YouTube has become one of the world’s most powerful and influential websites with 30 million daily users and 24 hours’ worth of content uploaded each day. According to research, people come to the site to be entertained and to gain information.
It is important that you consider YouTube as just as important as Google. Creating compelling videos that will generate leads is an effective way to boost your sales and revenue.
YouTube, being the second largest search engine after Google, should be a primary part of your top priorities this 2022. This is just as important as building your WordPress SEO, perhaps even more so.
YouTube SEO: 2022’s Starter Guide to Ranking
- Visualize Your Target Niche Viewer
Before you start creating your storyboard for your videos, you must be able to answer the question, who is this video for? Creating a persona of your target market may be a classic practice but there is a reason why it is still effective. Being able to visualize your target gives you a clear idea of the important elements that your video must contain.
Does your target viewer appreciate GIFs? Do they like subtitles? What tone of voice resonates most with them?
Regardless of whether you are creating YouTube videos or starting your own blog, creating a visual representation of your target niche gives you a clearer picture of what kind of content you must develop and deliver.
- Find and Incorporate Keywords
Once you’ve identified your target viewer and the video that will most likely connect with them, you now need to identify keywords that will further define your video. This is also key in order for YouTube to recognize your video through its search engine algorithm.
Keywords are vital in various aspects of digital marketing. If you know what a sales funnel is, you probably know it also requires keywords for targeted marketing.
One of the easiest ways to identify the search terms you should use is to use YouTube’s own search bar. For example, if you are posting a video about the benefits of eating vegetables, then you may type “benefits of vegetables” and see the recommendations that drop down from the search bar. These recommendations can become your keywords.
- Make the Most of Your Title
It is the first thing that viewers read on the search results. It is important that your title quickly sends a message of “I am what you are looking for.”
Some of the best titles:
- Contain your primary keyword, preferably placed at the beginning of your title.
- Must be around five to seven words long. Not too short to be vague, and not too long to be dragging
- Must be fun and engaging
For example, a video about small business ideas could have a title like Best Small Business Ideas to Try this 2022.
- Make a Showstopper Thumbnail
Just like the title, the thumbnail is what really sets you apart in the sea of YouTube videos. An engaging thumbnail can pique the curiosity of the viewers and encourage them to click the video.
Luckily, there are many thumbnail editors online. You may also bust your skills at Photoshop. It is important that your thumbnail design still connects with your target viewer.
A good practice is to see how the competition’s thumbnails look like. Type in your primary keyword in the YouTube search bar and observe the thumbnails of the videos that pop up. Is there a common color denominator? Do they usually use Sans Serif fonts? What kind of photos do they use?
For example, if you are posting a screencast product tutorial video as part of your content marketing strategy, you may notice that the colour blue is most often used. Block text fonts are also common.
With these in mind, you may go with a different approach to the blue and block letters by playing around with different design techniques. It appears that blue is a color that works with the specific target niche.
You may also decide to go bold and have a yellow color and black block texts. In the mass of thumbnails, yours will be the first that the viewers notice.
- Complete Your Captions
Most videos have incomplete to empty captions. Captions are an important part of YouTube SEO and increase views by 7.32% according to Discovery Digital Networks.
The caption section or the description box is not just there for you to cite your music sources in order to adhere to copyright rules. Ignoring the description box is a missed opportunity as that space is free rein to type in almost anything that you want.
Reiterate important points that are stated in the video. Add links to featured products. Cite your details, beginning with your contact details and links to your social media channels. Increase your engagement and show the viewer how much you care about their opinion by adding a link to a survey that you made about the video.
- Encourage Viewers to Engage and Subscribe
The CTA is not just an important part of your website. Use a CTA on YouTube as well. Instead of a button, tell the viewers to comment and subscribe to your channel. Reiterate it in the description box.
YouTube has a scarily accurate auto-transcription function. By actually saying your CTA, the viewers do not just hear you tell them what to do; they read it at the bottom of the video as well. In addition to this, once they check out the description box, they read your CTA again. This is especially effective if you tell them to check out the description box.
- Share on Social Media
Facebook is the most popular social media site in the world, garnering 2.7 billion active users and counting. Social media is a true testament to the power of technology. Go beyond SEO and increase your reach by encouraging your users to share your video on social media.
Through social media, you have the capacity to reach a market beyond YouTube. You will be able to penetrate a market beyond the ones typing in the search bar.
Leverage the power of YouTube Videos
The brain processes information twice as fast through visuals than through text. Making the most of the YouTube SEO algorithm ensures a greater chance of generating leads and increasing customer engagement.
YouTube is a powerful platform that should not be ignored. If you don’t have the time or skill set to grow on YouTube hiring a freelance marketer can make a world of difference when it comes to actually get results.
With the proper tools and mindset, creating videos optimized not just for YouTube SEO but also for your potential consumers will be a rewarding experience. Not to mention, a great way to increase your company’s profitability.
