Five Easy Ways To Optimize Your Youtube SEO	1.0/5.0 (1 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
Sean Houser June 20, 2017

What is ruling the internet this 2017? Cats and videos, of course. If you are not aware of the videogeddon, then you have probably been living under the proverbial rock. Let us help you catch up on the latest updates from the world of video marketing and SEO.

• Video in email increases your potential CTR to a whopping 200%.
• Including one in your landing page can get you up to 80% increase in conversion rate.
• 64% of your viewers are more likely to buy a product from you after watching a video.
• 2017 has seen a 100% rise of YouTube users.

YouTubeand Vimeo are two of the most popular video platforms any marketer should capitalize. 87% of all online marketers are already using video content. 96% of B2B sellers are using video as well. Content is not restricted to black and white. The newer generation of internet users does not have the patience for endless content. No content strategy is now complete without its share of video content.

There are millions of video clips pouring in from all directions every month. With the rise of video as a mainstream content format, marketers should be aware of the ways to better optimize them for SEO. According to Minneapolis SEO, having a YouTube channel is not enough to get you on the popularity list. You need to know how to optimize your video content for the search engine as well. Age-old SEO tricks do not work anymore, thanks to Google's forever-evolving algorithms and change in content format.

Here are five optimization tips for YouTube search you can use –

i.  Give a relevant, interesting title

Were it not for the title; you would not have found this post or given it a read. It is very similar to video content as well. We always judge a post by its title, no matter what platform we are on. This means you need to be extra careful while giving the title. Make sure there are no spelling errors or grammatical errors. Verify that the title is relevant to the post. 

Your video should have the keyword in the title. Our research shows that videos with the exact keyword match have a distinct advantage over those that do not. The relationship between ranking and keyword rich titles is currently, unexplored, at best. However, you should try limiting your title to 60 characters and include the keyword for better ranking and CTR.

ii.  Include a description

The official upper limit for descriptions is 1000 characters on YouTube. While you can use all that space, you must also remember that your viewers are here to watch your story, not read it.

Make sure your YouTube snippet shows 100 to 120 characters. Include a “show more” option for those who want to see the full description. Front loading the description is significant just like CTAs.

You can add a transcript for the video as well. This is ideal for those who will be watching without volume.

iii.  Add relevant tags

Just like a private blog, videos on YouTube should also have tags. That is how your user can find more videos on the same channel using the same tag. 

Using a tag is also a wonderful way to inform YouTube and search engines about the content of your video. YouTube can associate your video with other videos with a similar theme.

iv.  Categorize your content

Once you are done with the uploading process, it is time for adding the final polish. Under “advanced settings," you can add your video to a particular category.

In fact, the marketers go through an elaborate process to just determine which video goes into what category.

While adding to a particular category, ask the following questions –

• Who are the top contributors of this category?
• Do the videos in your target categories share the same qualities?
• Who are the target audiences?

v.  Add a thumbnail

This may sound excessive to some, but consider browsing YouTube from a mobile device. 90% of the top rated videos on YouTube have a featured thumbnail.

Start with JPG images of 1280 x 720 pixels and 16:9 ratio. You can use BMP, PNG, and GIF format files for your video thumbnail as well.

To upload a thumbnail image, verify your YouTube account.

Subtitles and closed captions are necessary if you are posting in a native language and you want to reach out to a global audience. Using cards and end screens are great options to add a CTA on your videos. These may sound too complicated for a 2 minutes video you are looking to post on YouTube. However, always remember, that 2 minutes video can change the future of your company if you can optimize it for viewing on YouTube.