As recently as a decade ago, inbound marketing was a brand new idea. Marketers were learning that they couldn't just publish a high volume of content -- it also had to be loftier-quality and optimized in ways that made it as discoverable as possible through search engines.

That content was one time largely express to the written word. Today, that's no longer the example.

Today, a comprehensive content strategy includes written work like blogs and ebooks, as well as media like podcasts, visual assets, and videos.

That last part -- video -- continues to exist on the rising. According to the 2018 State of Inbound study, 45% of marketers are investing more in YouTube over the course of this year -- more than any other marketing aqueduct available to them.

→ Free Templates: How to Use YouTube for Business [Download Now]

And with the rise of other content formats comes the need to optimize them for search. One increasingly important place to do that is on YouTube, a video distribution website used by the masses -- HubSpot included.

But how does YouTube SEO work? What are the steps yous need to accept to optimize your YouTube aqueduct for search? Nosotros've outlined some major tips and tools below.

1. Rename your video file using a target keyword.

Just like you would when optimizing written content, you'll utilize an SEO tool to first identify keywords you'd similar your video to focus on (y'all can scan popular YouTube SEO tools below these tips, or just click that link earlier in this sentence).

With a keyword identified, the first place yous should put it is your video file -- before you even upload it to YouTube. Why? YouTube can't actually "watch" your video to run into how relevant it is to your target keyword, and as you lot'll learn in the tips below, there are only and then many places you can safely insert this keyword on your video's viewing page one time information technology's published. But, YouTube can read your video's file proper name and all the code that comes with it when it'southward uploaded.

With that in heed, supplant the "business_ad_003FINAL.mov" file proper name (don't exist embarrassed ... we've all been there during post-production) with your desired keyword. If your keyword is "firm painting tips," for instance, your video's file proper noun should be "firm-painting-tips" followed by your preferred video file type (MOV, MP4, and WMV are some of the most common that are compatible with YouTube).

two. Insert your keyword naturally in the video championship.

When we search for videos, i of the outset things that our eyes are drawn to is the title. That'southward oftentimes what determines whether or not the viewer will click to watch your video, then the championship should not but exist compelling, just too clear and curtailed.

Although your keyword plays a big part in your video title, it also helps if the title closely matches what the viewer is searching for. Research conducted by Backlinko plant that videos with an verbal keyword match in the title have just a slight advantage over those that don't. Hither's a linear representation of those findings:

exact-match-title.png
Source: Backlinko

So, while "using your target keyword in your championship may assist y'all rank for that term," report author Brian Dean explains, "the human relationship between keyword-rich video titles and rankings" isn't always a strong one. Nonetheless, it'due south a good idea to optimize your championship for this keyword so long as it fits naturally into a title that tells viewers exactly what they're about to run into.

Lastly, make sure to proceed your title fairly short -- HubSpot campaigns director Alicia Collins recommends limiting it to 60 characters to help go on it from getting cut off in results pages.

3. Optimize your video description.

Get-go things starting time: Co-ordinate to Google, the official graphic symbol limit for YouTube video descriptions is 1,000 characters. And while information technology's okay to use all of that space, remember that your viewer most likely came here to scout a video, non to read an essay.

If you lot practise choose to write a longer description, keep in mind that YouTube but displays the start 2 or iii lines of text -- that amounts to virtually 100 characters. After that point, viewers have to click "evidence more" to come across the full clarification. That's why we advise front-loading the description with the most important data, like CTAs or crucial links.

As for optimizing the video itself, it doesn't hurt to add a transcript of the video, especially for those who have to sentry it without volume. That said, Backlinko'south research besides found no correlation between descriptions that were optimized for a sure keyword and the rankings for that term.

keyword-in-description.png
Source: Backlinko

Dean is careful not to encourage ditching an optimized clarification altogether, though. "An optimized description helps you show upwards in the suggested videos sidebar," he writes, "which is a significant source of views for about channels."

4. Tag your video with popular keywords that relate to your topic.

YouTube's official Creator Academy suggests using tags to let viewers know what your video is about. But you lot're not simply informing your viewers -- you're also informing YouTube itself. Dean explains that the platform uses tags "to understand the content and context of your video."

That way, YouTube figures out how to associate your video with like videos, which tin can broaden your content'south accomplish. Merely choose your tags wisely. Don't employ an irrelevant tag because you think it'll get yous more than views -- in fact, Google might penalize y'all for that. And like to your description, pb with the most important keywords, including a good mix of those that are common and more long-tail (as in, those that answer a question similar "how do I?").

5. Categorize your video.

Once you upload a video, you can categorize it under "Advanced settings." Choosing a category is another mode to grouping your video with similar content on YouTube so it winds up in different playlists and gains exposure to more viewers who place with your audition.

It might not be as simple as it looks. In fact, YouTube'southward Creator Academy suggests marketers get through a comprehensive process to determine which category each video belongs in. It'due south helpful, the guide writes, "to think about what is working well for each category" you're considering by answering questions like:

  • Who are the top creators within the category? What are they known for and what do they exercise well?
  • Are in that location any patterns between the audiences of similar channels inside a given category?
  • Exercise the videos within a like category have share qualities like production value, length, or format?

6. Upload a custom thumbnail image for your video's result link.

Your video thumbnail is the main image viewers see when scrolling through a list of video results. Along with the video's title, that thumbnail sends a indicate to the viewer about the video'due south content, then it tin impact the number of clicks and views your video receives.

While yous tin can always pick one of the thumbnail options auto-generated by YouTube, we highly recommend uploading a custom thumbnail. The Creator Academy reports that "90% of the all-time performing videos on YouTube accept custom thumbnails," recommending the use of images that are 1280x720 pixels -- representing a 16:9 ratio -- that are saved as 2MB or smaller .jpg, .gif, .bmp, or .png files. If you lot follow those parameters, it can assist to ensure that your thumbnail appears with equally high quality beyond multiple viewing platforms.

It's important to notation that your YouTube account has to exist verified in order to upload a custom thumbnail image. To exercise that, visit youtube.com/verify and follow the instructions listed there.

7. Use an SRT File to add subtitles & closed captions.

Like much of the other text we've discussed here, subtitles and airtight captions can boost YouTube search optimization by highlighting of import keywords.

In order to add subtitles or closed captions to your video, you lot'll have to upload a supported text transcript or timed subtitles file. For the former, you can also directly enter transcript text for a video so that it auto-syncs with the video.

Adding subtitles follows a similar process, however, you tin limit the corporeality of text you want displayed. For either, head to your video manager so click on "Videos" under "Video Manager." Observe the video y'all desire to add together subtitles or closed captioning to, and click the drop-downwardly arrow next to the edit push. Then, cull "Subtitles/CC." Yous tin can then select how you'd similar to add subtitles or airtight captioning.

Find out how to add closed captions to your YouTube video in the video below.

eight. Add Cards and Terminate Screens to increase your YouTube channel's viewership.

Cards

When you lot're watching a video, have yous ever seen a small-scale white, circular icon with an "i" in the eye appear in the corner, or a translucent bar of text asking you to subscribe? Those are Cards, which Creator University describes as "preformatted notifications that appear on desktop and mobile which you can set up to promote your brand and other videos on your channel."

"i" icon to create End Cards in YouTube video
Source: Google

You can add up to five cards to a unmarried video, and there are six types:

  1. Channel cards that directly viewers to another channel.
  2. Donation cards to encourage fundraising on behalf of U.South. nonprofit organizations.
  3. Fan funding to ask your viewers to help support the creation of your video content.
  4. Link cards, which directly viewers to an external site, approved crowdfunding platform, or an canonical trade selling platform.
  5. Poll cards, which pose a question to viewers and let them to vote for a response.
  6. Video or playlist cards, which link to other YouTube content of this kind.

For detailed steps on adding a bill of fare to your video, follow these official steps from Google, or bank check out the video below.

Terminate Screens

Cease screens brandish similar data as cards, but every bit you lot may accept guessed, they don't display until a video is over, and are a bit more visually detailed in nature. A good instance is the overlay with a book image and a visual link to view more on the video below:

End screens displayed on a YouTube video
Source: Jamie Oliver on YouTube

At that place are a number of detailed instructions for adding end screens depending on what kind of platform you desire to design them for, as well as different types of content allowed for them by YouTube. Google outlines the details for how to optimize for all of those considerations here.

It'southward of import to note that YouTube is always testing end screens to try to optimize the viewer feel, so in that location are times when "your cease screen, as designated by you, may not announced." Take these factors into account as you lot determine between using either cards or terminate screens.

These factors may seem a chip complicated and fourth dimension-consuming, but remember: The fourth dimension people spend watching YouTube on their TV has more than doubled year over year. There's an audience to be discovered there, and when you optimize for YouTube, your chances of beingness discovered increase.

At present, most of the SEO tips above rely on you identifying a keyword and promoting your video correctly. And non all of those tips tin be carried out through YouTube solitary. To become the nigh bang for your videography buck, consider some of the tools below to optimize your video for search.

1. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer

ahrefs-keyword-explorer-youtube

Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO platform that allows you lot to monitor a website's ranking, estimate the organic traffic you'd get from each keyword, and research keywords for which you might want to create new content.

One popular feature of Ahrefs is Keywords Explorer, which allows you to look up numerous details related to a keyword you lot're interested in. And as you can encounter in the screenshot above, you can filter your keyword results past search engine -- including YouTube.

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer gives y'all a keyword's monthly search volume, how many clicks received by videos ranking for that keyword, related keywords, and more.

2. Canva

canva-youtube-thumbnail-designer

You might know Canva equally a design template for creating all kinds of cards, photos, logos, and more. It just then happens this popular production has a Thumbnail Creator just for YouTube videos.

As stated in the tips above, thumbnail images are disquisitional to promoting your content in YouTube search results and enticing users to click on your video. Using Canva's Thumbnail Creator, you tin can create the perfect preview image for your video in 1280 x 720 pixels -- the thumbnail dimensions YouTube requires.

three. HubSpot Content Strategy

hubspot-content-strategy-toolOur content strategy tool, developed here at HubSpot, allows y'all to find popular keywords for which to create content and then organize these keywords into groupings -- what we call "topic clusters." By sorting your content into topic clusters, you lot can oversee which pieces of content are related to ane another, which types of content you have planned, and what y'all've already created.

While the keywords yous discover in HubSpot reverberate their popularity in a standard Google search, many of these topics will also produce videos on Google's search engine results pages. In those cases, you tin create topic clusters that have both web log and YouTube content belonging to them.

Clustering your content -- and linking from videos to blog posts, and vice-versa -- can give you more than authority in the eyes of Google and YouTube, while giving you more ways to capture traffic from the people searching your topic.

4. vidIQ Vision

vidiq-vision-for-youtubeThis is a Chrome extension, available through Chrome's web shop in the link above, that helps you analyze how and why certain YouTube videos perform so well. This includes the tags a video has been optimized for, its average watch time, and even how rapidly that video might be gaining traffic.

The vidIQ tool and then provides an SEO "score" you can apply to create content that performs (or outperforms) the results you already run into on YouTube.

5. TubeBuddy

tubebuddy-youtube-seo-tool

TubeBuddy is an all-in-one video platform that helps you manage the product, optimization, and promotion of your YouTube content. Its features include an automatic linguistic communication translator (which helps y'all rank for non-English keywords), a keyword explorer, tag suggestions, a rank tracker for your published videos, and more than.

6. Cyfe

cyfe-web-analytics-tool

Cyfe is a large software suite that offers, among other things, a spider web analytics platform. On this platform, y'all can track folio performance beyond every website property you take content on -- including YouTube -- and where each folio'due south traffic is coming from.

In addition to traffic analytics, Cyfe can evidence you which keywords yous're ranking for and which ones are most popular across various search engines. Sounds a lot similar Google Analytics or Moz, correct? That's considering Cyfe has data from both of those tools, and more, built into it.

No thing what SEO tip or tool you lot offset with, a successful YouTube aqueduct begins with skillful content. Brand certain your viewers accept something loftier-quality and relevant to watch when they discover yous. Desire footstep-by-step help? Download our free guide on YouTube for Business below.

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Originally published Nov 2, 2020 11:12:00 AM, updated Baronial 27 2021