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#Unleashing the Power of YouTube SEO: A Comprehensive Guide to Outshine and Outrank

Introduction

There’s a saying by the famous visionary, Steve Jobs, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” In the ever-evolving world of  SEO, this sentiment is more relevant than ever. YouTube reigns supreme as a video content platform. However, the key to your business succeeding on YouTube isn’t simply about creating good content marketing—it’s about understanding and leveraging YouTube SEO.

1. Keywords: The Linchpin of YouTube SEO

Keyword Research

Your first step to mastering YouTube SEO is keyword research.

Essentially, keywords are like little breadcrumbs that lead potential viewers right to your video doorstep.

A fact that is often overlooked is that YouTube is the second largest search engine worldwide, right behind Google, according to Brandwatch.

In 2022, Ahrefs reported that 90% of videos ranking in YouTube’s top ten results for a given keyword, had the exact keyword in the title. Clearly, embedding the right keywords in your video titles, descriptions, and tags can significantly improve your visibility on YouTube.

 

Tools for keyword research

There are numerous online tools to help you identify the best keywords.

The most popular include YouTube’s autocomplete feature, Keyword Tool, and VidIQ’s keyword inspector. In fact, Statista shows that, as of 2021, about 64% of marketers actively invest time in SEO, including keyword research.

2. Video Descriptions: Your pitch to potential viewers

Optimise descriptions with Keywords

Including keywords in your video descriptions is as crucial as including them in your title.

The description is your chance to sell your video to both YouTube and potential viewers.

Backlinko’s study in 2021 discovered that well-optimised descriptions can increase your video’s reach and visibility.

 

Video description length

Interestingly, there’s a correlation between video description length and rankings.

YouTube allows up to 5,000 characters in your video description. A 2021 study by Briggsby showed that videos ranking in YouTube’s top 10 results had descriptions around 250 words long. So, don’t shy away from a bit of verbosity—it could help your rankings!

Tags are another vehicle for driving traffic to your video content.

They function as additional, less obvious keywords that YouTube’s algorithm uses to understand your content. According to a 2022 report by [TechSmith](https://www.techsmith.com.com/blog/youtube-video-tags/), tags are associated with increased viewer discoverability on YouTube.

 

Best practices for tag usage

To use tags effectively, ensure that they are relevant to your content and include your target keywords. But remember to avoid tag-stuffing. As per a 2022 Semrush study, the best performing videos on YouTube have an average of 11 tags.

 

Engage with your audience: comments, subscriptions, and shares

 

The impact of user engagement

User engagement is crucial in determining your video’s success on YouTube.

Comments, likes, shares, and subscription rates all influence YouTube’s algorithm.

As per Hootsuite, high user engagement can significantly improve your videos’ ranking on YouTube.

 

How to Boost Engagement

Encourage your audience to engage with your content. Don’t be shy—ask viewers to like, comment, share, and subscribe.

According to a Vidooly study from 2022, videos that included such calls to action had a 13% higher engagement rate.

 

 

F.A.Q

Q1: What is YouTube SEO?

YouTube SEO involves optimising your videos, playlists, and channel to be found and ranked by YouTube’s search engine.

 

Q2: How important are keywords in YouTube SEO?

Keywords are crucial to YouTube SEO. They help your videos to be discovered by relevant audiences.

Q3: How does audience engagement impact YouTube SEO?

Audience engagement, through likes, comments, shares, and subscription rates, significantly influences YouTube’s algorithm and can improve your videos’ rankings.