Remember when you wanted to cook but didn’t know how? Or when you wanted to write your first blog but were confused about how to start? Or when you wanted to make a DIY gift for your best friend? Who did you turn to? We know your answer and that’s why. Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world with 2.5 billion active users. Youtube has every type of viewer in the world and that is what makes it a huge market for brands and industries to connect with their target audience.
But, How?
The answer to this is ‘Youtube SEO strategy’ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will help your video to reach a specific audience you wish to target and that too with the magic of a few words! It’s all in the (Key)words. Youtube is a huge part of everyone’s life. It receives 8.56 billion search visits per month, which is more than there are people in the world. Hence having a youtube SEO strategy is a must to get above the competition.
Let’s cook the recipe for ‘How to make my youtube video viral’
Start with keyword research
The most important ingredient in SEO is ‘Keywords’, it works like salt for your youtube video. Detailed keyword research will help you know what your audience is looking for. The easiest way to search for a keyword is to type it manually from YouTube’s search bar. The phrases that appear in the suggestive column are the keywords your audience is using to search for the product or service you are selling. As the keywords search is limited on youtube, you can perform the same activity on the Google search bar, Quora, and Pinterest. It has a vast range of content available that will help you understand the needs of your audience.
There are a few SEO tools for your help to find accurate and specific keywords for your niche with detailed statistics.
- Semrush
- Google keyword planner
- Rank tracker
- UbberSuggest
- Moz keyword explorer
Be smart with your video title
The video title works like a name for your dish, which will influence the decision of the viewers whether to watch the video or not. To make them click on the video, the title should state the solution to their problem and that solution is a keyword they are looking for. Keywords that solve a problem or a query like ‘How to’, ‘where to’, or any other, attract the target audience instantly. It will increase your chance to overdo your competition and earn viewers and subscribers to your channel.
Don’t EVER forget to add Keywords to your Youtube video file
Here’s a secret! Your SEO technique works even before you upload your video on youtube. Before uploading, you need to add your keywords in the name of your file, it gets tracked once the video is uploaded. By doing this activity there is a higher chance to rank at the top searches on youtube. Adding keywords to your Youtube video file is as good as complementing your dish with a drink.
Use hashtags strategically
We all know hashtags work wonders when used at the right place at the right time. That’s why we need to have a strategy behind adding a hashtag to a video title or video description. These are the few questions we need to answer ourselves before adding hashtags to a youtube video:
- Do they include the keywords?
- Is it something the audience will search for?
- Is it relevant to the content we offer in the video?
- What problem is it solving?
Once you add a hashtag to the video description, it will be shown above the title of the video and then become hyperlinked.
Optimize your youtube video description
Optimizing your youtube video description is like bringing the best out of all the ingredients present in the dish. The video descriptions appear under the video title where you can add as much information as you want to. It has a limit of 5000 characters. You can add anything and everything there in a creative way of course! And, don’t forget to add salt that is our keywords, but make it look subtle and belonged.
The initial part of the description appears in search results, so try and keep the first two lines informative and interesting. You can add a CTA to engage with the audience and invite them to subscribe to the channel.
Customize thumbnails, ALWAYS!
We all know, ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ is not what serves today. We need to stand out in terms of look and feel. And that is all the thumbnail is about. They are the cover picture of your video which may include a person and a catchy line that drives the audience to tap on the video. It increases 90% the chance for your video to be viewed, hence the most important part of the video.
Creating a customized thumbnail gives great results. Influencers can add their picture with facial expressions and close-up. By doing this you show the audience who and what is it they are going to watch in the video.
Add subtitles and closed captions for every video!
You may know about subtitles, but you must be wondering, what are closed captions. While video subtitles are designed to communicate video dialogue for viewers who can’t understand the video language, closed captions are for viewers who can’t hear the audio.Adding subtitles and closed captions ease the viewer experience, but also helps the youtube video to rank higher. The keywords included in them are most likely to be picked by the search engines.
A great strategy to attract viewers as well as search engines!
Conclusion
We have checked all the necessary boxes for the Youtube SEO checklist by now. By performing them in your video you will get great reach and engagement. Every step is significant, so make sure you make a note of it and go through other youtube videos which are doing well in your niche. The main highlight of the strategy is selecting the right keywords and every step after it is secured.
