So you might be questioning whether ranking a YouTube video is the right strategy for you and what does it really entail?
Well, in this video, I'm going to help you answer that question.
As a coach, consultant or business owner, you really want to get in front of your ideal target audience and let your expertise shine.
But how do you do it?
I'm going to cover two separate areas. In the second part, I’ll specifically talk about the 7 steps on how to rank your YouTube videos and YouTube SEO (search engine optimisation)
This is particularly true and relevant if you have a smaller channel.
I'm Ron Carmichael, the video marketing expert. I help coaches, consultants and adventurous business owners get extraordinary results through the effective use of different video marketing strategies.
I've been using video and video marketing strategies for these past 10 years. I started out by using YouTube SEO techniques to rank my client’s videos at the top of the search engine results in both YouTube and Google.
In my forthcoming video… ‘How my biggest failure led to business success’.
I'll explain more about how I came to be doing this and an important lesson I learned about video SEO and ranking videos.
OK, let's get on with this one and answer the burning question… is ranking a video in YouTube the right strategy for you?
Well this topic leads on very nicely from last week's video entitled ‘Building a YouTube Channel…Is That What I should Be Doing?’
If you've established that building out a YouTube channel is the right strategy for you, then you've probably already decided that you want to rank your videos.
But just in case you haven't watched that or decided yet….let's look at the real criteria.
The simple question really is, are your ideal target audience searching for more information about your product or service on YouTube?
If they are, that means they’re typing specific search queries into the YouTube search bar. So if that's the case, then this is a strategy you will want to consider (I’m talking about YouTube keyword research here).
I'll talk about keywords in the next part of this video.
Something I’d like you to also consider when thinking about ranking videos in YouTube, is whether there are also videos being shown in the Google search results too?
Although Google ranks differently to YouTube, why not have the opportunity to rank in both YouTube and Google at the same time?
You're doing the work anyway, so why not rank in the two most important search engines out there?
So please bear that in mind and do this as part of your research and analysis phase.
Right…let's look at the 7 specific steps you need to follow to rank your video in the YouTube search results.
Bear in mind that I'm taking the stance that you do not have a well-established channel.
Bit like my own YouTube channel…you can see it here
1. The first one is really important, and that's keywords and keyword phrases.
If you have a relatively small or new YouTube channel, then picking the right keywords really does matter.
Pick something that is too competitive and you'll have no chance or pick the wrong keywords and you're wasting time.
You can use keyword tools like TubeBuddy or VidIQ to help you with this, or simply type your intended phrase into the YouTube search bar and see what also comes up as suggested terms.
You can get some great insights by doing this, as YouTube will show you search terms that people are actually using.
YouTube no longer has its own keyword search tool, but there’s plenty of choice if you’re looking for one.
So choosing a keyword phrase that gives you some hope of ranking in the search results and people finding your content is important.
You do not want to attempt to go after the really competitive keyword terms, as these will be dominated by the big established YouTube channels.
What you can do is find a competitive term and then look for what longer phrases people are typing in.
This way, you're targeting a longer, less competitive keyword search term but as your channel authority grows, then there is a greater chance of starting to appear for the more competitive, shorter terms.
Here’s the important thing though. There's a lot of YouTube videos about finding keywords and how to rank but what I really want you to think about is, by picking the keyword phrases, what is the real intent of the searcher?
What specific information are they looking for?
What you want to do is keep everything congruent. By that I mean, the keyword you’re targeting and the content you provide in your video must fit together.
You understand the intent of the searcher and they’re getting the information they’re looking for, through your content.
This helps with engagement and helps your video rank.
2. Is the title of your video.
You’ll want to incorporate your main keyword phrase into your title, but also make your title interesting so that it attracts the attention of people searching.
I don't mean say anything outlandish or clickbaity, that will not work in the long term.
Choose a good title that attracts interest and uses your keyword phrase.
3. Custom thumbnail.
Having a good thumbnail that attracts the eye is important.
Best thing to do is to see what the other top video thumbnails look like.
Having a face or a person in your thumbnail is effective and important if you are your brand.
I do think there's a tendency for many video thumbnails to be a bit garish and in your face, trying to scream out at you.
If everyone’s doing this, then take a different approach and you will probably be more successful.
Although people do not really know me or my brand at the moment, you'll see that mine follow a theme.
I'm doing this very deliberately. As I create more video content and they appear in the suggested results and elsewhere, then people will tend to recognise them.
So a good thumbnail that stands out and attracts the eye is important.
Keep the title shortish in your thumbnail, as too much text can get difficult to read.
Bear in mind, the majority of people are looking and searching on their smartphones, especially the younger generation.
Think of your video thumbnail like an ad. It's got to be appealing enough, along with the title, for people to want to check out your video.
4. Is your description.
Do not skimp on this, it's really important to put some effort into it.
You should use your target keyword at the beginning of your description and then related or similar keyword terms throughout your description.
Don't make it so it doesn't read well, or simply stuff a whole lot of keywords in.
Write your description like a short blog post.
What you can do is have a transcription of your video created and adapt that.
There are lots of other things you can do to enhance your description and its effectiveness.
For instance, if you have a series of videos in a playlist, then add a link to that playlist or if no playlists, then a link to another relevant video can be can be added in your description. This is a good thing to do.
Add links to your social media profiles, blog or Facebook group in there too.
5. Are Tags.
This is an interesting one. YouTube nowadays downplays the use and effectiveness of tags, saying they’re not important and there's quite a few experts that say this too.
I beg to differ and say use them and use as many of the characters as possible.
Here's the important thing…tags should contain your target keyword, related keywords and similar terms.
A tool like TubeBuddy will let you see the tags your competitors are using and the most popular ones for a given search term.
I recommend that you theme your tags around your topic and not use all and sundry phrases.
Keep everything related and themed.
So use the closest keywords and phrases and then move on to more category related ones, then more general. But all related to your topic.
Remember, especially early on, we're trying to help the YouTube algorithm understand what our channel is about and then more specifically, our video content.
If everything we do for the video content, title, description and tags is consistent, then this really helps the algorithm understand the nature of our content and what it's about. Which then also helps with YouTube SEO, which is all about getting your video to rank in the search results.
6. Playlists.
If you have a series of videos or a number around the same topic, then create a playlist which should be titled around a competitive keyword term. Place all related videos into that playlist.
There's lots of little things you can do with playlists, but I don't want to dive too deeply into this topic in this video.
But what I do suggest you do, is link to your playlist in each of your video’s descriptions. Then also add a link to the next video in the series or relevant video in the description too.
Does that make sense?
Please tell me whether you understand the power of playlists in the comments below.
That brings us on to the final point…
7. Which is about promoting your video.
You want to put quite a bit of effort in to promoting your video when it's newly released. The first 24 to 48 hours are important and giving it a bit of a boost and kickstart really helps.
I suggest you watch my video where I reveal my entire video marketing strategy.
It’s this video (click title below)
My Entire Video Marketing Strategy Revealed
There's a lot more I'd like to dive in to, like consistency, watching your analytics to track CTR (click thru rate), engagement and retention rates, but that's better left for a tutorial video.
I just wanted you to understand whether ranking a YouTube video was the right strategy for you.
This is really about the intent of your searcher and whether people are searching for information related to your area of expertise.
And then the 7 steps to think through, that are important in helping your video rank in the search results and to help you get the YouTube algorithm to understand the nature of your channel and the content you create.
How hardcore you have to get with this stuff will very much depend on how competitive your niche is.
But do remember, you’re creating a long-term asset that will continue to work for you for a very long time to come.
Things can be tweaked as you go forward.
Learn – adapt - rinse & repeat.
I’ve created guides and checklists on how to do your research and analysis properly.
This is not limited to YouTube because in our business, it’s the cornerstone of everything we do and indeed dictates the best video marketing strategies for you to use.
If you're interested in finding out more about our guides or other services we offer, please feel free to reach out to me.
I hope this was useful and really appreciate you taking the time to read.
Please do subscribe to my channel, like, share and of course comment. That way I know I should be creating more helpful training content for you.
Till the next time.
Thank you.
Bye for now.
Ron
