Optimising Videos for YouTube

Video is an incredible medium by which to grab your audience’s attention, to captivate, to teach, to entertain. There are billions of videos on YouTube alone, and more are added each second.  Content is king, and while text is important, video can help you reach people you may not reach otherwise. It can help you direct people to your site and additional information.  Video is also very shareable, and with social media, you can find a potentially large audience. Here are some tips for optimising video and getting maximum results.

There is any number of ways to optimise video, including seeding, titles, and other techniques.  We’re going to look at some ways you can use metadata to enhance your VSEO.

Titles: This is not only a huge factor in how your site is going to be indexed and ranked by search engines, it is going to entice – or not – people from clicking on the video. As with the title for text content, your video title has to explain what the video is about while making it inviting. Because videos are so suitable for sharing, it is important that you incorporate your brand. If you do not have large brand recognition, you may want to put a compelling title first, followed by your brand name.

Description: This is your chance to explain yourself a bit more. You have up to 5,000 characters to describe the content and purpose of your video, as well as add information like the link to your website or social media profile. The beginning is the most crucial part because YouTube will cut you off after a few lines. Make them want to click “Show More.”

Your description doesn’t have to be wildly funny or unlike anything ever written before. It does need to cater to your audience however. What are they looking for? Those searching for information and how-to’s, for instance, will respond to very clear, concise information that tells them if this video has what they need.

Categories: These are helpful in a similar way. How-To, Gaming, Autos, etc. This gives people the additional information they need and can help you appear in more relevant searches.

Tags: Funny baby animals. Diesel engines repair. Your tags are a short description of the video, helping viewers narrow down and find what they want.  Again, think like your target audience: what are they looking for? What information do they need?

Production is important, but the few relatively easy steps you take after a video has been made are just as important in helping the right eyes see it and the right viewers respond to it.