At VerriBerri, we are an SEO agency for YouTube that prides ourselves in helping our clients rank highly on search engine results pages. When SEO is mentioned, people often refer to Google, but every search engine, including video streaming sites, have an algorithm that needs pleasing. Our close-knit team has skilled knowledge about the inner workings of SEO and can use these techniques to boost your content value and search ranking.
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is the technical term given to the development of a website or content to make it desirable to a search engine’s ranking factors. Although the algorithm can differ, the key elements of SEO remain the same.
The Facts
- YouTube has more than 1 billion unique users each month
- Over 6 billion hours of video are watched on the site every month
- 100 hours of video footage is uploaded every minute
- Millions of subscriptions happen every day
With stats like these, it is necessary that SEO is used effectively to stand out in a sea of videos. An SEO agency for YouTube can assist with the small additions to your content that will help the algorithm favour your content.
Ranking Videos On Google
You may have noticed when you are ‘Googling’, that videos appear at the top of the SERP (search engine results page). For a video to rank in the top search results, it needs to be the top third of YouTube’s SERP. Meeting SEO attributes increases the likelihood of this happening.
YouTube splits it’s SEO values into two separate categories; video content and user engagement. Video content refers to the foundations of your video. These are the things that happen at the back end of publishing, like metadata and keywords. User engagement incorporates how you and your audience interact with each other.
Target Keywords
Here at our SEO agency for YouTube, we have an understanding of how to optimise your video content efficiently. Similarly to written content, YouTube likes to see keywords within the video you’re uploading. Adding a keyword to a video file name is very important, and is often a step people miss out on. When saving a video, you should pick a target keyword and save it under a file name including that word. It is paramount that the names are not random or filled with pointless number sequences. If a file name has keywords relevant to the video, this will improve the SEO. It is crucial to note that the algorithm doesn’t watch content; it is not human. Instead, it scans and identifies keywords so it can recommend the most appropriate video to the user.
Metadata
Metadata includes all of the things that sometimes can be overlooked. An SEO agency for YouTube can help to pin down those little things like titles, descriptions, tags and annotations. These are all things that the algorithm will use to figure out what content is within a video.
Titles
A video title is one of the first things a user will see and so they must include a keyword. It should contain the right information so a user will know exactly what they are going to watch. They can then decide if the video is worth clicking on and watching. Make sure videos have unique titles that can naturally accommodate your chosen target keyword. Titles that include questions or ‘How To’ are often searched for and, including them in a title will get your video rising through the SERP.
Descriptions
A description is the only place you can detail what the video is about. You must ensure it’s descriptive but not boring and so, the first sentence really counts. You want to avoid having a ‘show more’ option as people don’t come to your video to read an essay, they come to watch engaging content. A good description will help you show up in the suggested video sidebar, which acts as a significant source of views for a lot of channels.
Tags
You need to use about 10-12 tags of varying lengths that are related to the video content. Tags help the algorithm to best understand when to suggest your video on the SERP. These tags must include targeted keywords but must not include trademarks or copyrighted material. Our SEO agency for YouTube can help you define your most relevant tags.
Thumbnails
Although not something the algorithm will directly look for, a thumbnail is what will grab a viewers attention. It can be the deciding factor for someone to click on your content. Having a good thumbnail will mean more clicks and this is better for SEO.
Your Audience
The second part of what determines SEO value is user engagement. This is down to how the viewer chooses to interact with your content. To get up this engagement, you must encourage your audience to subscribe, like, comment and share your video. This, along with view count, tells the algorithm that viewers like your content and will rank your videos higher.
Embeds
Embedding takes your video outside of YouTube and can be used to embed your video on your website. These embeds will count as positive engagement to the algorithm and will increase the SEO of a video.
Links
Inbound links within your description are similar to the use of back-links on a website. You can add relevant links to other videos on your channel, or to social media accounts. Inbound links are also used by Google when ranking videos on the SERP. This is because links allow Google to identify you as a reputable source; they will be more likely to recommend you to the user.
Get In Touch
As an SEO agency for YouTube, VerriBerri has over 12 years of experience. our highly-skilled team knows the best approach to help you maximise the SEO of your content. If you could benefit from VerriBerri’s SEO solutions, do not hesitate to contact our friendly team today. For more information or to get in touch with us, click here.