Why is SEO on YouTube essential?

When it comes to popular social media, video and streaming platforms have become increasingly popular, especially during the current time of lockdowns, isolation, and local and global uncertainty. Of all the platforms out there, YouTube still remains one of the most popular for video sharing and watching. If you are new to hosting your videos on the platform or are looking for ways to boost viewership and interactions, then you definitely need to implement SEO for YouTube.

Here are a few ways to embrace this and improve your YouTube channel’s experience.

The SEO fundamentals for your YouTube videos

To get started with SEO for YouTube, it’s important to understand some key basics that apply to practically all videos that are shared on YouTube. Without these basics in hand, you are going to struggle right from the start to get the results, traffic, following, and rating you want for your videos.

Rear view of a woman using a laptop computer with the youtube site on the screen

So here are the basics you need to know right now regarding SEO for YouTube:

What is exactly “SEO”

SEO essentially means Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice that makes your content, in this case, your videos, show up on search engine result pages. Using in your content keywords and search terms that people are likely to type in Google and other search engines makes it more likely that your content will show up on the results page. For example, for a video about dog grooming, this exact term as well as similar terms and phrases need to be included in the description and title, so that when someone is googling “dog grooming tips”, your video is more likely to be displayed. These are the basics for SEO for YouTube.

Modern flat design isometric illustration of Seo Optimization

How to get more views on YouTube with SEO?

The goal of using SEO for YouTube is to get more views on your video and to keep viewers engaged for longer as well as have them interact or respond to your videos in some way. If you are selling something, you want them to contact you to make a purchase or order your services. If you are a streamer, then you want visitors to watch a lot of your videos and click on ads to boost your revenue from your video streams. If you are a business running tutorials and training preview videos, you want viewers to visit your website or call for more information. If you are running videos to promote a cause or groups, then the goal is to get viewers involved and have them take some kind of action when they are done watching your video.

What does SEO mean in YouTube rankings?

This is the ultimate goal of SEO for YouTube, but how do you get to the point of high traffic and high viewer retention and engagement? Here are some basic tips to get you started:

Viewers will always want quality over quantity and will respond better to 10 great videos than they will to 50 crappy videos.

…by producing quality content that viewers are looking for, and which can give them something others in your same field are missing or lacking, so that you stand out from the crowd.

YouTube is closely tied to the popular search engines and has its own built-in search feature too, so be sure to use keywords and phrases so your videos will be pinged when someone searches for those terms.

How to research keywords for YouTube?

The most influential aspect of your SEO YouTube improvements depends largely on the way you use keywords. Without strong keywords, even the best use of SEO for YouTube will not yield the results you are looking for. Aside from SEO tools for YouTube videos like Google Analytics and YouTube’s trending video listings, there are some other ways you can find great keywords:

YouTube Keywords search tips

Finding the best words and phrases to use in your video descriptions and posts is essential. But how do you know what the right words are? It is essential to think about SEO for YouTube from the standpoint of what words and phrases your target audience would use to search for online video content. One way to do this is to check out what results turn up with different keywords when googled, as popular search terms in the search engine results pages can point you towards popular terms that are already being searched for.

Tips for keyword selection:

How to improve your YouTube video description

Another key aspect to being successful with SEO for YouTube is to write a YouTube video description that is strong and engaging. The description needs to be attractive and descriptive, so viewers know exactly what they will be seeing and if it’s something they want to watch or not. Think about what the user wants to know and how your video can help them answer questions or give them something they are looking for. The best examples of SEO videos on YouTube are often the most popular ones, and the ones that tend to go viral. It’s ok to draw inspiration and ideas from other successful videos, but you must make your video unique because plagiarism will kill your search engine rankings, and copycat videos never get as much traffic as the original videos. Be yourself and be unique, but above all else be sincere and deliver the best product you can in both the video and description. If you do these things, then you are maximizing the power of SEO for YouTube videos.

Post high “audience retention” YouTube videos

The final way to make the most of your efforts with SEO for YouTube is to make audience retention a key goal for your videos and your channel as a whole. People should keep watching your videos when they finish one because of your presentation, the quality of your video, your well written content, and the overall quality of your work. People should stay on your YouTube channel as long as possible and interact with you in various ways, such as liking, commenting, sharing, and subscribing. It can be a bit tricky at times to figure out YouTube ranking SEO keywords and all the rest.

SEO for YouTube becomes a lot easier to build on once you get a few loyal and interactive followers, so making that a goal and working to get more and more viewers and fans can help you boost your SEO quality over the long term. It takes time and hard work, but it is possible, especially once you know what to do and how to go about making the most of SEO for YouTube videos and channels. Whether you work with a YouTube SEO specialist or go at it alone, these tips can help you get the success you are looking for.

Share this article!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Weekly news of LeadStream

Our latest articles

Guide Ultime pour une RÉDACTION SEO chez Leadstream

How to write effective SEO content

Are you looking for tips and tricks to increase traffic to your webpages? Agence Leadstream, who specializes in SEO and digital marketing, tells you all you need to know in order to write optimized blogs and articles!

Do you want to grow your business?

Request an appointment today!