YouTube is one of the most significant search engines globally. There are many videos on the platform. If you don’t have a massive subscribers list or influence, getting your videos seen by many people can be difficult. However, it’s not impossible. 

With the proper YouTube video ranking techniques and tips, you can optimise your channel and videos to rank higher and increase search hits. In that case, we’ve put together this guide to give you some insight into the YouTube SEO best practices to help you rank your YouTube channel and videos higher.

Optimising Your YouTube Channel and Videos

YouTube optimisation is all about putting your profile and videos in the best light and letting anyone that sees your channel understand what you’re offering. So, before you optimise, you need to know what you offer and who it’s for. Niching down will give you a clear view of your target audience and what they’re looking to get.

First, ensure the name correctly represents your channel. It can be your real name, a pseudo, or your company’s name. Next, edit your description. Include who you are, what you provide, and how your viewers will benefit from your video. 

You can also strategically place keywords for YouTube traffic. So that whenever someone searches for the keywords, your channel can come up. You should also follow these YouTube channel optimisation tips for each video you want to upload, as it works the same way. Ensure that you add the following.

• A proper title
• Detailed description with strategically placed keywords
• Video tags 
• Video cards
• Chapters for easy navigation, especially if it’s a long video

SEO Tips for YouTube

You need to understand how YouTube SEO works to rank your video higher. If you’re familiar with the general practice, you can always apply that because it’s no different. The most crucial element is to get your keywords right and learn how to use them strategically without stuffing. 

Ensure that whatever keyword you choose relates to the video content. That way, you don’t lose viewers because what they got isn’t what they were looking for in the first place. Below are some YouTube Video SEO tips to help your channel and videos rank better. 

• Properly pick your keywords
• Strategically use keywords in your video title
• Categorise your videos into playlists
• Upload a custom thumbnail for your videos’ result link
• Add subtitles, transcripts and closed captions using an SRT file

Aside from getting the YouTube search engine optimisation right, ensure that your video content is engaging, educating, and fun. That way, they’ll get recommended to others, and with that, they’ll get more views, which will help them rank better on the YouTube search results. 

Running SEO can take time and cost money. However, Firefly, a digital marketing agency, can help you grow your YouTube channel. So, get in touch with us today!