YouTube SEO: How to Rank Your Videos #1

Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world?[verify] Implementing effective YouTube SEO strategies can lead to significant growth and potentially millions of views for your videos.

Why YouTube SEO is Important

When creators rely solely on suggested and browse features, they often overlook the power of search traffic. YouTube SEO matters for three key reasons:

1. Building a Foundation: Suggested and browse views usually depend on an established subscriber base and a library of relevant content.
2. Consistency is Key: Search views deliver predictable, ongoing traffic that can steadily grow your subscriber count—provided your video fulfills its title.
3. Higher Engagement: How-tos, tutorials, and tips videos found via search often achieve high average view durations, boosting hours of watch time.

Using these strategies, we’ve ranked #1 for highly competitive keywords in our niche and garnered nearly 1.3 million views in a single year.

Do YouTube Keyword Research

Effective keyword research lays the groundwork for ranking your videos. Follow this streamlined approach:

• YouTube Autosuggest: Type your primary keyword in the YouTube search bar and note the queries that appear—these reflect active user searches.
• Google Trends: Enter your keywords at https://trends.google.com/ and switch the setting to "YouTube search" to compare relative popularity over time. Remember, Trends shows relative, not absolute, search volumes.
• Keyword Tools: Use TubeBuddy, vidIQ, or Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer to get data on search volume and competition. Keep in mind that these tools provide estimates; for example, TubeBuddy often overestimates search volumes when compared to actual viewer behavior.

Choose a Topic You Want to Go After

After refining your keyword list, test your target topics in an incognito window on YouTube. Analyze the top three results for each keyword and consider:

1. Video Format: Identify whether the leading videos are tutorials, demos, listicles, or personal stories, then choose a format that aligns with your keyword.
2. Competitor Analysis: Examine each channel’s subscriber count and topical authority. If they have hundreds of thousands of subscribers and you’re just starting, ranking for that keyword might be a long shot.

Repeat this process until you find topics with manageable competition and clear opportunities to outrank existing videos.

Create a High-Performing Video

A high-performing YouTube video retains viewers, maximizes average view duration, and attracts clicks. Here’s how to craft one:

• Script Your Content: Write a tight script that includes an intro, a body that delivers on your title, and a concise outro. Avoid tangents to maintain attention.
• Engagement Hooks: Include hooks—like “Here’s something surprising” or “Stay tuned for a bonus tip”—to keep viewers curious. Prompt likes, comments, or shares whenever it fits naturally.
• Matching Visuals: Align on-screen visuals with your narration. If you mention a specific process step, show a screencast, diagram, or text overlay to reinforce comprehension.

By focusing on structure, engagement, and visuals, you’ll boost retention and viewer satisfaction.

Optimize Your Video for YouTube

Optimization ensures YouTube’s algorithm correctly indexes and promotes your videos. Cover these seven essentials:

1. Video File Name: Rename the file to your primary keyword (e.g., youtube-seo.mp4).
2. Title: Include your target keyword, keep it under 60 characters, and ensure it complements your thumbnail.
3. Tags: Add relevant tags—starting with your main keyword—so YouTube can categorize your content. Tools like TubeBuddy or vidIQ can suggest tags.
4. Description: Write a clear summary incorporating key and related keywords, and include timecodes for main sections.
5. Thumbnail: Design an eye-catching image that reflects your title. Use minimal text and a compelling visual to boost click-through rate.
6. Closed Captions: Upload a caption file to improve accessibility and give YouTube more context about your spoken content.
7. Cards and End Screens: Add cards to link to related videos and end screens to keep viewers on your channel longer.

How to Promote Your Video

Even optimized videos need promotion to gain initial traction. You’ll fit into one of two categories:

1. Existing Audience: Embed videos in your blog, share across social media, or include them in email newsletters to drive immediate views.
2. No Audience Yet: Consider these three strategies:
   • Community Engagement: Provide value by answering questions on Reddit, Quora, or niche forums, and include your video when it genuinely helps.
   • YouTube Ads: Run search ads bidding on your keywords. With a modest daily budget, you can pay as little as $0.01 per minute watched to reach active searchers.
   • Sponsored Newsletters: Partner with niche newsletters. Choose ones whose readers seek content like yours, and promote videos addressing common pain points.

Conclusion

Mastering YouTube SEO requires a systematic approach: conduct thorough keyword research, choose topics wisely, create engaging videos, optimize for search, and promote effectively.

• Bold Actionable Takeaway: Develop a keyword-driven content calendar and commit to optimizing every new video file name, title, and thumbnail for consistent growth.

What steps are you currently taking to improve your YouTube SEO?