Digital Marketing

Key Steps to Optimize your YouTube Presence

Aug 15, 2015

youtube-optimization-tips

It’s time to get your YouTube groove on. Why? Well, first of all because as search engines go it is second only to Google, and as sites go it is the third most visited. So, in case you had any doubts, yep this is where you want to be.  Did I mention that YouTube trends are showing up in the Google trends report? Think of the SEO opportunities.

1. Brand Your Channel

First step,  brand your channel…ok fine, the first step is make your channel and THEN brand it. Your vanity url should reflect your name (www.youtube.com/user/yourname). Your icon (or logo) should contrast the background so it stands out and can be easily read, and the banner image should be designed to reflect your brand.

When claiming a vanity url, you will need the following:

  • 500 or more subscribers
  • Channel is at least 30 days old
  • Channel has uploaded a photo for the channel icon
  • Channel has uploaded channel art

Getting the 500 or more subscribers could be challenging, especially if you are just starting out. However, you really want to get a vanity url because you will otherwise get some string of letters and numbers that will not be remembered by anyone and will do little for you for SEO.

2. Get the Right Keywords

AdWords keyword planner can help with this. Once you have established the right set of keywords, put them in your channel keywords. Next, use the description section to place keyword targeted content, include links to your site, facebook etc. Meta Data, titles and descriptions for your videos will help your rankings along.

3. Link your website to your YouTube account

4. Use High Definition

Upload in high definition when possible, as HD videos tend to rank higher than their low quality counterparts.

5. Optimize Closed Captions

So get this, captions are crawlable by search engines. How about that? What this means obviously is that now the content (at least the spoken part of the content) becomes relevant.  Videos with relevant keywords in their content will probably be seen as more relevant by the search engine, so keep that in mind when developing your content!

6. Be Memorable – Brand Yourself

It goes without saying that you should brand everything. All of your marketing materials from your website to your YouTube channel should be a cohesive brand, and each piece should support the rest. While this might not help you in rankings, it will help you overall and make you more memorable.