5 Steps for Video SEO Optimization

What after creating a video? Many find themselves stuck on this stage, where they have created a video but don’t know how to garner more views. Uploading video on YouTube is the first thing most people do. And that’s great, because it is not only easy and free but also impacts your Google ranking. Let’s see how you can optimize your video’s SEO and make it popular throughout all platforms.

1. Keywords- Aren’t keywords only for written content? Not really! Keywords also work wonders in optimizing videos. Keywords tell people what your video is about. You can add relevant popular keywords in your video’s title, description, and tags. The right keywords can bring your video up not just on YouTube but even in the Google search results. Choose a keyword which would work well for both Google and other video-sites. For instance, if you search for “funny cat” on Google, the very first results are all YouTube videos. Not blogs or websites, just videos. Your video content also has to include keywords that are video-specific and will not drown in the sea of search results.

2. Title & Tags- You have to include popular keywords in your title but the title on the whole has to be unique. Try to include the keywords in the beginning of the title. Keywords-rich tags help categorize your video into relevant sections. Think from the customers’ perspective while adding tags. What would they be searching for? What keywords would they be typing in their search? Now incorporate those words into your tags. A catchy title and apt tags will automatically attract viewers and increase the views of the video. More the views, higher it will rank in search.

3. Description- It is extremely important to fill up the description, make the most of the space provided. The search engines don’t know what your video is about. They determine your video’s content through your description. Include relevant keywords here so that your video shows up when someone searches for a similar product or service. Posting transcript of the whole video can further optimize the video and rank it higher in the search.

4. Sitemap- If you want to move one step ahead from YouTube, embed the video on your own website and create a sitemap. This would let Google know that you have a video on your website, increasing its find ability. Submitting a sitemap to Google will make sure that your video URL appears on search pages. You’ll need to submit basic details like video title, description, duration, thumbnail etc., all the information that you would already have in hand.

5. Ratings- Search optimization also depends on ratings of your video. A video that has better ratings will appear higher on the search results. So, get started on it and ask your friends to rate your video too.