Youtube Video Optimization Tips for Google Searches

Youtube Optimization Elements

It goes without saying that the internet is evolving at an immeasurable rate. As a Video Producer turned Internet Marketer, I wholeheartedly believe that a compelling video with the correct sales tactics and calls to action can produce more substantial results than any other form of online media. Unfortunately, the best video in the world won’t generate new business if nobody sees it.

With the correct on-page optimization tactics, a Youtube video can rank on the top of Google and Youtube searches. There are many additional variables that I will not be able to touch on today, but a well-produced video that has good on-page SEO will usually produce amazing results without having to worry about channel authority, marketing or linking tactics.

Before Uploading Your Video File

A little bit of planning can go a long way. The very first thing that you should do is “keyword research.” There are several softwares and websites that have keyword research tools. Although I use several tools and software for SEO, the keyword research tool that I prefer is Wordtracker.

After using your preferred keyword research tool, hopefully, you find the perfect keyword. A keyword that is closely related to your content, with high search volume and low competition is what you are looking for. The metrics can vary drastically depending on your subject, but the insight that keyword research can provide is nearly priceless.

Once you have chosen your “focus keyword” rename your video file with it. For instance, your keyword is “Caribbean Travel Tips 2013” rename your file and keep the same extension. Your video file would be renamed as “caribbean-travel-tips-2013.mp4” or .mov, .avi, etc.

Title

Your video’s title is the single most important onsite SEO element. Make sure to keep it between 40 and 67 characters and include your focus keyword. For instance, I would update the title while the video is uploading to become “Mike's Caribbean Travel Tips 2013 | Fleetfoot Marketing”

I like to use this SEO Character Counter page to help make my titles quickly.

At this point, you can remove the extension. Your title does not need the ,mp4, .mov, .avi, or whatever other extension it may have.

Description

A full description is important for the search engines to be able to find and rank your video properly, so don’t get lazy on this part. A good description should be at least 300 words. I have seen other authorities recommend 500-700 words, but I have found 300 do be sufficient.

Make sure to include your keyword as the very first item, followed by a link to your website, social media, or whatever other place you would like your viewers to visit. Your page will have a little extra juice if there is an outbound link with the keyword in it, such as http://examplesite.com/caribbean-travel-tips-2013 but only do this if you actually have a real page to link to or your video may get penalized.

Very few people will actually read the description, but it is important not to overuse your keyword. This article from SEO Braintrust explains what not to do when writing a description. My suggestion is to simply transpose the video. This should produce a description that is relevant to the video, and includes related keywords.

Tags

Tags are fairly easy. If you want to get a good idea of some tags to use, do a search on Youtube of your focus keyword and look at the tags on the top-three videos. Use the ones that are related to your video, as well as a couple of your own. Don’t use more than ten because this will give less weight to each. Also, avoid duplicates.

Video Thumbnail

A good video thumbnail is important because every internet user makes a split-second decision to click on your video or not based on its title and the thumbnail image. Youtube will generate 3 random images to choose from, and if they aren’t perfect, you should upload your own. This option may not be available to every user, so make sure you are in a good standing with Youtube and you have followed Google’s terms of service.

Advanced Settings

The more information you provide to Youtube, the more relationships Youtube and Google will find with other users. This will cause your video to be favored in Youtube and Google searches for certain users, so make sure to add a date and location under the “advanced settings” tab.

Share and Promote

This is beyond the scope of this article, but now that you have a great video that is perfectly optimized, it is time to share, link-to, embed, and promote your video. The more action it gets on as many different websites and social media services as possible, the more relevance Google will acknowledge for your video and the higher it will rank.

When you consistently create new, valuable, and engaging videos, then optimize, share, and promote them on Youtube, you will experience a solid, and usually profitable return from your investment of time, money, and energy.

Good luck, and don’t give up!



Article by Mike Gamache. is the CEO of Fleetfoot Marketing, a video marketing company.


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