SEO on YouTube is as necessary as content, so before you venture to upload a video on the famous platform, you should know the SEO tools for YouTube and how it works. If we already know that the video format has become the king of content, because practically everything that revolves around it is more consumed, taking it into account in your content strategy will never be a bad idea. 

But like everything in the world of digital content, SEO optimization to appear effectively in search engines is essential to get to the top of Google. Platform where the vast majority of Peruvians usually ask about a product or service before buying. SEO on YouTube is simple if you focus on improving the user experience and valuable if you see that it is a great opportunity for more people to subscribe to your channel. If you want to start applying SEO on YouTube, know these essential steps to get started.

Steps you must follow to do SEO on YouTube

Make your channel look good 

Like the living room of your house. To welcome new users it is necessary that your YouTube channel is fully optimized to receive web traffic and that people do not get lost with just one video. Create a Playlist for your users

Organizing your information is essential, since it turns out that playlists appear in Google search results and a person who looks for content that points to yours will be able to see all of them in a better way if you separate them into a playlist. This order will allow your channel to be more likely to appear in YouTube results and increase the visibility of your content.

This practice is not only for artists, it can actually be very beneficial for any type of YouTube channel, think of this part as the best way to tell users “I am more interesting to listen to or consume”. 

An example of this order would be that if your channel is about cooking, create sections such as: “Peruvian recipes”, “Oriental recipes”, “Snaks for children”. In this way your content will be diversified and people will be able to navigate in a better way.

Know your ideal YouTube user 

We all have an ideal client, in Inbound marketing he is known as the Buyer persona. Knowing clearly who you are talking to is the first step to success. SEO on YouTube is actually very simple, once you know who it is for. The same platform tells you with statistics everything about the users who visit your channel and that you can take into account for your strategy. 

Knowing how far your audience reaches and why they are reaching your videos helps you optimize. Also, knowing who your audience really is helps you create more specialized content and not waste time on unhelpful content. For this step, the best thing is that you already have a clear definition of who your ideal user is.

Study your competition of SEO on YouTube

Studying your competition will be very useful on many platforms, and on YouTube it would be no different. To do this, it is not about copying them, but rather seeing where they are pointing. See what they are doing, but also at the SEO level, investigate the keywords they are using to position themselves in the first places on YouTube. 

It’s not about imitating, but being close to your competition propels you toward the goal and helps you keep up. Sometimes you get lost with so much content, so in addition to having your buyer persona well defined, you should make sure you know who you are competing against. That in addition to putting you in the game, gives you a great opportunity for constant improvement. Ask yourself: What are they doing on YouTube that you are not? Does it work for them?

Studying your competition will be very useful on many platforms, and on YouTube it would be no different. To do this, it is not about copying them, but rather seeing where they are pointing. See what they are doing, but also at the SEO level, investigate the keywords they are using to position themselves in the first places on YouTube. 

It’s not about imitating, but being close to your competition propels you toward the goal and helps you keep up. Sometimes you get lost with so much content, so in addition to having your buyer persona well defined, you should make sure you know who you are competing against. That in addition to putting you in the game, gives you a great opportunity for constant improvement. Ask yourself: What are they doing on YouTube that you are not? Does it work for them?

SEO for Youtube

The time has come for technical SEO for YouTube, in this part you can start by carrying out a preliminary study of the keywords, not just those of your competition. But also all those for which you want to compete on YouTube. Think of them as tags that will identify your content and make sure you define them very well, because taking the time to choose them can ensure better SEO optimization. 

How do you find the right keywords for YouTube?

✔ You can lean on tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush and do a thorough search on what is most searched for on a topic. These tools allow you to also place the url of your competition and see directly for which they are targeting. If you do not know how to use these two tools mentioned that are paid, you can use the Google Keyword Planner to see how many searches a certain word has per month.
✔ You can also look at the most common searches in the sector where you move (recipes, fashion, Marketing) using the YouTube search engine or you can even use Google Trends so that you can compare several similar search terms.

Then get down to business with the following steps to optimize your channel with SEO:

✔ Make unique and differentiating content. Even if you research your competition and try to keep up. Your content should have what they don’t have. Do they speak without examples? You give good examples, don’t they have a good video format? Make content professionally to stand out. Although video is the most consumed format, it has to be good enough to be consumed. 

✔It’s best to create content that always stays fresh, like lettuce. So try to create content without an expiration date and also answer any possible questions that the user may have. 

✔The positioning of YouTube in search engines such as Google, takes into account how users react to content. YouTube comments that with users reaching minute 8, it can already be considered that you did a good job, because those who normally reach the end are the most fans of your channel. Also take into account that the google ranking is also based on visits and interactions. So add calls to action so that they are encouraged to comment on you and thus have a higher positioning.

What should you do so that your video on YouTube is positioned correctly?

➤Choose an SEO friendly title: This does not mean that you repeat a word a lot (eye) but that you create a title where your main keyword is at the beginning and continues with the rest. It also uses phrases like “easy to do, step by step, tips” to get the user’s attention. The shorter the better. 

➤If your video is explanatory it is better that you add words like: “How to do such a thing”, because normally people immediately associate it with an explanation. 

➤Add a good description to your video, do not copy other recipes. To apply SEO on YouTube, the description is the one that most helps positioning. Because text is what Google bots can index. One recommendation is that you make them explanatory, that you use natural and not so technical terms. That you answer questions and that you make texts of at least 300 words.

➤Place a CTR (call to action) at the end of that text, where you invite the user to subscribe and follow you on other networks. Use the keyword in the first few lines of that text. Without abusing, so that they do not over optimize. 

➤Use tags, they help you define what your video is about. And they will allow you to appear in the first places. But be consistent when using them, don’t try to target too many at once. 

➤Make an eye-catching video cover image, this small thumbnail image can help the person to finish clicking effectively. It is the first thing the user sees when selecting it from among several. Customize your thumbnail image in 4: 1 format, at least 1200 x 720 pixels.

Spend time creating a good description and try to create your own language style. But above all use this space to be quite clear, that will help you a lot. Have fun making content!