Video is a very popular medium to include on your website. Not too long ago, it was easier to get a video to rank in the SERPs than it was for a website. As of May 2019, more than 500 hours of video were being uploaded to YouTube every minute. With just under a million hours of videos being added every day, it’s no longer “easy” to rank yours. Optimizing your video properly will lead to your videos remaining ranked during algorithm changes, remained ranked for longer periods of time, and get ranked easier.
The first step is always finding your keywords. Finding the best keywords can make or break your video. You want to create videos around topics that people are actually look for online. Your video will not get views unless people can find it when they search.
After determining the keyword, you want to make sure to use it in the script. If you have a video talking about “video marketing”, then use the phrase “video marketing” in your video! YouTube and Google will listen to what you are using in your video.
Before uploading your video you should rename the file name with your keyword. If I was trying to get ranked for “video seo” then I would title my video something like video-seo.mp4.
The next thing you want to do when ranking your video is to input the proper title and description on YouTube. When you do this you are telling Google and YouTube exactly what your video is all about! The first part of your title is the most important, and you will want to make sure your keyword is in the title.
After you fill in the title and description, you need to put in some tags. You want to just put in your main keywords. Do not put in a ton of keywords. It will not help you rank for more keywords when you enter in more tags, and you may end up being penalized (or your video removed) if they feel you are spamming them.
The next thing you want to do is build your channel and use playlists. After uploading your video, put it in a playlist that is titled your keyword. The more subscribers and active users you get, the easier you can rank. The more your video is used in playlists the higher you will rank. Be sure to put them in your own playlists, that’s what I do!
Now you need to get social indicators. This are things like Facebook likes, Pinterest pins, Twitter shares, and more. The easiest way to do this is by sharing your video on your own social sites.
Your video may not “go viral,” but it can still be a very effective addition to your online presence.