A Quick Guide on YouTube SEO: Ranking Videos

If you are an SEO services provider you must be aware of the strategies being implemented for YouTube SEO to enable videos rank higher on the YouTube. Here is a deeper analysis of these YouTube SEO tips that can be implemented if you wish to get your videos on top. Understanding the YouTube algorithm and having a clear understanding of the SEO tips will help you achieve that. 

Let’s have a look at the YouTube SEO tips and tricks to make that happen.

How does the YouTube Algorithm work?

For starters, YouTube works like any other search engine and offers search results based on the search query. It offers the best suitable and relevant content that fits the search queries. Now, to ensure that your video pops on the top while a relevant query is posted, you need to have an understanding of the YouTube SEO algorithm. 

The only working phenomenon that YouTube follows to rank your videos is the ‘watch time.’ Watch time simply means the amount of time for which a user stayed on your video, higher the watch time, higher is your ranking, lower the watch time, lower is ranking. 

Additionally, you can use various elements to make your users stay for the end of the video and increase your watch time. 

How to Implement SEO for YouTube? 

If you are a beginner and trying to get your video ranked on YouTube you are at the right place. We have a few tips for YouTube SEO for beginners and YouTube optimization that can help you get your video ranked, and have a good amount of views as well. 

YouTube being a part of Google follows the same search algorithm and functions in the similar manner. Here are the different elements from the video that the algorithm leverages: 

• Video title

• Video description

• Metadata

• Watch time

• Number of likes, views, and comments

Additionally, the algorithm also takes into account the user’s search behavior and history to show more relevant videos which offers a touch of personalization to the user. 

Furthermore, here are a few key points that you can consider when you are in the process of YouTube optimization.

• Choose your target audience and create content that is suitable as per their interests and queries. 

• Understand the behavior of your target audience, the kind of content they consume and create your content buckets accordingly. 

• Develop a plan for how you are going to post your content, figure out the reliable sources.

• Build an expert team of video editors, sound and animation experts which can make your videos more appealing and interesting for your audience. 

• Keep a backup plan in case you cannot get a hold of the expert team, try to create content that won’t require all of this. 

• Next you need to do a competitor's analysis and figure out which creators are already there and what kind of content they are promoting. This will help you to make a strategy to make your content stand out from the competition. 

• Set clear goals for the growth in terms of followers, views, comments, and watch time. Setting realistic goals will keep you motivated and help you track your progress as well. 

YouTube SEO Tips to be Followed

Here are some of the tried and tested tips of SEO for YouTube that can help you with your YouTube optimization. 

• While saving or uploading your video add a relevant keyword in the video title

• Don’t force the keyword in the video title, instead make it natural

• Make your video description to fit the audience queries in 1000 words (word limit)

• Keep the description short, and to the point, you can also add a transcript of the video

• Tag the video using the most trending keywords relevant to your field 

• Choose the category of your video carefully 

• Upload a thumbnail while uploading the video for video’s result link

• Include an SRT file for including subtitles and  captions

• Include trending hashtags for better reach of video 

• Create a playlist of relevant videos of your topic 

• Try videos of different lengths and analyze the results 

• Add a CTA (Call to Action) button in the video description, or end of the video 

• Regular review of YouTube analytics 

• Insert or add a Pinned comment on your video 

Following these YouTube SEO for beginners will help you get started with your YouTube SEO and get more followers over the time. 

YouTube SEO Tools

To achieve your goals, you might need some additional help for which you can leverage different YoutTube SEO tools available in the market. Some of the tools are: 

• Ahrefs Keyword Research

• Canva

• vidIQ Vision  

• TubeBuddy 

• Cyfe 

Leveraging these YouTube SEO tools will help you achieve your goals. 

MadHawk’s Take on YouTube SEO Tips

Being a digital marketing agency, it becomes important for us to guide you through the process of making your digital presence. With the above-listed SEO for YouTube, you can get yourself started and with regular follow-up of these tips, you can yield good results as well. 

For more information, you can get in touch with our expert team today.  

FAQ

How do I rank my YouTube video?

To get your video ranked on YouTube, add relevant keywords, and hashtags in your video description and title, address the queries of the audience and increase your watch time by making your videos interesting. 

Is YouTube SEO the same as Google SEO?

No, YouTube SEO is not identical or same as the Google SEO and there are a few different SEO factors involved here such as watch time. 

 How Youtube seo works?

It ranks your videos higher if you have a high watch time and the content quality is high. Also, it requires you to add relevant keywords and hashtags to make it rank higher. 

Which tool is best for YouTube SEO?

For keyword research you can use Ahrefs, and other SEO tools are Canva, TubeBuddy, Cyfe, and vidIQ Vision. 

Which topic is most searched on YouTube? (cannot find a suitable answer, but these categories are the most searched)

Most searched topics in YouTube include music, entertainment, news, education, and gaming. 

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