Video SEO Hacks and Tips To Skyrocket Your YouTube Rankings In 2023 [UPDATE]

YouTube, as you know, is a powerful video search engine for video content and not just a social media video platform.

(Source: Think With Google)

I Have Outlined Some Amazing YouTube SEO Hacks To Increase Ranking and Boost Your Organic Traffic Instantly In 2021

According to YouTube global, there are more than 2.7 billion logged-in users. WOW. That’s how many users YouTube has – which amounts to almost one-third of internet users. People watch YouTube videos on their mobiles more than they watch TV in Australia. This means there is a massive opportunity for brands, video creators, publishers, and advertisers to market on YouTube and reach a wide audience.

What If I Told You The Secret To Improving Your Ranking On YouTube and in Google Search Videos?

OK, what if I told you the secret of ranking your video on YouTube?

Just putting the right video in front of the right audience can do wonders for your brand or channel.

Okay, first, I would like to give you a bit of history. I started SEO a long time ago, I’ve been in the industry for more than 10 years now and can confidently say I am a veteran in this field.

Over the years, Google’s algorithm has changed and become much more complex. It’s no longer just about whether you are breaking Google’s rules but more about enhancing user experience. YouTube, unlike regular search, is a place where businesses can gain a competitive advantage over their adversaries. I have to come up with new strategies to keep my clients happy and to gain extra traffic through different mediums and channels.

So, here are my 3 key areas of advanced YOUTUBE SEO tactics:

• Keywords
• Content optimisation
• Engagement

Keyword research on YouTube

Having the video optimised for the right keyword will help viewers to discover your content – and also help search engines match the content with the search queries.

A video keyword research can help you discover new content opportunities while also aiding you in improving your SEO.

A quick and easy way to find the popular search terms for your content is to simply type the search term in YouTube and Google searches. The auto-complete feature in YouTube and Google search and the search related to the term or topic will help you to discover new content opportunities.

If you are looking to find more keywords, then you can use additional online tools that will provide keyword suggestions.

When choosing the keywords, always remember to pick the low-hanging fruits, You don’t need to aim for the most popular or obvious keywords since you will be competing with 1000’s of them. Its best to start with keywords that are low in competition and rank for them. An important tip here is YouTube does transcribe all your videos. So, include them in your actual video by mentioning the keyword when you’re talking. This way, you’re helping YouTube to form a contextual relevance of your content along with your keywords.

Points to remember:

• Use the auto-complete function to find popular keywords
• Perform a Google search for more keyword ideas
• Mention/say your keyword in your actual video

Content Optimisation

Content optimisation is an important part of ranking your video. Below are some key tips on content optimisation.

• Description

Do you have a well-written description? In many instances, when we look at the description, we see the same generic description or just a few short lines that do not really tell us much about the video. Over the last few years, we at Clixpert changed the descriptions of videos and we have seen dramatic improvements in ranking, CTR, and views. A log description helps you to provide additional context to your video. It’s just like when you optimise a blog or web page, the content length matters. So, by integrating relevant keywords in the description and making it interesting you will grab the user’s attention and make them want to watch your video. Don’t be afraid to add a strong call to action or an eye-catching offer if you’d like them to buy your product or service after watching the video.

• Time Stamp

Use time stamps to make your video better. When you’re uploading a long video adding time stamps helps your viewers to find exactly what they are looking for. This in turn will increase the chances of them coming back to your videos for quick reference. You can add time stamps in the description and share the time stamp URLs with your visitors. For best practices on using timestamps for videos, click here.

• Title & Keywords

Writing attractive titles will increase CTR. The most important part is writing an attractive, relevant title. So, be a bit more creative when writing titles than just including keywords in them. Look for keywords that are used frequently for your product or service and try to use them in your titles in a clever manner.

• Location

If you want the location to appear it is important to integrate your location in the video and choose the right location and category in the settings. For best results, create a Google My Business page, and once verified you can choose the location in the settings.

• Link Building

There is no rule on how many links you can include but make sure to at least give one internal link and one external link from the video. Share the video in all social media platforms and through your own website. Spend some time to get backlinks to your video.

• Hashtag

Always Hashtag the primary keywords as they will most likely be the search terms people will use to find your video.

• Add the Video to Your Web Site

Add the video to your website and choose the right thumbnail.  Integrate a video site map and structured data to the site. For more information, visit get your videos on Google.

• Add Tags

Use sensible and related tags that describe your product or service.

Engagement

Engagement is an important metric when it comes to YouTube or video SEO. It’s not just enough to count the number of views. Your videos need to be engaging with the viewers.

Here are some of the important metrics you need to pay attention to:

• Watch Time: This is the time your users are spending on our video.
• Like, comment & share: Measure the likes, comments, and share. Liking and sharing can skyrocket your views. Comments are user-generated rich content. It’s important to be social and reply to the comments.
• Subscribers: More users subscribing is an indication that the video is popular among users.
• CTR: The Click-through rate is an important indication for Google in terms of impressions and clicks. A higher CTR is better for SEO.

Conclusion

As I’ve said in the past, concentrating on short-term results is just a tactic used to try and please the client on a temporary basis. And that’s not what SEO is about. SEO is a long-term game and the same applies to Video [SEO] optimisation.

Don’t react to every small update or change. Just focus on making sure your viewers are happy. Come up with new and interesting video ideas. Working towards user experience is what will serve you well in the long term.

Occasionally, your ranking and your traffic will drop. Don’t freak out or stress about it. Instead, just keep focusing on users and create video content for users e.g. how-to videos, product benefits, customer reviews about the company and so on. Test out different video ideas, styles, and formats. According to Think with Google, 75% of auto shoppers say online videos have influenced their shopping habits and purchases. Learn from the best by looking at the most popular videos, analysing them, and figuring out what makes them work.

Finally, why not run a paid YouTube campaign, this will help you analysis and unlock important metrics that you can use while optimising your video for organic rankings.

So, do you stay updated on all the Google video algorithm changes? Let me know your thoughts and any new ideas that will help rank a video.

Speak to Clixpert Youtube SEO Specialist and ask us how we can help you rank the video on Youtube