SEO is one of the essential knowledge when posting content on the Internet such as blogs and YouTube.
In this article, we will introduce SEO measures on YouTube.
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What is YouTube SEO?
SEO measures refer to the purpose of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to make your website appear higher in natural searches. If your page ranks high in natural searches, your page’s click-through rate will increase, allowing you to reach more users and increase access.
YouTube SEO is a measure to increase YouTube access (number of views) by performing SEO.
- How easy is it to get hits when a user searches?
- Will it appear as a recommendation on the user’s home page?
With this in mind, we will create user-friendly content and consider how YouTube’s search bots will understand it.
Since YouTube is a service developed by Google, the algorithm linked to Google search affects the display ranking.
Important factors to rank high in YouTube searches
The most important thing to increase the number of views on YouTube is to rank high in search results.
For that purpose, SEO measures on YouTube are necessary. Introducing the elements to rank high in search results.
Relevance to search terms
If there is no relationship between the search term and the video content, viewers who search for the keyword will not be satisfied. Satisfying viewers who search is extremely important for SEO.
Ensure relevancy by mentioning keywords in your video and displaying keywords in the title and summary fields.
Playing time and number of plays
Playtime is the most important factor when aiming for a high ranking in search results, so be sure to pay attention to your audience retention rate.
Of course, the number of views is also important to gain playback time. It is necessary to increase the total viewing time by increasing both the number of views and the viewing time per person.
Reactions from viewers
Viewer reactions such as comments and ratings are also important. To that end, aim to create videos that will elicit a reaction from your viewers.
“What do you think, guys?”
“Please request the project you would like to see in the comments.”
It would be effective to appeal to viewers such as:
It is also effective to subscribe to the channel and give high ratings, which many posters do.
Video quality
To rank high in search results, your videos must be of high quality. Of course, it’s important to pay close attention to details such as ensuring that the video quality is as high as possible, but it is also important to ensure that the content is “quick to the conclusion and provides discoveries to the viewer,” and to consider unique content. Original content is effective because it is difficult for videos with the same theme to be uploaded due to the influence of other contributors.
Also consider Google’s algorithm, EEAT.
EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Please note that you will be able to obtain a verification badge once the number of subscribers exceeds 100,000, so we recommend applying for it immediately.
7 SEO measures to be aware of on YouTube
From here, we will carefully select and introduce seven specific things you should be aware of when it comes to SEO measures on YouTube.
Set topical keywords
First, understand your audience’s needs using suggested keywords. Suggested keywords are keywords that appear as suggestions during a search. For researching YouTube’s suggested keywords, we recommend the “YouTube Keyword Tool” provided by Ahrefs.
Next, look at the search volume. It’s a good idea to consider the trends of your competitors’ videos when deciding on keywords.
Include keywords in the title and description fields
The title should be around 30 characters and include as many keywords as possible. The maximum number of characters that will be displayed when viewed on a smartphone is approximately 30 characters, so please write text that clearly describes the content of the video.
We recommend that you include the keyword at least twice in the video description.
Also, if your video is long, you can use timestamps to explain the content of the video. Furthermore, by adding around 30 related tags to your video, it will appear more easily in search results.
Encourage viewers to subscribe and comment
Ratings from viewers are one of the important elements.
- Aim for at least 20 comments
- We also aim for a high evaluation rate of at least 80%.
Set a goal like this and encourage them to subscribe to your channel in the video or the description section.
Set thumbnails with high CTR
The thumbnail is the face of the video. To increase CTR (click-through rate), you need to create thumbnails that match the content of the video, have high visibility, and convey the content of the video in one second.
Also, the playback time will be displayed at the bottom right of the thumbnail, so be careful not to put any text in the bottom right.
Improve the quality by comparing your thumbnails with those of your competitors and creating the highest quality thumbnails possible.
Analyze the frequency and number of posts
Analysis is essential to maintain a high ranking. Think about your strategy based not only on your posts but also on your competitors’ posting frequency and number of posts.
For the first few days after publication, it will be more likely to be displayed on the home screen of registrants.
Let’s improve by giving feedback on evaluations and reactions after publication.
Enhance your channel page
The number of impressions on your channel page also affects your ranking.
Enhancing your channel description and including the keywords and genres you are aiming for in the channel description are very important in increasing channel registrations.
- If you want to make new videos stand out, “Upload items up”
- If you want to highlight popular videos, “Move popular videos to the top”
It is effective to change the settings according to the points you want to win, such as setting it to be displayed on the screen.
The procedure for setting the home screen is as follows.
Log in to YouTube Studio.
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In the menu on the right, select Customize and then Layout.
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Click the vertical bar of the section you want to move and drag and drop to rearrange it.
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Click Publish.
Promote the video on external sites such as SNS
The number of views greatly affects search ranking. Therefore, let’s actively increase the number of views by introducing the video on SNS and websites. By posting it on your website, you can expect traffic from the website.
Analyze your videos using YouTube Analytics!
With YouTube Analytics, you can analyze videos for free, and use the viewer retention rate to find out the causes of viewer disengagement. The viewer classification is to find out the age and gender of the viewers.
By checking the traffic source, you will be able to see through what route the video was played, which will be useful when planning countermeasures for each access route.
By using YouTube Analytics in this way, you can expand the range of analysis and it is also effective for SEO measures.
・Other recommended video analysis tools
In addition to YouTube Analytics, we will introduce recommended analysis tools that are useful for SEO measures.
- RankTracker
Convenient for checking search result display ranking
- Awario
Useful for analyzing reactions on SNS
- TubeBuddy (extension)
You can see the reactions on SNS in real-time, which is convenient for analyzing the reactions.
Summary: YouTube SEO measures
YouTube SEO is an important measure to increase access and views on YouTube, and the purpose is to rank high in natural searches. In YouTube SEO, it is important to select keywords that are easy to hit when users search, provide highly relevant content, and make sure that it is understood by YouTube’s search algorithm.
I think it’s very difficult to keep posting and requires patience. Please use the information we have explained this time to help you when posting videos.
At Pantograph, we receive many inquiries regarding media design and target keyword selection. If you have any trouble with SEO, not just videos, please contact us.
