YouTube presents video content in a social setting, giving you valuable marketing opportunities. Learning how to create and publish videos on YouTube requires a minimum level of expertise, but harnessing the power of videos requires SEO skills that differ from the skills necessary for traditional SEO.
Why Use Video?
Video adds interactive and visual elements to your Web presence. Some people would rather watch a video than read an article while other appreciate the variety. Either way, your video content gives you another channel for reaching your target market.
Using YouTube as a video platform makes sense because it offers the necessary infrastructure to host a seemingly unlimited number of videos while providing performance metrics. The YouTube user base also makes the site attractive. The presence of millions of site users ensures that you can reach your intended audience there.
Adding Text
Without text, YouTube cannot categorize your videos, and potential viewers cannot find them. Every video can include a title, a text description, and tags, so use these elements wisely. Make sure you carefully choose relevant keywords and incorporate them everywhere you can add text. When you have content that pertains to a particular brand, include that name in the mix.
YouTube uses a metric called watch time to prioritize videos. When people find a video that interests them and meets their needs, they will likely watch more of it than they would if they discovered the video had no relevance to them.
Do not dilute your keywords or your brand, because connecting your content with people who need it will increase the watch time of your videos, giving them and your channel increased authority on the site.
Closed Captioning
Many video publishers fail to recognize the SEO value of closed captioning, and altogether ignore it. Closed captioning gives you an additional method of associating text with your video. As a transcript of your content, your closed captioning helps you communicate with people in settings where they cannot watch or listen to your content. The improved accessibility of closed-captioned videos earns a higher value on YouTube, giving them improved visibility in search results.
Embed Video
Although some people directly search YouTube for desired content, the size of the site can make popular videos get lost. Let your video SEO effort piggyback on your website SEO strategy by embedding video content directly into your pages and posts. When you do, make sure you create an updated sitemap, so the search engine bots learn that your website contains video content. The sitemap will help people discover your videos and boost your page rank.
Call to Act
Avoid strong sales pitches and spammy behavior in your video content. Your videos should add value to the community, so make sure they can help the people in your target audience. Still you expend much time and effort producing your video content, so make it work for you.
Gently help viewers understand their problems and needs. Assist them by showing them how your products and services meet their needs. Also, always add a clear call to action (CTA). Whether you want people to register on your site or make an immediate purchase, tell them what you want them to do. If you don’t, your YouTube channel will become a reference library that never converts sales for your business.
Source: SoloSEO