Boomba
Regular Member
- Sep 13, 2015
- 267
- 135
The most basic way to get ahead of the competition when ranking a YouTube video is no different than any other website, it all starts with your on-page optimization. It won't make a crap video special, but it can help rank a good video TREMENDOUSLY. This guide is mainly for beginners as experienced YouTubers should know all of this. (Yes, the title was there to get your attention!)
1. Title Optimization
You want the focus of the title to be on your KW (This begins with the file name of the video you upload to YT, it should be your KW), as well as descriptive to get the user’s attention. Longer titles tend to do better, with the KW you’re targeting at the front:
Notice how I searched for “best sneakers”, but only one of the top five videos has it? Google is smart enough to know that top = best in most cases, as well as sneakers = shoes.
2. Video Length
This one can’t be optimized if you’ve already made a video, but is close enough to the subject it should be mentioned. All of the top five videos are at least 5 minutes long, with the first one being closer to ten minutes. There are only a couple of shorter ones down the page. Make a longer video than your competition.
3. Description & Tags
I wanted to use a video besides the top one as an example because they are a massive channel and that helps a TON with ranking videos purely based on activity (views, ratings, comments) alone. However, they nailed the description for this video so why not.
The first thing to note is that it is a very lengthy (300 words) description. This allows them to add more RELEVANT keywords to the video as well as instantly beats videos with 2-3 line descriptions. Ideally you want to have your KW mentioned fairly early on (within 30 words) and up to 2-3 times depending on how long your description is. It should look natural. Notice how the red boxes correlate to the title as well as the tags used.
They also used secondary keywords (blue and green boxes) in the description and used them as tags which helps them rank for those as well.
It’s not just throwing keywords at the wall and seeing what sticks. It’s congruent with the content of the video.
(I’m using a Firefox extension called “Tags for Youtube” to see them in the description which saves a lot of time, however you can also right click ->view page source -> search for “keywords” to see them)
Seeing what tags your competition is using is a great way to see if they have optimized them AND if they have any you could use as well.
To me, on-page optimization is all about doing it better than everyone else. With the right keyword research, your competition won’t have it dialed in and it will be an easy way to rank right off the bat. At the very least, against better competition it ensures your video is as good as theirs (optimization wise) and you can focus more on the external ranking factors do the rest of the work.
1. Title Optimization
You want the focus of the title to be on your KW (This begins with the file name of the video you upload to YT, it should be your KW), as well as descriptive to get the user’s attention. Longer titles tend to do better, with the KW you’re targeting at the front:
Notice how I searched for “best sneakers”, but only one of the top five videos has it? Google is smart enough to know that top = best in most cases, as well as sneakers = shoes.
2. Video Length
This one can’t be optimized if you’ve already made a video, but is close enough to the subject it should be mentioned. All of the top five videos are at least 5 minutes long, with the first one being closer to ten minutes. There are only a couple of shorter ones down the page. Make a longer video than your competition.
3. Description & Tags
I wanted to use a video besides the top one as an example because they are a massive channel and that helps a TON with ranking videos purely based on activity (views, ratings, comments) alone. However, they nailed the description for this video so why not.
The first thing to note is that it is a very lengthy (300 words) description. This allows them to add more RELEVANT keywords to the video as well as instantly beats videos with 2-3 line descriptions. Ideally you want to have your KW mentioned fairly early on (within 30 words) and up to 2-3 times depending on how long your description is. It should look natural. Notice how the red boxes correlate to the title as well as the tags used.
They also used secondary keywords (blue and green boxes) in the description and used them as tags which helps them rank for those as well.
It’s not just throwing keywords at the wall and seeing what sticks. It’s congruent with the content of the video.
(I’m using a Firefox extension called “Tags for Youtube” to see them in the description which saves a lot of time, however you can also right click ->view page source -> search for “keywords” to see them)
Seeing what tags your competition is using is a great way to see if they have optimized them AND if they have any you could use as well.
To me, on-page optimization is all about doing it better than everyone else. With the right keyword research, your competition won’t have it dialed in and it will be an easy way to rank right off the bat. At the very least, against better competition it ensures your video is as good as theirs (optimization wise) and you can focus more on the external ranking factors do the rest of the work.
