Youtube is an influential platform for bloggers (or vloggers), freelancers and businesses to gain more fans and business.

Creating videos is very similar to posting a blog on your website for SEO. Since Google owns Youtube, videos on this authority site rank well. There is also a higher chance that a single content in your Youtube account will rank higher than your website, especially when it has not been optimized yet.

What makes Youtube a great platform to bring in an additional stream of traffic is its number of users. It is the second largest search engine used today. Moreover, optimization guidelines for Google and Youtube are very similar and optimizing your videos for Google will automatically rank on Youtube as well.

To shed some light on the necessary steps to take, follow these tips below:

Step 1: Create Relevant and Informative Content

Youtube did not become the second largest search engine today for nothing. Users in this site seek content that will help them learn new skills, solve problems and entertain themselves. Focusing on these three factors accordingly will help you receive more stream of views and followers.

Aside from the three factors mentioned above, some metrics play a substantial role as well. These are the following:

• Number of likes
• Number of comments
• Total time of engagement (total time users spend watching your video)
• Number of shares on social media
• Number of times a video is embedded on other sites

There is no official guidance released by Youtube as to how long your videos should be to rank well. However, the added (5) metrics mentioned above should guide you in creating better and more engaging videos to satisfy Youtube’s algorithm.

Step 2: Do Keyword Research

Before uploading your video content, you must prepare for the title and description by researching for keywords. You can do this by finding a keyword to target based on the content of your video. Looking for multiple long-tail keywords is also a good practice as it will draw more traffic as you rank for more than one term for a single content.

Once a primary keyword phrase is decided, you need to create a list of secondary keywords and construct a title and description for your content. This list will serve a purpose later on.

Step 3: Utilize Keywords Properly

Based on the primary keyword and the list of secondary keywords you came up with, you need to construct a video title and weave as many keywords as possible. But you have to make sure that the title will make sense. If you build a spammy title, your video is less likely going to rank.

After working on the title, it is now time to work on your video description box. This space should include all your secondary keywords, strategically woven into one or two well-written paragraphs. Again, avoid constructing a description that looks spammy.

Do not forget about your video tags. You can copy and paste your primary and secondary list of keywords directly.

Step 4: Customize Your Thumbnails

Customizing your thumbnails do not directly help you rank better. But it does affect user engagement. Adding a thumbnail to your video that resonates with the viewers can impact your click-through rate drastically. In return, it will drive up your rankings.

Try to create a customized thumbnail that will stand out against the white and blue background of Google. Use bold colors such as orange, red and green to stand out and contrast the thumbnail from the page background.

Step 5: Boost Your Relevance

Just like Google, Youtube also wants to deliver the best possible results for every user query. For your channel or videos to fit the criteria, you must first be relevant. Remember the five metrics mentioned earlier – you have to work around these to become relevant.

Aside from keyword research and great content, you can use many social media platforms. That will not just drive up your visibility on Google; it can also help you target the five metrics stated above in step 1.

Here are three social media tips for your upper hand.

• Synchronize your Youtube account with your social media accounts. That way, your recently posted video can automatically appear on other platforms without the need to upload the content one by one.
• If you are actively engaging in forums, Facebook groups or other social media signals relevant to your niche, these are excellent networks to share your crafts with.
• You can also connect with social media marketers to find social signals. Fiverr is a safe place to begin searching for one.

As you continue to engage on forums and social media groups, always remember to link back to your videos whenever you can. The more relevant links you can get, the better your videos will rank over time. You may also plug your Youtube videos into your blogs and transcribe its content. That is an off-page optimization technique you can apply to help boost your ranking.