How to optimize your videos for SEO

Now that your YouTube channel is up and running, let’s talk about search optimization.

Remember how we mentioned that YouTube is the second largest search engine? While creating engaging content is a must, it’s not the only factor for success. There are several things you can do to optimize your videos to rank highly on both YouTube and in Google search results.

The first step to becoming a YouTube marketing pro is creating and optimizing your video’s metadata. Simply put, metadata gives viewers information about your video, which includes your video title, description, tags, category, thumbnail, subtitles, and closed captions.

Providing the right information in your video’s metadata ensures that it is properly indexed by YouTube and appears when people are searching for videos like yours. Be succinct and straightforward when filling out your metadata — your content could be removed if you try to promote it with unrelated keywords.

Title

Just like with on-page SEO, it’s important to optimize your video’s title and description. Titles are what people first read when scrolling through a list of videos, so make sure yours is clear and compelling — it should make searchers curious about your content or make obvious that your video will help them solve a problem.

Do some keyword research to better understand what viewers are searching for. Include the most important information and keywords in the beginning of your title. Lastly, keep titles to around 60 characters to keep text from being cut off in results pages.

Description

YouTube will only show the first two to three lines (about 100 characters) of your video’s description. To read beyond that, viewers will need to click “Show more” to see the rest. For that reason, always include important links or CTAs in the beginning of your description and write the copy so it drives views and engagement.

Thumbnail

Video thumbnails are the main images viewers see when scrolling through a list of video results, and yours can have a large impact of the amount of clicks and views your video receives. YouTube will auto-generate a few thumbnail options for your video, but we highly recommend uploading a custom thumbnail.

YouTube reports that “90% of the best performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails". When filming, think of high-quality shots that accurately represent your video. YouTube recommends using a 1280 x 720 px image to ensure that your thumbnail looks great on all screen sizes.

Note: You must verify your YouTube account to upload a custom thumbnail image. You can do this by visiting youtube.com/verify and entering the verification code YouTube sends you.

Below this, include the video transcript. Video transcripts can greatly improve your SEO because your video is usually full of keywords. Add a default channel description that includes links to your social channels, video credits, and video-specific time stamps. You can also include #hashtags in your video titles and descriptions — just be sure to use them sparingly.

Tags

Next, highlight your main keywords in your tags. Tags associate your video with similar videos, which broadens its reach. When tagging videos, tag your most important keywords first and try to include a good mix of more common keywords and long-tail keywords.

Category

After you upload a video, YouTube will allow you to choose a video category under “Advanced settings.” Video categories group your video with related content on the platform.

YouTube allows you to sort your video into one of the following categories: Film & Animation, Autos & Vehicles, Music, Pets & Animals, Sports, Travel & Events, Gaming, People & Blogs, Comedy, Entertainment, News & Politics, How-to & Style, Educations, Science & Technology, and Nonprofits & Activism.

SRT Files (Subtitles & Closed Captions)

Not only do subtitles and closed captions help viewers, but they also help optimize your video for search by giving you another opportunity to highlight important keywords. You can add subtitles or closed captions by uploading a supported text transcript or timed subtitles file. You can also provide a full transcript of the video and have YouTube time the subtitles automatically, type the subtitles or translation as you watch the video, or hire a professional to translate or transcribe your video.

To add subtitles or closed captions, head to your channel and click on “YouTube Studio,” YouTube’s replacement for Video Manager.

Once inside your YouTube Studio, click “Videos” on the left menu. Find the video to which you want to add subtitles or closed captioning and click on the title to open the video settings.

Open the “Advanced” tab, and choose the video language. Once you choose a language, the option to “Upload Subtitles/CC” should become available. Tap that option, and choose to upload your subtitles or closed captioning with or without timing.