When people talk about search engine optimization or SEO, the first thing that comes to mind is Google. It’s quite understandable since majority of online searches – around 65% to be more precise – are performed using the search engine giant.
The question is, what if you want to optimize videos instead? For that, you have YouTube SEO. YouTube is not only a social networking site; it also has search engine functions. If you use the available video optimization tools for search, you will be able to drive more free traffic to your videos. The best part is, you may even have your videos ranked in Google searches.
Following are tips on how to drive free traffic to your videos using SEO:
- Create great videos with the right content. If you want your videos to rank well on both Google and YouTube, you must target your prospective viewers strategically. Your viewers must find your videos to be helpful, informative, and entertaining.
- Decide on how long your video should be. YouTube considers several factors when ranking the most popular videos. These include views, likes, comments, social media shares, and the amount of time spent by users watching the video. While the other factors are dictated by the quality of your content, it will be of no use if your video will only bore viewers because of its inappropriate length. Based on research, the most popular videos run for an average of around 4 minutes – just long enough to provide value to your viewers and keep their interest.
- Name your videos with SEO in mind. Google and YouTube have no idea on what exactly your videos are about. You have to provide textual hints that can be linked to the keywords that searchers use. Make sure that your video is creatively named, and it should be something relevant to the content.
- Make use of tags. This tool is specifically for YouTube SEO. Simply put, a tag is a word or phrase that tells YouTube users what to expect from your video. There are various types of tags that you can use: generic, specific, compound, and refining tags. For optimum results, it is recommended that you take advantage of all of them.
- Add appropriate video descriptions. The description plays an important role in convincing a visitor to view your video. It should therefore be enticing enough to compel the searcher to click on your video link. It may be an interesting snippet of the information contained in the video to whet the searcher’s appetite and make him want more.
- Create playlists. /I> A playlist is a group of related videos that play one after the other. You can create a series comprising of your own videos, or you may include other peoples’ videos that are related to yours.
- Create backlnks to your videos. Having good backlinks is an indication that viewers trust the content you provide, and search engines appreciate that and will reward you for it. Just make sure that the links are not spammy. youtube favorites