One important part of SEO is publishing plenty of content and making sure that content is optimised to be found in the search engines. Content is most often looked at as the written words we see on pages but this can also be implemented in videos. So if you have been asking yourself “how do I optimise YouTube video content” then read on.
Take a look at our top tips for YouTube optimisation.
1. Upload To Youtube – The vast majority of videos shown in the blended results on Google are from Youtube. Your video is guaranteed to be indexed if it is uploaded onto Youtube as Youtube are owned by Google.
2. Embed The Video In Your Site – Ideally surrounded by relevant text or a transcript of the video which will show relevence and also start increasing hits on the video itself.
3. Create A Video Sitemap – Check these out at the Google Webmaster Tools site and put one on your site. An easy way to do this is use the ‘old embed code’ on YouTube which will tell Google where the original video is.
4. Choose The Right Title – This needs to include your chosen keyword(s).
5. Get the description right – Your description should include your keywords plus variations of your keywords, also include your link (to your keyword landing page) early on as only a couple of lines are usually seen without clicking the ‘show more’ button. Use a link shortener to keep it visually enticing.
6. Optimise Your Youtube Channel – If you really want to optimise for one specific keyword, put that as the title of your Youtube Channel unless you are running your channel as your brand name.
7. Seperately tag videos – Your keywords should be used to tag your video so that your video maybe shown as a ‘related video’ to those that others a are viewing.
8. Build Backlinks To Your Video – As with all SEO, backlinks are important in Video SEO. The more high quality links to your video, the higher the video will rank.
Google offer some great advice, take a look at their do’s and dont’s list below.
Google Advice on What to do
- Upload videos in their original resolution – Videos should be uploaded at the highest resolution available. Videos uploaded with a 16:9 aspect ratio will fit the player perfectly. Most 4:3 resolutions are supported, but the video will be pillarboxed in order to fit the player.
- Upload videos with high bitrates – Higher bitrate content will look better on YouTube, simply put. View our recommended bitrates for high quality uploads.
- Upload videos with a 1:1 pixel aspect ratio – Videos without a square (1:1) pixel aspect ratio may not fit properly in the player.
- Upload videos with a supported file format – Supported file formats are consistently more reliable than alternatives.
- Upload videos in original quality whenever possible – If you do not need to edit your video, simply upload the unaltered original recording for optimal quality.
- Upload videos with a identical Audio/Video durations – Audio and Video tracks should begin and end at exactly the same time.
Google Advice on What NOT to do
- No Project files – Project files are not real video files. Common unacceptable project files are .mswmm and .wlmp. Learn how to convert project files to an acceptable format.
- No audio or images – YouTube does not accept audio and image files. However, you can easily convert these files to video.
- No DVD files – Don’t upload files types such as .WOB, .IFO and .BUP, which are not actual video files.
- Don’t alter videos from the original frame rate – Altering videos from their original frame rates prior to upload may result in an undesirable outcome. For example, videos captured at 24 fps should be uploaded at 24 fps.
- No interlaced content – Your videos should be deinterlaced prior to upload. In your video encoder, you should select Deinterlace or Progressive scan if these options are available.
Finally once you publish your video you cannot change the url so why not just test it in private mode to make absoloutely sure that it is suitable for your audience. When ready, send it public and you are away. Good luck!!
