In a short period of time, we were able to rank our videos for some of the most popular keywords in our industry:
#1 - Local SEO #1 - Ecommerce SEO #2 - SEO #2 - search engine optimization
And the list goes on.
The best part about video SEO is that you don’t need to have a massive channel to rank #1. You just need to entertain and engage your audience better than your competitors.
Follow everything from the basics and move to the advanced tips, which should help you rank your videos higher and faster.
First, what is YouTube SEO?
It’s the process of optimizing your videos, playlists, and channel to rank high in YouTube’s organic search results for a given search query.
Our data-driven strategy begins with YouTube Keyword Research.
A couple of free tools you can use are YouTube suggest, paired with Google trends.
This is a great way to gauge a keywords popularity against other keywords. However, since Google trends shows relative popularity, it may not be the best way to find true search volumes.
Another tool you can use is Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer, which shows you search volume and clicks data for any keyword on YouTube.
This tool works perfectly when paired with Tubebuddy (most tagged videos section) or vidIQ (related keywords feature).
While YouTube is the second largest search engine, you can also use other tools like Google search and Ahrefs’ Content Explorer to rank your YouTube videos on the first page of Google search.
In fact, Google is our second largest source of external referral traffic.
This video covers all of the tactics, tips, and strategies to rank videos on Google.
The second step is to identify search intent.
Search intent represents the reason behind a searcher’s query. To analyze search intent, just type your keyword into the YouTube search bar and see which videos are ranking in the top 3 positions.
Take note of the format and angles other creators are taking and follow suit with your own video.
Step 3 is the most important. And that’s to create a high-retention video.
Engagement is arguably the most important ranking factor in YouTube’s algorithm. If you can’t engage your audience, then you probably won’t rank.
This can be measured in YouTube Studio analytics by looking at the audience retention graph. You’ll learn EXACTLY how we consistently create high-retention videos from our planning to editing processes.
Step 4 is to do on-page video optimizations.
This boils down to the title, description, thumbnail, and meta data like YouTube tags. You’ll learn how to optimize your videos following YouTube’s best practices.
Step 5 are in-video optimizations.
YouTube allows you to add subtitles or closed captions (CC) to your videos. This helps bring context to your videos which can be helpful when trying to rank your videos.
You’ll also learn a couple engagement hacks using YouTube cards and end-screens.
Step 6 is to publish and promote your video
Whether you have a massive audience or tiny one, you’ll learn how to promote your videos to get more views fast.
Step 7 is to optimize your videos (and channel) for session watch time.
Session watch time is the total time a viewer watches videos on YouTube without leaving the platform.
YouTube said on their creator blog that they use this metric as a ranking factor in their search and discovery algorithm.
Our channel playlist hack will help you do just that.
Timestamps:
1:04 What is YouTube SEO 1:52 YouTube keyword research 5:52 Identify user’s search intent 6:34 Create high-retention videos 9:26 On-page optimization for videos 13:01 In-video optimizations 14:24 Publish and promote your video 15:39 Optimize your video for session watch time 17:24 Sam’s channel page hack
