When hearing the term SEO, a lot of people think of Google. The reason for this is simple– Google is the most powerful search engine. For this reason, hundreds or even thousands of marketers utilize it for their marketing efforts.
However, just because Google is the largest and most popular search engine does not mean that you cannot use other search engines for your marketing effort. And while it is true that no search engine can match the size and reach of Google, there are some that can match its usefulness.
True enough, the other search engines on the internet are not as popular as Google. But by tapping into other search engines, you will be able to improve your search presence and conversions.
Also, search engines that are not as popular as google can fill particular roles. For instance, you can reach an audience that is not on Google if you do Bing SEO. This is partially why YouTubers buy YouTube views to capture their audience.
The bottom line is if you ignore other search engines, you are ignoring an audience base that you cannot reach on Google. This is especially true for a search engine for videos.
YouTube is the largest search engine for videos. The platform works like Google, with a search bar that people can use to look for video content. But since YouTube is its own search engine, it possesses its own SEO practices.
Moreover, YouTube SEO differs a little from regular SEO. For this reason, you may take a while before getting used to it.
Fortunately, there are tactics that you can use to help you gain visibility on the video-sharing platform.
The Best Tactics For Your YouTube SEO
Find the Right Keywords For Your Videos
The keywords that you need to use on YouTube are a little different from the keywords that show on search engines, such as Google and Bing. for instance, oftentimes, you will see YouTube keywords that begin with “how to.”
Brian Dean, an SEO expert who founded the Backlinko blog and YouTube channel, recommends that you use Google to search for various keywords in your niche. Check if any of those keywords will bring up video results. For example, if you search using the keywords “how to make Italian spaghetti,” you will see a ton of video results, and at least one of those is from YouTube.
Moreover, you can use tools like Ubersuggest to see the number of monthly searches that your chosen keywords get.
Ubersuggest is pretty easy to use. First, enter your keyword and then click “Search.” Next, click the “Keyword Ideas” option located at the left sidebar. Doing this will show the keyword results that you should review. Choose video keywords that have a few hundred monthly searches.
Optimize Your Video’s Title
You always optimize the titles of your blog posts. The same thing goes for YouTube. You need to include your focus keyword in your video title. In addition, your video title should tell people what problem your content will solve.
Optimize Your Video Tags
Tagging is one of the most useful features that YouTube has. It allows you to add relevant keywords that will help your video content acquire or buy more YouTube views.
One thing worth noting is that you need to use tags that are relevant to your topic. Besides, this is the right opportunity for you to use LSI keywords related to your focus keyword. While using tags is useful, it is important that you do not use too many. Around 10 to 12 tags should be enough.
Ask People to Leave A Comment After Watching Your Video
If your videos are getting a significant amount of comments, then YouTube will perceive your videos popular.
Similar to Google, which by the way, is the video platform’s parent company, YouTube prioritizes videos that are popular. In fact, comments are one of the metrics that it uses to find out what type of content people like the most. For this reason, it would be a good idea if you will end your videos with a question or a discussion that your viewers can talk about in the comment section.
Ask People to Subscribe
The number of subscribers a channel has is a big deal on YouTube. Your subscriber count is one of the factors that YouTube’s algorithm use to rank your videos.
True enough, linking or commenting on video content is a one-time action. However, if you get people to subscribe to your YouTube channel, that means that they will see your content on a regular basis.
For YouTube, your subscriber count is a huge factor that reflects the value that you provide.
A lot of YouTubers ask their viewers to like, comment, as well as subscribe all at once, But if you are going to prioritize one of those metrics, then you should focus on encouraging subscriptions.
Improve Your Production Value
Just like regular SEO best practices, YouTube SEO requires a huge quality component.
SEO is essentially user optimization. For this reason, it is important that you increase the quality of your videos if you want your viewers to stay on your YouTube channel. In addition, increasing your videos’ quality will increase search performance.
But that does not mean that you need a professional-level studio setup. You can use smartphones that have excellent cameras and video recording capability. It will also be better to invest in a mobile phone tripod to ensure that your videos are not shaky.
Create An Attention-grabbing Thumbnail
Apart from your subscribers and your videos’ comments, your thumbnail has a huge impact on your SEO.
When you have a good thumbnail, you will get more clicks. And that means better SEO. For this reason, make sure that your thumbnail is standing out against your competitors. Besides, it should be able to tell your viewers what your video is all about.
A lot of audiences will click on a video just from looking at its thumbnail. So, make sure that your thumbnail will catch your audience’s attention.