If you're looking to conquer the world's second-largest visited site on the web, you've come to the right place. At Zero Gravity Marketing (ZGM), our YouTube Video SEO Experts can help you integrate YouTube Video Search Engine Optimization (SEO) into your digital marketing strategy so you can gain access to a whole new audience of potential customers and SEO tactics to surpass your competition.

What is YouTube SEO, and Why Are YouTube Video SEO Services Important?

Creating a YouTube video can be easy but creating one that people click on and watch is a whole other story. With YouTube SEO and optimization, your company can gain more views, likes, comments, subscribers, and even increase website traffic, leads, online sales, and more. We believe in a strategic approach, an effective SEO strategy should include more than just Google and Bing. With our proven experience and team of YouTube SEO experts, we can optimize YouTube videos and their content so you can see results right away and without the hassle of having to manage a YouTube account yourself. Learn more about our YouTube SEO Services by contacting us today!

How to Optimize Video SEO for YouTube

YouTube Keyword Research

While YouTube is similar to Google in that it's a search engine, the SEO strategy shouldn't be treated quite the same - the same can be said for keyword research. Keywords are an important part of SEO and content optimization but optimizing for YouTube is a little bit different. For one, it's a different search engine, and the algorithm which decides what videos rank highly is also different. Our YouTube video SEO experts will help you put together a list of keywords that's separate from the one you would use for Google. We will then create a strategy for the placement of these target keywords by putting them in your video titles, video tags, and the video description. By optimizing with these keywords from your list, it will help you to climb the ranks and reach your keyword goals.

YouTube Channel Graphics

The click-through rate (CTR) of your YouTube videos has a lot to do with the thumbnail (cover photo of your video) you choose. So, it's important to make sure it's something engaging and intriguing enough to make a user want to click on it. Our SEO team will make sure your thumbnail image is not only optimized but that your channel banner, branded watermark, and channel icon are as well.

Channel and Video Tags & Titles

When you post a video, you first want to make sure you give it a title that not only includes your target keyword but encourages users to watch and/or click on your YouTube video. You also have the option to add video tags that help users find you (similar to Instagram hashtags). By optimizing your YouTube video tags with phrases and keywords you want to rank for, people will be able to find your video. For example, if you post a video about how to paint a room, you would want your tags to look like this: "interior painting," "painting tips," "painting walls," and "how to paint a room fast." If this sounds overwhelming, don't worry - our team of YouTube SEO experts are here to help.

Description Optimization

Optimizing your video descriptions is just as important as optimizing your video titles. Our approach will ensure your descriptions are the perfect length and include your target keywords. Our SEO strategists will make sure all the small details are taken care of, like including your keyword in the first 48 characters of your description. While YouTube allows up to 5,000 characters in your video description, only the first three lines are visible within the search results. Ensuring a cascading effect with your target keywords from the title to the description of your video is important for ranking. Additionally, these descriptions appear next to your video's thumbnail, where users are assessing whether or not to click your video or your competitors.

Community & Social Engagement

Once you've posted your YouTube video, your job is not done. It's just as important to engage, communicate, and socialize with the audience within your subscriber list and with people who watch your videos to show your interest in the industry and your products and/or services. As part of our Video YouTube SEO services, we will work with you to engage with others in your niche on the YouTube platform.

Renaming Your Video File

When you have your video file ready to upload, the first step is to give it a YouTube SEO-friendly name. This means using keywords that accurately describe your video in the file name.

For example, let's say you have a file on making the perfect green smoothie, and you're wondering how to optimize your YouTube video. A good file name would be "how-to-make-a-perfect-green-smoothie.mp4," including dashes between the words (called "kebab case") and using the right file extension.

Categorize Your Video

After you've uploaded your video, you will be asked to categorize it as part of the YouTube SEO services. There are various options to choose from that help the site understand what your video is about. The most important category for optimization purposes is "Topics," where you can select up to five relevant topics for your video. This will help YouTube understand what keywords to associate with your video to ensure it appears in the right searches.

YouTube Graphics

Your video thumbnail is the first thing people see when your video appears in their YouTube feed, so you want to ensure it's eye-catching and relevant. You can choose any frame from your video to be your thumbnail, but selecting the right one can make all the difference. You'll want 1280x720 pixels for the highest quality, representing a 16:9 ratio saved 2M or smaller. This is one of the most underrated tips to rank on YouTube.

Use SRT File to Elevate Your Video Transcript

While having a video transcript is not technically an optimization method, it can help YouTube understand your video's content and is an excellent technique for increasing YouTube views. You can create a transcript of your video using a service like Rev.com or generate one automatically with YouTube's captions feature.

Once you have your transcript, you can upload it as a "SubRip Subtitle" or .srt file. This plain text file includes timestamps for when each line of dialogue appears in the video. You can upload your .srt file in your video manager's "Subtitles and CC" tab.

Adding Cards and End Screens

Cards are a type of annotation you can add to your videos to encourage viewers to take action. They appear as clickable links on the video's right side during playback. You can use cards to promote other videos, encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel, or link to an external site. End screens are similar to cards and are one of the best YouTube tools. They appear at the end of your video instead of during playback and can promote other videos, playlists, or channels on YouTube or link to an external site. You can add up to four elements to your end screen, and they will appear in order of importance.

Leave a Pinned Comment On Your Video

YouTube gives the first comment on your video special treatment. It appears above all other comments and can be "pinned" to the top of the comments section. You can use this to your advantage by commenting on your own video that includes a link to your website or another video. This can be a great technique if you're asking how to double your Youtube views.

YouTube Benefits for Digital Marketing

With videos proven to be the most engaging form of content, companies are looking at YouTube now more than ever to watch, retain, and share video content with their audience. As the second biggest search engine in the world, YouTube has the power to reach more people than if you were to post the video on your own website. But why YouTube, and why invest in building out a YouTube brand channel for your business? The benefits that YouTube SEO Services provide can actually help you rank higher in Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). With strategies like link building, video transcription, a social media presence, and more, creating YouTube videos can benefit your brand in a variety of ways. Our SEO strategists will put together a well-rounded YouTube SEO strategy that can help people find your company easier, capture and grow your audience, show your expertise in your craft, promote services, products, and events, and create engagement for your brand. The YouTube benefits for your company truly are profound.

The ZGM Approach to YouTube Video SEO Services

Are you uploading videos to YouTube but not seeing any results? Our team of YouTube experts will work with you to first create a YouTube channel if you don't have one and then to optimize it to get more views, leads, and visits to your website. This includes doing keyword, channel, and video tag research, video uploads and optimization, channel graphic creation (thumbnails, banner image, branded watermark, channel icon), and monitoring of your YouTube analytics. We will also provide you with monthly reports so you can see your progress, and we'll give insights and strategic recommendations for how to improve and pivot your current approach. If you need help with video production, we are happy to help you with that as well. Please visit our page on our video production services for more information.

Other SEO Services:

Natural SEO
Local SEO
Google My Business

Frequently Asked YouTube SEO Questions

A YouTube brand account is an account for your company or business associated with your channel. This differs from a personal Google account in that it allows multiple people to manage your account. This mitigates the need for multiple usernames, passwords, and accounts (because we know how many times you've had to reset your password).

  1. Start by logging into your YouTube Brand Account.
  2. Go to the homepage of your channel.
  3. Go to YouTube Studio Section, and then you'll come to your YouTube Studio Channel dashboard.
  4. From there, go to your playlist section, and it will open a new window of your current playlists (both hidden and live).
  5. At the very top, next to "Search Playlists," there's a button that says New Playlist.
  6. Click New Playlist and enter in your desired title.
  7. At your discretion, set to Public, Unlisted, or Private.
  8. Hit Create.
  9. Upload desired videos to that Playlist.

Tip: There are a couple different ways to create a playlist. We suggest playing around with the creation process to find your preferred method.

Before your brand is able to monetize your YouTube channel, there are some preliminary requirements that need to be taken into consideration. To be able to monetize your channel you will first need to have the following:

  • 1,000 Subscribers
  • 4,000 hours of Watch Time
  • Follow all the YouTube policies and guidelines
  • Have a Google Adsense account (or have your channel be linked to one)

While having the prior requirements is the first step to monetizing your channel, you then need to apply to the YouTube Partner Program. YouTube will then review your channel and assess whether your account is eligible for monetization (wait times do vary).

Choose Zero Gravity Marketing for YouTube SEO Services

Simply put, we're results driven and transparent with our clients. Each and every one of our YouTube SEO experts and digital marketers is passionate about what they do and who they do it for. We're relentless in our pursuit to properly articulate and convey your brand or organization's vision to your desired target market audience.

Zero Gravity Marketing focuses on all facets of digital marketing to create a synergistic and all-encompassing strategy specifically designed and tailored to individual client needs. Be sure to check out all of our digital marketing solutions.

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