This article is going to show you exactly how to SEO YouTube videos for success for success in order to get more views, get more subscribers, and grow your YouTube channel. If you asked me what the biggest thing that has allowed me to obtain the success I have on YouTube, SEO would be my answer. Luckily for you, we are going to show you exactly how to optimize your titles, descriptions, tags, and thumbnails on YouTube, so you can start growing your channel using SEO.
How To SEO YouTube Videos For Success
What is YouTube SEO?
Before I can teach you about how to SEO YouTube videos, you need to understand what YouTube SEO is, and how it can help you grow your channel. YouTube SEO is the process of optimizing parts of your video in order for them to rank higher in YouTube search results. For example, when some searches ‘2018 iMac Unboxing', you can make your video come up first. This helps you grow because if you're ranking high in search results, people will be able to find your channel, and the more people that find your channel, the quicker it grows. So, how do you do this? Well, let's find out!
How To Optimize Your Titles for SEO
The first thing you need to optimize when it comes to YouTube SEO is your titles. Titles are the very first thing that most viewers will see when finding your videos, and in the same regard, they are the first thing that search engines will see also. Thus, titles are very important when it comes to growing your YouTube channel via YouTube SEO.
With that being said, how should titles be formatted? Titles need to very clearly reflect what is going on or happening in a video while, at the same time, clearly reflecting what is going on or happening in a video. An example of this is if you're going to make a video about getting the most out of your Macbook Pro, don't just name it ‘Get The Most Out of Your Macbook Pro'. Instead, name it something a bit more exciting and searchable like ‘Get The Most Out of Your Macbook Pro (5 Tips To Help You Get More Done W/ Your Macbook Pro!!)'. See the difference? The second title stands out much more, and it will bring more people into your video.
When writing titles, think in terms of what people will search for, and make that your title. The reason the title in the above example works so well is because it has multiple keywords that someone could search for when looking for a video on YouTube. Examples are ‘Get The Most Out of Your Macbook Pro', ‘5 Tips To Help You Get More Done W/ Your Macbook', and even ‘Tips To Help You Get More Done W/ Your Macbook'. All of these are possible search strings that your video could rank for.
Now, you need to make sure your video can subjectively live up to the titles you use as well, so you would want to have 5 tips that would help people get more done on their Macbook. If not, you need to use a different title, as titles MUST accurately reflect what is going on in the video. If they do not, your video can and will be taken down from YouTube. While we want to grow our channels, we need to do it in an honest manner.
One last note about titles involves titles of a series. Since YouTube’s search engine recognizes the beginning of titles first and uses them as the most important keywords, this is what needs to be first in series. You don’t need to put the name of your series first in a title. For example, a title should be “THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME!! – Series Ep. 1” not “Series Ep. 1 – THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME!!”. Use the thumbnail, which will talk about later, to help your regular viewers know that the video is apart of a series.
Related article: What Kind of Music Can You Use in YouTube Videos?
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How To Optimize Your Descriptions for SEO
Descriptions are the most important part of a video when it comes to ranking in search engines. This is because they can be loaded full of relevant keywords to help people find your videos. They also help search engines more accurately identify what is going on in your video. If you don't utilize descriptions correctly, you are seriously missing out on a MAJOR factor of ranking well on YouTube search results.
Descriptions should be done as follows:
1. A short description of the video that explains what goes on in the video in about 3-5 sentences
2. Any links relevant to the video such as sponsors that are mentioned in the video, download links, etc.
3. Links to your social networks
4. Affiliate/Sponsor links not related to or mentioned in the video
5. Other miscellaneous links
6. Any music that was used in the video that needs to be credited in the description
7. A long “About this video” description that explains in detail what the video is about in one to two paragraphs
An example of this style of description can be found on this video, and I have included a template that you can use to make these descriptions below. Please note, that you will need to change the long description and short descriptions of the video for your own video, and you may have to take out or add social media links depending on what networks you use.
Additionally, you may not have any sponsors or links directly related to the video. If that is the case, you will need to remove those as well. Basically, this is just a guide. Tear it apart or change it as much as you wish just always keep the short and long descriptions exactly where they are – first and last.
Description Example:
This is the short description where you will talk about the video in three to four sentences. This has to bring people in and draw them to your video, so make sure you put some time into and make it as good as possible. If done correctly, this can have tons of positive effects on your channel, and it can bring in new people to your videos who will hopefully stay and become long-lasting subscribers.
Link Relevant To The Video:
Link Relevant To The Video:
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Previous Video:
Previous Video:
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Subscribe!: https://TheBreakdown.xyz/YTSub
Twitter: https://Twitter.com/BreakdownHowTo
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/BreakdownHowTo
Our Website: https://TheBreakdown.xyz
Email: Hello@TheBreakdown.xyz
——————————————————–
Sponsor Link:
——————————————————–
Sponsor Link:
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Music Used In Video
Approaching Nirvana
http://youtube.com/user/approachingnirvana
Check them out on iTunes: http://bit.ly/1aw7TkY
Music by Popskyy
Buy his music!: https://popskyy.bandcamp.com
About this video: This is the long description. This is where you need to explain in great detail what is going on in your video. Make sure that everything is covered, and that it is thorough. This is extremely important as it helps search engines know exactly what is going on in your video, and for that reason, they will be able to rank your video more accurately. It needs to be AT LEAST two paragraphs and as in-depth as possible. Just for the sake of example, I am going to copy and paste this same paragraph again.
This is the long description. This is where you need to explain in great detail what is going on in your video. Make sure that everything is covered, and that it is thorough. This is extremely important as it helps search engines know exactly what is going on in your video, and for that reason, they will be able to rank your video more accurately. It needs to be AT LEAST two paragraphs and as in-depth as possible.
How To Optimize Your Tags for SEO
Tags are what help define what search terms your video ranks for. While they have no effect outside of YouTube, they have helped me tremendously in getting some harder to get search terms, and they are very important.
Tags work like this. You need to start narrow. For example, you would start by putting the exact title of the video you uploaded. After that, you can start working your way down to be more and more broad, so next, you could put different versions of the title of your video moving on to something super broad such as just the title of the game you are playing or product you are reviewing/featuring.
Be sure to keep your tags relevant to the video in some way though. Failing to do so breaks the YouTube ToS/community guidelines, and thus, can and will get your channel a strike if not completely shut down altogether.
It is important to note that you need to fill the tags box until you can no longer add tags. The max amount of characters you can have in tags is 500, so you want to be sure to ALWAYS hit that limit. The more tags you have the better. Again, just make sure they are all relevant!
How To Optimize Your Thumbnails for SEO
Thumbnails have ZERO effect on where your video will rank in search engines. With this being the case, why am I mentioning them in a section all about search engine optimization? Well, the answer is simple.
It doesn’t matter how high you rank in search engines. If your thumbnail doesn’t look appealing and draw people in, you’ll be skipped over for the guy in second place whose thumbnail does look good. Your thumbnails need be consistent and build a ‘brand' around your videos. Don't make all of your thumbnails completely different. That will confuse your subscribers. Keep them eye-catching and consistent for the best results.
So, how do you make eye-catching and consistent thumbnails? You can check out our video on that by clicking here!
What Not To Do When SEOing A YouTube Video
There are somethings people will tell you when it comes to YouTube SEO that is either outdated or simply false. A lot of these things will get your channel a strike if not completely shut down altogether. Thus, here are four things that you should not do when SEOing a YouTube video.
1. Don’t put your tags or any other keywords in your description: This is spam and will get your channel completely shut down.
2. Don’t list keywords in your long or short descriptions: This is an obvious spam technique. Just describe your videos naturally in your descriptions. The keywords will fill in as you do.
3. Don’t do anything in your titles, descriptions, or tags, that doesn’t accurately reflect your video: If something doesn’t reflect the video you are working on optimizing, then don’t put it anywhere. It is spam and will get you a strike.
4. Don’t copy-paste long and short descriptions from video to video: Write new long and short descriptions for every video you post. Not doing so defeats the purpose of SEO and also in rare cases can be considered spam.
The Wrap-Up
Congrats! You now know how to SEO YouTube videos for success. SEO has been extremely rewarding to our channel. Without it, who knows where our channel would be. We hope these tips help you out. If you got any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments below. We're more than happy to assist you in any way we can. Also, be sure to grab our free eBook on growing your YouTube channel by clicking here!
Nic
I have been playing and modding Minecraft since 2010. In 2014, I started getting interested in creating Minecraft servers and teaching people how to do it online. This led to thousands of videos covering how to do anything and everything in Minecraft!
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