:
Tools for researching trends:
- Google Trends
- Exploding Topics
- BuzzSumo
Tools for keyword research:
- TubeBuddy
- AHrefs Keyword tool
- SEMRush
- Google Keyword Planner Tool
Tools for finding tags:
- Tag Finder
- ytube tool tag finder
Tools for competitor research:
- Soolve
- SECockpit
- YouTube’s autocomplete search bar (as mentioned in our keyword section)
Tools for community moderation:
- Smart Moderation
- Add content moderators to your channel to help you monitor and respond to comments.
Doing Youtube SEO optimization and performing a YouTube audit
To achieve successful YouTube SEO optimization, it is important to perform an audit of your existing content. This will provide you with the necessary insights to update the relevant elements of your videos, improving their ranking for relevant platform searches. Follow these steps to perform a YouTube SEO audit:
Create an inventory
Start by creating an inventory of all your current YouTube videos. Include all relevant statistics, such as title, description, tags, keywords, views, and duration of views. Analyze your content to determine which videos are performing well and which ones need optimization, hiding, or deletion.
Explore your titles and descriptions
With a panoramic view of your YouTube video content and a solid idea of what needs improvement, you can put your keyword research skills into action. Optimize your video titles and descriptions with relevant terms or phrases identified through your YouTube keyword research.
Implement a mix of optimization tactics
Check for opportunities to interlink your videos with other relevant content, such as blog posts, and eliminate any problematic copy or code that may be hindering your rankings. Once the audit is complete, implement a mix of optimization tactics to improve your videos’ ranking.
Some handy YouTube SEO tips
To optimize your YouTube content for better ranking, follow these tips:
#Tip 1
Use target keywords in your video file, title, and description to help YouTube’s SEO crawler bots rank your content. Put your keyword or term as close to the front of the title as possible.
#Tip 2
Categorize your YouTube videos correctly in the advanced settings section. Consider factors like relevance to the category, value to the viewers, and similarities with other videos in the category.
#Tip 3
Add a custom YouTube thumbnail image that represents your video content. Custom thumbnails are preferred and can boost engagement and YouTube SEO authority.
#Tip 4
Explore subtitles and closed captions to improve your videos’ user experience and accessibility. Upload a supported text transcript or timed subtitles (SRT) file, or manually enter transcript text.
#Tip 5
Use Add Cards and End Screens to increase engagement and viewership. Add Cards offer options for viewers to subscribe, share, donate, or answer a poll, while End Screens present additional information or interactive content options at the end of a video.
#Tip 6
Keep up with emerging trends by regularly checking relevant industry forums or publications from influential YouTube creators and other video-based platforms like TikTok.
Final Thoughts
YouTube is an essential platform for any brand’s content marketing strategy. However, to ensure your content is discoverable and ranks well in search results, it’s crucial to optimize it using the right keywords and tactics.
By following the tips and strategies outlined in this 2023 YouTube SEO guide, you can improve your video’s visibility and attract more views and subscribers. Remember to perform a YouTube SEO audit to identify opportunities for optimization and to use tools like TubeBuddy and Google Trends for keyword research.
Lastly, keep in mind that YouTube is continually evolving, and staying up to date with the latest trends and features can help you stay ahead of the competition. By using the tips and strategies outlined in this guide and staying informed of emerging trends, you can create engaging video content that resonates with your target audience.
Don’t forget to put what you’ve learned into practice and start optimizing your YouTube videos for search today. Good luck!
If you’re looking to take your YouTube channel to the next level and rank your videos on top, consider working with Sunnyday Consulting. As a branding and marketing agency, we specialize in helping businesses and individuals optimize their online presence and grow their audience.
Contact us today at support@sunnydayconsulting.com or call us at (+91) 79777 31552 to learn more about how we can help you improve your YouTube SEO and achieve your video marketing goals.
