What Is SEO and Why Does It Matter for YouTube?
SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization, is crucial when it comes to making your YouTube videos discoverable. Since YouTube is not just a video platform but also the second largest search engine globally, knowing how to tap into its search functionality can give you a significant advantage.
YouTube SEO entails crafting your video content around specific keywords that have a track record of being searched for by users. By doing so, you're enabling your videos to appear in search results, making them more accessible to a broader audience.
The Power of YouTube for Businesses
With YouTube's vast reach as the second most visited site in the world, it holds potential as a powerful organic, evergreen sales machine that can benefit businesses across various industries. Its traffic potential is almost limitless. However, this also means there's stiff competition amongst the huge volume of channels all vying for attention.
It's quite staggering when you consider that over 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every single minute. This makes it imperative to adopt strategies that will make your content stand out.
YouTube's Reach and Competition
The platform is not only immense; it's a major conduit for internet traffic. About 17% of all internet traffic passes through YouTube, with 6 billion hours of video watched monthly. On top of that, an average of 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
These statistics underscore the importance of mastering YouTube SEO, whether you're targeting mobile or desktop audiences. If reaching the 18 to 35-year-old demographic is your goal, keep in mind that YouTube reaches more individuals in this age group on mobile than any national cable network in the U.S.
Reverse Engineering Your Success on YouTube
Most YouTubers start by “throwing videos at the wall,” hoping for success. This approach rarely works. To make YouTube a profitable platform, you need to apply intelligent strategies to generate leads through the right keywords.
Optimizing videos ensures that you not only gain traffic but also boost user experience indicators such as likes, comments, shares, and watch time. These factors play a significant role in how the YouTube algorithm evaluates and promotes your content.
Long-Term Strategy and Realistic Expectations
Your top traffic sources on YouTube should be search and suggested videos. This means that your content should be optimized to feature prominently when users are browsing and searching for topics related to your niche.
It's key to have realistic expectations. SEO may take about 3 to 4 months to show significant results. This timeframe is essential for collecting sufficient data and analytics to assess the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.
A Word of Caution on Paid Advertising
While paid advertising can yield quicker results, it comes with a caveat. If paid views don't translate into strong user engagement, this can negatively affect your organic ranking in the long run. High bounce rates, where viewers leave after only watching a short part of a video, can cause more harm than good.
Recommended Posting Schedule
It is generally recommended to upload one video per week. However, during initial testing phases or while building up your help library of content, you may need to post more frequently. Once you've created a solid foundation of around 5 to 10 videos, then you can transition to a weekly publishing schedule.
In summary, YouTube SEO is an essential component for anyone looking to increase their video's visibility and harness the full potential of YouTube's vast audience. By understanding the platform's inner workings and learning the intricacies of SEO, you're setting the stage for your content to thrive in a competitive landscape. Let's now move forward to delve deeper into actionable YouTube SEO strategies.
