It’s not hard to get exposure on YouTube; it’s impossible – at least without video SEO marketing.
When you successfully create great content, you only win half the battle, as you still have to get it in front of the right eyes. You need video SEO for your videos to reach a larger yet targeted audience.
Through video SEO, search engines like Google are able to prominently showcase your YouTube videos in their search results, expanding the potential reach of your content beyond the confines of the streaming platform.
So, if you want to deliver high-quality content directly in front of your target audience, whether they’re on YouTube or not, then having sure-footed SEO video marketing strategies is the way to go.
With top video SEO marketing tips, this blog covers the following video marketing and SEO topics:
• What Is Video SEO Marketing?
• The Benefits of Video SEO: Why You Should Invest in Video Optimization
• Video SEO Tips: How To Optimize Your Videos To Rank Higher in YouTube Search
• More Video Marketing Tips To Support Your YouTube SEO Strategy
• Why Invest in Professional Video Production Services
• Video SEO Marketing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Get Expert Help: Want Exposure and Engagement for Your Videos?
Gain an edge on YouTube optimization with this quick list of the best video SEO marketing tips:
What Is Video SEO Marketing?
Video SEO marketing is the process of optimizing your videos for better indexing and crawling by search engines and search functionalities on streaming platforms. A Video SEO strategy is needed to ensure that your video content is easily found by your target audiences when they search for specific keywords related to your video.
The process involves tweaking elements such as the video title, description, tags, subtitles and closed captions (CC).
The Benefits of Video SEO: Why You Should Invest in Video Optimization
When your videos regularly appear in search results, whether on Google or YouTube, you build your authority in your field. Let’s talk more about the benefits of SEO for video content.
Here’s why your business should invest in SEO for video content:
More Visibility
It can be a challenge for your videos to generate views due to the overwhelming amount of online content available today. By optimizing your videos for search engines, you’re essentially making it easier for them to show up in search results.
The heightened visibility is like a gift that keeps giving – the more people watch your videos, the more your content will be recommended to other viewers.
Higher Engagement
With proper video SEO, you can attract more targeted viewers who are truly interested in your content, which naturally facilitates engagement. You’ll get likes, comments, shares and a community that’s authentically engaged with your message.
This kind of genuine interaction not only strengthens your relationship with your audience but also signals to platforms that your content is valuable, potentially boosting your visibility even further. Per Wyzowl, 51% of people prefer sharing videos over any other content type.
Better Conversion Rates
Videos alone have a compelling nature and can be powerful tools for convincing and converting potential customers. When you add video SEO into the mix, you lead the right viewers to your content. As previously noted, the right viewers are those who have a genuine interest in what you’re sharing.
These viewers represent potential conversions. Say you have a video that showcases all the cool features and unique benefits of your product. The people who find and watch your video are likely already interested in what you’re selling, making them prime candidates for conversion.
Long-Term Results
SEO is often praised as a digital marketing tactic that future-proofs your business. The same is true for video SEO. Once your video achieves a high ranking on whichever platform you’re active on, it has the potential to continuously attract viewers and possibly new subscribers for an extended period.
Rather than experiencing a brief spike in popularity, sustained attraction can be incredibly helpful to ensure that your content remains relevant and accessible to your audience over time without needing to push new content constantly.
Competitive Advantage
Not all businesses are diving into video marketing, and even fewer are focusing on optimizing their video content for search engines. By honing your skills in video SEO and observing video marketing trends, you position yourself ahead of competitors who haven’t yet mastered or perhaps even recognized the importance of this strategy.
Such a competitive edge isn’t just about being present in a space where others aren’t; it’s about being forward-thinking by effectively utilizing a powerful tool many overlook.
Video SEO Tips: How To Optimize Your Videos To Rank Higher in YouTube Search
Peppering your videos with key terms is a great start to ramp up the traffic coming your way from searches. But there’s more to YouTube optimization and video SEO than keyword insertion. There are a lot of YouTube SEO tips you could be missing.
To guide you towards YouTube success like an expert content creator, here are YouTube SEO tips:
1. Choose the Right Keywords, Including Long-Tail Ones
You can explore SEO tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner for keyword research. While these tools don’t pull data directly from YouTube, they’re still useful for gauging general search trends, whichever your choice of platform.
Take advantage of the Research tab in YouTube Analytics and the Google Ads Keyword Planner to discover hot keywords and their synonyms. In your research, don’t overlook less competitive terms that offer decent search volume. Such search terms are usually long-tail keywords.
Long-tail keywords differ from popular keywords in that they are more specific and often have a clearer search intent, stemming directly from your primary keywords. For instance, if your primary keyword is “cheesecake recipe,” a related long-tail keyword might be “easy new york cheesecake recipe.”
You can also use YouTube’s search tool for your video keyword research.
Related article: Long-Tail Keywords: What Are They and How To Find Them
2. Rename Your Video Filename With a Target Keyword
Uploading your video to YouTube with a filename that includes your target keyword could give your content a leg up in the search results. Many high-intent users lean on Google SERPs when looking for answers.
Fortunately, your video’s reach extends beyond YouTube as Google search results often include videos too. Therefore, you want to pay attention to your file name and be strategic, as it could be a small move that makes a big difference.
As for whether viewers can see your filename, they can’t. The information is exclusively for YouTube’s internal system or algorithm to read, along with other background codes.
3. Use Your Main Keyword in the Video Title
Your video title is the main driving factor in how YouTube indexes and ranks your content. When viewers search for videos, the title is often the first element that catches their eye and influences their decision to click and watch. It’s essential for it to align closely with what users are searching for.
Video titles should not only incorporate your main keyword naturally but also be engaging and to the point. YouTube Help identifies two video title types: searchable titles, which clearly describe the content for easy discovery, and intriguing titles, designed to spark curiosity.
A balanced approach to keyword optimization with a compelling, viewer-friendly title is key to attracting your audience. The character limit for YouTube titles is 100 characters, but only the first 70 are displayed; the remaining 30 get truncated.
4. Maximize Your Video Description
Google allows up to 5,000 characters for YouTube video descriptions, but keep in mind that only about the first 100 characters are visible to viewers before they choose to click “Show more” on desktop or “more” on mobile.
Image: Google
Make the most of the first part of your video description by sprinkling in your main keywords prominently. But remember to use natural language in your description rather than just a string of keywords. In the latter part of the description, you can include general details about your channel or further define your video.
You even have the option to set up a default description that automatically adds basic channel information to all your videos on upload. For example, Google’s channel has the same bit of text at the end of each video description.
The bottom line is to make your description helpful to the viewer. If it doesn’t serve this purpose, it’s better to omit it.
5. Add Relevant Hashtags
When you upload a video or record a Short on YouTube, or even when you’re creating a playlist on YouTube Music, you have the option to include hashtags in your title and description. These hashtags help viewers find content connected through similar themes or topics. To add a hashtag, just type the # symbol followed by a relevant topic or keyword in your video’s title or description.
Out of all the hashtags you add to your description, YouTube will display the top three, deemed the most relevant, next to your video title. The rest will still show in your video description and help your video show up in search results. Hashtags you use are clickable and lead to a page with other videos with the same tag.
However, there’s a limit: If you go overboard and use more than 60 hashtags, YouTube won’t recognize any of them. Also, overdoing hashtags or using ones that don’t relate to your content might get your video removed from searches or even your uploads. So, stick to relevant hashtags to keep your content visible and on point.
6. File Your Video in the Right Category
Just like how you’d optimize content for Google or other search engines, giving YouTube plenty of details about your videos helps in getting them in front of the right people. A key part of making this happen is using YouTube’s categories to your advantage.
YouTube uses these categories to not only sort videos into broad topics like “People & Blogs” or “Pets & Animals” but also to identify which channels are producing the highest quality content in each area. By selecting the right video category, you aid YouTube in determining if your video should show up in search results for similar topics.
Just be sure to pick the category that truly matches what your video is about. Going for a category just because it’s popular might seem tempting, but it can backfire. So, in the long run, sticking to what’s most accurate for your video serves you better, to rack up those views.
7. Add Subtitles and Closed Captions
Transcripts, which are text versions of your video’s dialogue or audio with time codes, help match the text with what’s happening on-screen. They make your videos more accessible to a broader audience, including viewers with hearing impairment and those who speak another language.
You can manually transcribe your video or use YouTube’s tools to create synchronized captions. YouTube’s automated captions and machine learning aren’t perfect and can get tripped up by accents or background noise. It’s a good idea for creators to check them and make any needed tweaks to keep things accurate.
Image: Google
The above shows the basic file formats supported by YouTube. View transcripts as a chance to incorporate keywords. For more guidance on creating transcript files for adding subtitles and closed captions, check out YouTube Help.
8. Divide Your Video Into Chapters
Video chapters divide a video into distinct segments, each accompanied by a unique preview. They provide additional information and context for each section of the video, making it convenient to revisit specific parts.
You have the option to manually add video chapters for each uploaded video or utilize the platform’s automatic video chapter feature. Additionally, creators can choose not to use automatic video chapters by adjusting settings in YouTube Studio.
Images: @mobilesyrup on YouTube
Take adding video chapters as a chance to incorporate keywords. Besides appearing in the sidebar on YouTube, video chapters are also listed in the video description box.
What’s more, video chapters are prominent in Google SERPs. This proves keyword insertion in your video chapters is beneficial. You also make it simpler for users to find the specific information they need.
9. Implement End Screens and Cards To Promote Other Videos
Have you noticed those interactive pop-ups in YouTube videos? These are called Info Cards ( i ) and End Screens, which are effective tools for maintaining viewer engagement. Cards are small, clickable notifications that appear throughout the video in the upper right corner of the player, offering additional video suggestions or links to other channels you want to promote.
You can add up to five Cards to a video, with options to link to another video, playlist, channel or an external website for those in the YouTube Partner Programme, ensuring compliance with YouTube’s guidelines.
End Screens are similar to Cards but are more visually prominent and appear in the last 5-20 seconds of your video. They can be used to promote other videos, encourage subscriptions or direct viewers to your popular playlists.
10. Use YouTube Analytics To Understand Viewer Behavior
YouTube Analytics is the most reliable way to identify what aspects of your videos are hitting the mark and what areas need improvement. The powerful tool provides you with a range of essential metrics that offer deep insights into your content’s performance, such as:
| Example YouTube Metrics | |
|---|---|
| Watch Time | How long viewers stay on your videos |
| Impressions CTR | The rate viewers click your video from their homepage |
| Card CTR | The click-through rate for the cards in your videos |
| Traffic Sources | Where viewers are finding your content |
| Unique Viewers | The number of different people watching your videos |
| Subscriber Growth | Changes in your subscriber count, broken down by factors |
Analyzing these metrics helps you understand what resonates with your audience. If a video performs significantly better or worse than your average, investigate what sets it apart to refine your approach. Additionally, YouTube prioritizes “watch time” when ranking videos. A longer watch time suggests your content is engaging and valuable.
11. Promote Your Videos Where Possible
You want your viewers to share your videos — so why don’t you take the lead? You’ve got a whole array of marketing channels at your disposal to promote your videos beyond YouTube and push for visibility view count.
• Feature corporate videos and product demos on your website.
• Embed relevant videos in your blog posts.
• Add videos to your email marketing campaigns.
• Share your content across social media platforms.
• Respond to messages and comments with videos.
• Tag individuals or brands featured in your videos.
Although you want to promote your content as much as you want, always stick to relevance. Make sure your videos make sense with the blog posts or discussions you’re adding them to. You want to add value, not just make noise. If your video feels out of place, people might just bounce off.
Above all else, make sure you’re confident of the quality of the videos you’re going to put out. Otherwise, the video marketing and SEO tactics could turn ineffective.
More Video Marketing Tips To Support Your YouTube SEO Strategy
Apart from SEO-driven techniques, there are video marketing strategies that significantly influence the success and performance of your video content.
While not necessarily SEO-related, such tactics are likewise essential for capturing the viewers’ interest, keeping them engaged and stimulating interactions, all of which enhance the overall impact of your content.
To add to our video SEO tips above, here are more video marketing strategies:
12. Pick an Appropriate Topic and Format
Your storyline should match user intent. Once you’ve established the topic you want to tackle, it’s easier to figure out the best format or length for your video, whether it’s a longer piece, something short and snappy or somewhere in between.
Also, think about the feelings you want to stir in your viewers. Do you want them to have a good laugh, feel uplifted or just plain happy after watching? Keep this emotion in mind as you’re penning your script. Everything, from the choice of props and locations to the color palette and wardrobe, will help bring this feeling to life.
And don’t forget the practical stuff – like how much time, money and manpower you have – when deciding on your video’s topic and format. One idea you could explore in video marketing for SEO is telling a brand’s story through a video.
Related article: Brand Story: Why It’s Important and How To Create One
13. Design an Attention-Grabbing Video Thumbnail
Speaking of first impressions — video thumbnails are crucial in getting someone to click on your video over others. A catchy video thumbnail could be the only thing that sets you apart from the competition.
So, think of your thumbnail as a visual hook. It should be compelling and relevant to the content of your video, giving a glimpse into what viewers can expect. Using vibrant colors, intriguing images and clear, legible text can make your thumbnail pop.
Additionally, having staple elements of your brand can help maintain consistency and recognition across your videos.
14. Double Down on Shorts
Debuted worldwide in June 2021, YouTube Shorts surpassed 70 billion daily views in October 2023.
Still, not every brand will find short-form content beneficial, but if your audience resonates with brief, impactful videos, embracing this format should be a no-brainer. Short videos, often referred to as “Shorts,” offer a dynamic way to engage viewers who prefer quick, digestible content.
This style proves especially impactful since shorter attention spans and intense competition for viewers’ time is at an all-time high.
Remember, the key is to understand your audience’s preferences. If they lean toward quick and engaging content, then doubling down on short-form videos is a strategic move.
Related article: Instagram Reels vs. TikTok for Business: Which Is Best for Your Industry
15. Have a Clear Call to Action
The end goal of video marketing for SEO is to guide viewers toward a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for more information. You need to facilitate the conversion process, and one effective way to do this is by incorporating a definitive, compelling call to action (CTA) in your video.
Typically, CTAs are positioned toward the end of the video, guiding viewers on the next exact steps to take after engaging with your content.
Whether you’re prompting them to visit your website, subscribe to your channel or take advantage of a special offer, your CTA should be concise, persuasive and relevant to the content they’ve just viewed.
16. Be Consistent in Your Posting Schedules
Embracing a consistent posting schedule can work wonders for your video marketing strategy. You’ve probably heard many YouTube creators pledge “New videos weekly,” and there’s a good reason for that. Viewers value consistency; they love knowing when they can expect new content from you.
Regular uploads signal to viewers that they can rely on you for steady, fresh content, which in turn helps foster a loyal and engaged community around your brand.
But here’s an idea to add an element of excitement that pleases viewers: Alongside your regular schedule, surprise your viewers occasionally with bonus content or special features.
17. Invest in Professional Video Production
Video production can be costly, but it’s one that can yield substantial returns when approached with willingness. With the help of professional video producers, you not only elevate the viewer’s experience but also enhance your brand’s credibility and appeal.
Consumers who lean toward video content are undoubtedly visually driven. Video streaming platforms like YouTube regard “Watch Time” as one of their chief metrics. You want to make a good first impression that lasts.
Why Invest in Professional Video Production Services
Let’s further look into the value of professional video production.
“Businesses need to nail their branding down before they start video content planning,” said Chris Clements, Thrive’s in-house videography expert.
“They need to have their brand voice and clarity in what they want their brand to look and feel like.”
Marketing firms offering professional video production services will start with your branding to get to know your brand inside out or assist in developing one if you’re starting from scratch.
Clements noted that working with a professional video production team can also help you identify and meet your goals, from brand awareness to more engagement or explaining a product or service.
Here’s a breakdown of the benefits of professional video production and marketing:
• Higher quality videos: Engaging a professional video production team ensures your content benefits from the highest standards in audio clarity, visual sharpness and seamless editing. This polish not only captivates viewers from the first frame but also keeps them hooked throughout your video. High-quality production can significantly reduce viewer drop-off rates as it makes the content more enjoyable and easier to watch.
• Promoted brand image: When your content is slick, well-produced and visually appealing, it casts your brand in a highly professional light. This meticulous attention to production quality suggests that your company values excellence and is committed to providing high-quality services or products.
• Creative storytelling: Professional videographers and editors have a knack for weaving together visuals, sound and narrative in a way that strikes a chord with your audience. By understanding the nuances of storytelling, they can transform your message into a compelling narrative that captures the imagination, evokes emotions and leaves a lasting impression.
• Access to technical expertise and tools: You can capitalize on technical skills and cutting-edge equipment. Whether it’s using drones for breathtaking aerial shots, employing advanced lighting techniques for perfect mood setting or utilizing sophisticated editing software for flawless post-production, these resources can elevate your video content to a level that’s difficult to achieve on your own.
• Strategic content distribution: Video marketers understand the landscape of online content distribution. They can help you navigate the complexities of different platforms, from social media to video streaming services, ensuring your content is optimized for each channel. Strategic marketing maximizes visibility, engagement and the overall effectiveness of your video marketing campaigns.
• Measurable results: Professionals employ tools and techniques to gather data on how viewers interact with your videos, providing insights into watch times, engagement rates and conversion metrics. This wealth of data is invaluable for refining your content strategy and planning future projects with a clear understanding of what resonates with your audience.
“Video is all about entertaining and providing value, and professional video production will usually hit those marks,” Clements added.
“An amateur videographer will just slap music together with video clips, but a professional will take the viewer on an experience.”
Want Exposure and Engagement for Your Videos?
Exposure and engagement are two things you win with proper video optimization and what Thrive’s video SEO services team is committed to giving you.
Thrive’s professional video SEO services ensure you cover every aspect of video marketing done, from conceptualization to optimization and post-production promotion, all while staying on-brand. Our top video and SEO services are:
• SEO (including SEO for video content)
• Local SEO
• Franchise SEO
• Enterprise SEO
• Search engine marketing (SEM)
• Video production
• Drone video and photography
• Video testimonial production
“At Thrive, we practice what we preach,” said Tristan Harris, Thrive’s Demand Generation manager and SEO expert.
“We rank highly for very competitive marketing and SEO keywords, such as marketing agency, SEO agency and digital marketing agency.”
How’s that so?
“We use effective strategies — the same strategies we use for our own clients,” Harris revealed.
Talk to our video SEO services team, and let’s get your videos up in search.
SEO Video Marketing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you have other questions about video marketing trends, or if you want more YouTube SEO tips, reach out to our team.
DOES FAKE VIDEO VIEWS AND ENGAGEMENT WORK ON YOUTUBE?
No. YouTube prohibits any artificial inflation of views, likes, comments or other metrics, whether through bots or by tricking unsuspecting viewers. Any content created just to incentivize viewers for their views, likes, comments and so on is not allowed.
IS IT BETTER TO HOST VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE THAN ON MY OWN WEBSITE?
It depends on your needs. YouTube, with its extensive user base, is excellent for amplifying exposure and engagement. Conversely, hosting videos on your own website could be advantageous for having total control of the viewer experience (without unrelated ads) and for retaining traffic on your site.
CAN A VIDEO SEO STRATEGY BE EFFECTIVE WITHOUT A LARGE BUDGET?
Yes, it’s all about maximizing your budget. Here are three tips for those with a tight budget.
1. Repurpose high-performing blogs and other content into videos.
2. Optimize for keywords; it’s virtually free to do so.
3. Answer your audience’s questions; informative videos can perform better than flashy, high-cost productions as viewers value content that answers their questions and solves their problems.
HOW WILL I KNOW IF MY BUSINESS NEEDS VIDEO SEO?
You need video SEO if you’re already engaged in video creation. Investing in video SEO is a logical next step to ensure your videos reach their intended audience. Also, if your videos have little to no views, you’re looking to foster visibility and engagement or competitors are ahead, it’s time to consider video SEO.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF VIDEO SEO MARKETING?
Short-form videos will continue to rule over video marketing trends. Short-form videos are primarily vertical; mobile phones are naturally used in that orientation. Given the ubiquity of mobile phones, Shorts, TikTok and Reels are poised for continued dominance.
