If you are a video creator on YouTube, you want to make sure your videos are getting as many views as possible. But what can you do to ensure that happens? This article will give you 10 tips on how to rank your YouTube videos and drive more views to them! So, let’s begin:
1) Know The Basics
In order to rank your videos, you first need people watching them. Take a look at other successful channels in your niche and figure out how they are getting viewers.
Do they feature engaging thumbnails?
- Are their titles compelling?
- How often do they post new videos?
- What keywords do they use in their titles and descriptions that rank highly in Google searches?
Also, consider taking advantage of video curation sites like VidIQ or TubeMogul which analyze social media data and present it back to you so you can track who is watching your videos. Use these tools to see which of your videos are performing best, who is sharing them, and what keywords users are using when searching for those videos on YouTube or Google Video.
2) Optimize Your Video Description
Next, take a look at your video description. This is an area that too many people overlook or don’t optimize effectively. (Learn more about optimizing your descriptions here.)
Start by adding relevant keyword phrases to your video title and URL. Next, add a few lines of text that link back to your website or a landing page where viewers can learn more about you and engage with you on social media.
Don’t forget to include any affiliate links for products that viewers may be interested in purchasing once they finish watching!
3) Time to Learn About Tags
Before you can worry about ranking your videos on Youtube, you need to first ensure that you’ve optimized your videos with tags. Tags are one of Google’s primary ranking factors, so if you want your video to rank well, be sure to add them in.
Don’t overdo it, though – stick with a few main keywords or keyword phrases per video and write them naturally within your description. You can check out our beginner’s guide for more information on optimizing tags.
4) Choose the Right Keywords and Tags
Make sure you’re choosing keywords and tags that are specific to your video. For example, don’t just put snowboarding tricks for a video about how to land a backflip on a snowboard. Instead, choose something like landing backflips on a snowboard.
Google prefers more specific tags and keywords over general ones, which means that if someone does a search for landing backflips on a snowboard, your video will be higher in search results than if you simply chose generic tags.
5) Consider Video Thumbnail, Preview & Preview Image
Having engaging thumbnails, preview images and video previews is crucial for gaining clicks because it’s what people see when they view your video on their newsfeed.
You should never rely solely on a popular title or description; your thumbnail, preview image, and the preview can make or break your click-through rate. If you’re going for views, you need good thumbnails and previews that effectively communicate what kind of content your video contains and why viewers should watch.
6) Guest Appearance on Other Videos
The easiest way to rank your videos is to focus on creating a high-quality product and having other creators promote it for you. If you have friends who’ve already had success with their own channels, ask them if they’d be willing to guest appear in one of your videos, or vice versa.
If you start collaborating with other YouTubers, also be sure to suggest they share your video via their social media channels as well. This can help expand your reach much more quickly than trying to do it all yourself!
7) Building a Community Around Your Channel
Building a community around your channel is one of the best ways to rank in search results and stay at or near the top. Make sure you’re providing value with every video you post and engaging with your viewers—not just your subscribers, but also people who are commenting on videos that have nothing to do with yours.
Engaging with others will encourage them to view more of your content and subscribe. People who comment on similar videos in your niche are prime candidates for becoming subscribers as well. Reply back to them, ask if they want you to make an episode about their comment, then follow through. These subscribers may then give you a shout-out on their own channel, further growing awareness for you across social media channels.
8) External Promotion of Your Video(s)
If you’re already creating and posting content on your personal site or other social media sites, you can promote your videos there as well. Social bookmarking sites like Digg and Reddit will help your video get in front of an audience that’s not on YouTube.
Make sure to include a link at the end of your video so people who watch it can find more great content from you right away. You can also consider adding annotations in your videos that point people towards relevant pages on other websites. (Here are more ideas for promoting yourself and your brand.) Finally, whenever possible, consider cross-promoting between platforms by giving a shout-out to related accounts or channels.
9) Improving the Quality of Viewership Over Time
There are many factors that can impact whether a video goes viral and becomes popular with viewers. In some cases, such as for product demonstrations or newsworthy events, your video will reach a broad audience overnight.
But most often, it takes time for viewers to find your video on their own and watch it through. The more views you have from natural (i.e., non-paid) viewing, and the longer those views last over time, then your chances of ranking well and being found by even more people increase dramatically!
10) Getting it Featured in Youtube Recommendations Boxes
To get a video featured in YouTube’s Suggested Video and other recommendations, Google looks at where your viewers are coming from, which videos they watch after watching yours, how much time they spend watching your video, and what their demographics are.
This is called audience engagement, and it’s all about keeping viewers on your channel. So make sure you have plenty of captivating video content related to your brand on your channel that gets people hooked. Adding annotations with call-to-actions is also one way to help get people clicking through or signing up for something in particular.
For example, if you have an eCommerce website then you could add annotations asking users to subscribe or buy a product on landing pages or via popups after each video.
Conclusion
To rank your YouTube videos in search results, you can add keywords to your descriptions, tags, and titles. You should also update the tags regularly so that your viewers will always find new content every time they search for a specific topic.
Remember that videos with high watch time have a higher chance of ranking higher. That’s why you should upload quality content regularly on your channel and encourage subscribers to view videos via call-to-action tools like playlists, annotations, and cards. You can also take help from YouTube marketing companies to ensure your video rank higher than your competitors’ videos.
