If you want to get more views, you need to make it easy to find your videos. The best way to do this is to optimize your videos and channel and reap the benefits of SEO. In this article, I’ll give you a five-step process on how to optimize your videos that will make them easier to find on YouTube and Google, thereby increasing your views.
1. Give your channel a theme
Many channels that I evaluate do not have a theme. Even professionals who run a brick and mortar business have videos of their family barbecue and other random videos that have nothing to do with their business. There’s nothing wrong with showing what a big fish you caught, but people watch YouTube channels to find out more about the author. Don’t confuse people with videos that have nothing to do with your business. Make sure you have playlists of your videos set up that lead viewers through your sales process, and keep family videos on a personal channel.
2. Optimize your videos
YouTube videos follow exactly the same rules as other web pages. That’s because a YouTube video page IS a web page. Don’t assume your unique headline will be eye-catching. It’s not. Use keyword research to help you decide the best title for your videos. You want keyword-rich titles so YouTube’s search engine can find your video and know how to rank it. Do the same with your tags and your description. Video helps people determine the quality of your content, and text that describes your content helps YouTube and Google determine where to place your video.
3. Put your FULL YouTube URL in your description
That’s all. Put your full YouTube URL in your description. Make it the first thing you put in your description. Remember that this is http://www.youtube.com/channel name of your tube. If you don’t have the http:// it won’t be a real link, and you’ll miss out on the SEO juice it offers. If you want to direct people to your site, you can also put your website URL there instead of your YouTube channel.
4. Put a watermark on your video
Having a watermark on your video works wonders. Whether it’s a logo for your brand, your YouTube channel URL, or your website URL, not only does it make it nearly impossible for people to steal your video and claim it as their own, it also generates a ton of traffic back to your YouTube channel.
5. Make a good call to action
Not many people actually have a call to action on their videos and wonder why they don’t get many views. You should kindly encourage people to comment, subscribe and watch other videos. If not, you’ll just keep making videos and hoping they’ll find and watch them.
By following these 5 easy steps, you will be easier to find not only with search engines, but also with people looking for information.