1. How Videos Are Ranked
The most important factor for SEO is making sure you have good engagement! If your video sucks, it doesn't matter which SEO strategies you try.
A video will rank well based on these variables:
- High Retention (how long viewers watch your video)
- More comments and interaction on your video is valuable for your rankings.
- If someone subscribes to your channel during your video that is a big plus in the rankings!
- Shares
- Likes/Dislikes
- Gets Added to Playlists
If your video is very valuable or entertaining, it will naturally perform well in some of these categories.
2. Length of Videos
YouTube's algorithm is complex and tracks every statistic about your channel. One important metric is your video retention + length of your video.
The longer you can keep users engaged the higher you will rank for SEO.
For example: If users watch a 10 minute video, that will rank higher than if users watch a 2 minute video. If your video is 1 hour and people watch it, you get even more bonus points.
As long as your content is good it doesn't matter how long it is. Actually, if people are watching, longer is better.
3. Video Keywords
When researching your keywords you can hit two birds with one stone by ranking on YouTube and Google.
Certain phrases on Google display videos in the search results.
For example: If you search "fails" there will always be videos near the top.
This is because Google knows when you want to see a video and when you want to see an article.
So before deciding your keywords, check the video results on Google's first page. If your keyword shows videos you will potentially rank on Google and YouTube.
4. Video Description
YouTube and Google can't listen to your video (yet). So they heavily rely on every word you put in the transcript, title, description and so on.
The description is an important one here is what you should always include:
- Include your main keyword 3-4 times without being spammy. Make it sound natural.
- Include first keyword at the very beginning.
- Put your link or CTA at the top of the video to get the most clicks.
You could also put your entire transcript in the description. This will help you rank for long tail keywords and give YouTube a solid understanding of what your video is about.
5. Keyword Relevance
Picking random words for your title might work, but it's not the best method.
Instead you should use Google Keyword Planner and research the optimal keywords to include in your title.
With Google Keyword Planner you can check search volume for exact words or phrases along with the competition for that phrase.
The main premise is to get the highest search volume with the lowest competition.
Once you do keyword research, you should place those words in the description, title, keywords, video filename, transcription and outgoing links.