Matthew Widdop
Matty is a Junior SEO Executive at Intelligency, helping our clients to improve their digital performance. Matty is currently studying for his Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer apprenticeship and has completed a Sport Journalism Degree at the University of Huddersfield.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a well known strategy of optimising a website’s content to improve visibility on search engines like Google. However, other platforms such as YouTube, Instagram etc. have their own algorithms for ranking content, therefore we can also apply variations of SEO to these platforms in order to improve rankings and boost visibility. In this article, we will discuss the different ways you can boost your YouTube SEO including:
- Why is YouTube SEO important?
- YouTube SEO Best Practices
Why is YouTube SEO important?
YouTube is the second largest search engine globally, behind Google, which means it is important for any business to be competitive on YouTube for visibility. In a highly saturated and competitive online market, it is important that businesses take all the steps they can to stand out from their competitors.
Higher rankings means more views and subcribers, by following SEO best practices, it will give users an advantage over those who aren’t optimising for search engines.
YouTube SEO Best Practices?
When looking at SEO best practices on YouTube there are a number of similarities to Google, however, there are also some differences as well.
Keywords
Keywords are a fundamental part of any SEO strategy. When looking at keywords, we need to make sure we use both primary and secondary keywords throughout the content to let YouTube know what the content is about. Make sure to avoid keyword stuffing, overloading the keyword, make sure to use keywords as naturally as possible within the content. Keywords should be included in:
- Video
- Transcript
- Title
- Description
- Playlists
- Categories
- Timestamp
- Thumbnail
Titles & Descriptions
On Google title tags are a ranking factor, whereas meta descriptions are not, however they can still help with improving performance by improving CTR. However, on YouTube both titles and descriptions are considered ranking factors. Video titles on YouTube can be up too 100 characters long but it is recommended that they are kept between 60-70 characters so they are still visible on all devices. Descriptions should incorporate keywords to let the audience, search engines and YouTube fully understand what the content of the video is about.
Thumbnails
Thumbnails are a ranking factor on YouTube as the algorithm analyses them to see how relevant and visually appealing they are to audiences. Make sure your thumbnails use colours that capture the attention of users, as well as visually appealing graphics using keywords if applicable. Also make sure you use alt text on your video thumbnails, as you would on your webpage images to be accessible for impaired users.
Accessibility
Accessibility is crucial for any SEO strategy as it helps users with disabilities access content. YouTube automatically generates video transcripts in order to help impaired users access content. Transcripts are a ranking factor on YouTube, so it is advised that you edit and update your transcripts to make sure they are accurate, this can help boost your ranking on the platform.
Timestamps are also important accessibility features as they show users what the different areas of your video covered. This is important as it helps people who are wanting to find out certain information but may not want to watch the whole video. You can also add keywords to help YouTube further understand what your content is about.
Playlists
Playlists are a collection of videos on a channel, created by you, the user, to help YouTube understand how videos are connected based on a specific theme or topic. Playlists can help search engines understand what a video is about and can also help boost rankings of videos if they include the correct keyword for a user’s search. To improve rankings, make sure to add your videos to thematic or topical playlists.
Cannibalisation
Cannibalisation does not affect videos on YouTube as it does on Google. On Google, if you have two webpages trying to rank for the same keyword, Google doesn’t know which one to rank and this can negatively affect the rankings of both pages. However, on YouTube the same issue doesn’t exist and it has no problem ranking two of your videos for the same keywords. So don’t be afraid to create more similar content on a relevant topic if you think you can attract a larger audience.
Refreshing Old Content
YouTube tends to favour fresh and relevant content when it comes to its rankings but that doesn’t mean your old content can’t still rank. Try updating your titles, descriptions, thumbnails etc to see if your video has a boost in performance.
