YouTube SEO Successful Videos - Not Just Cute Animals
Recently, I was going to post this as part of a run on video. However, I ran short on time and I was having problems uploading graphics so, I will do my best to tell you about what you should be doing to get the most SEO success from your videos.
When I stopped writing before, I was talking about ways to use video. I left off with making neighborhood videos but I didn't get the chance to tell you how to make it successful.
People like neighborhood videos, especially if they just want a quick peek to see if they think the neighborhood will suit their lifestyle. But you have to get them to the video. Create an interesting graphic or postcard-style graphic to grab attention. By the time the reader has seen the ad, they will want to view the video!
This is actually a post card that was created to entice people to get involved in a two-way conversation.
Here's another example of how you can use video to share information. This time it's for your local real estate market report:
Note the great CTA again. Also, another trick is to use the count down app. If someone thinks they will only have access to something for a short time, they will be more likely to view it now.
Need ideas for video? Browse other Agent's YouTube Channel. See what ranks higher and what topics they cover. As someone said yesterday, the more videos they do, the better the videos get. So yes, your video may not be perfect the first couple times, but they will improve.
See this example of how a company has used video to maximize their . First, they ordered the domain name that ends in .TV . These domains are slightly more expensive but when used properly, they can really showcase the way to use video. Go to HalsteadProper.tv and take a look at their YouTube posts. They have an incredible YouTube channel.
They obviously use it for their listings, but then every agent has a video biography. Each bio is about 2-2.5 minutes long. And they have dozens of videos to build that SEO.
Another great channel is Boutique Real Estate. They got a little creative and each video looks like a movie trailer.
Here are a few more of my favorite channels:
- Jessica Riffle Edwards
- Leigh Brown
- PlatinumHD.tv and, of course, the famous
- James Wedmore - The Godfather of Video.
You really can use any smart phone (obviously the newer ones offer more options). But the resolution and recording ability on these new phones are incredible. Should you decide you want a higher end camera with more gadgets, go with the Lumix LX-7. The reasons I say that is because it has very bright point and shoot, ultra-wide custom HD lens, 3 point stabilizing system, 16 GB SD card and full 1080 video. However, as you may have guessed, it costs a bit more money. The camera alone is about $650, then the lens is another $200 (if not included in the kit), etc. So if you are taking video for luxury homes, this should be a consideration.
Let's get some SEO From These Videos
Before we get started it's important to know what Google uses for ranking. It's not as hard as some things Google has done with algorithms but there are many things that can impact your SEO.
- Title tag Information (Are you using a compelling title with your keywords to invite people to watch?)
- Retention (how long a viewer stays on the page)
- Keywords (Where are your keywords placed? Are they relevant? Are they searchable?)
- Other Tags (Remember the Importance of keywords and long tail keywords.
- Ideal Video Length (Nobody seems to know the answer to this one. Even YouTube said, "On an average day when we were drafting this post, we found that in the top ten most popular YouTube videos, the shortest was 42 seconds, and the longest was 9 minutes and 15 seconds." They then added that the average video length was 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
- Number of subscribers after watching your video
- Comments (Do the keywords show up in comments? BONUS!)
- Likes/Dislikes/Sharing
Here are 6 ways to Leverage these tips to get more traffic to your video.
1. Write really long video descriptions. Google can't watch or listen to your video so your description has to be good. The more YouTube knows about your video, the better it can be ranked for your keywords. YouTube actually uses long-tail keywords for ranking.
So for example, let's say your video is about Buying a House. The video may only be 2-3 minutes, but the description should be long and include the keywords that YouTube can't access from the video itself. Describe the house, the neighborhood, the parks, transportation, etc. Make sure to use those keywords.
The YouTube SEO process starts with Keyword Research. The goal is to find keywords that rank high, but not so high that they are too competitive. These are called Video Keywords. Unlike blogs and websites, Google actually reserves a good amount of space on the results pages for Video.
For example, I am a Blogger and social media marketer. So to get an idea about keywords, I went to Adwords and entered "blogger". Longer keywords "best blog sites" had a higher suggested bid rate ($5.27). "Writing a blog" had a much lower bid rate ($2.08) AND the same amount of monthly searches.
So it would be better for me to use "writing a blog" as my keywords and adding to it to make long-tail keyword phrases.
2. Optimize Around "Video Keywords"
Ranking for YouTube is great but ranking for YouTube AND Google is even better!!!
Since Google owns YouTube they seem to inherently give videos an edge in the SERPS (for certain keywords). These are the Video Keywords.
In general Google tends to show a lot of video results for these types of video words:
- How-To
- Reviews
- Tutorials
- Fitness or Sports Related
- Funny Videos
- Cute Animals
3. Looking for Video Keywords
It's important to optimize your video around results that come from YouTube. If you optimize for Video Keywords, you’ll also get targeted traffic to your video directly from Google’s results.
The easiest way to find video keywords is to search for keywords in your niche. Then see what Google comes up with. I searched for "Writing a Blog" and the results were great. Although the first page did not show any YouTube results, a longer tail phrase probably would.
4. Get More Video Views from Online Communities
Online communities like Quora and LinkedIn groups are fantastic places to funnel traffic. Although these communities may frown on too many links, they may like relevant, helpful YouTube videos. Find a question that you think your community would like an answer to. If you go way back in the community archives, these types of questions may need updating anyway!
5. Encourage Subscribing and Linking
Because YouTube's algorithm doesn't use backlinks, it's up to you to put the video out there where more people can see and share your video. Subscribing and liking are the two most important ways people can show their interest and sharing is another.
The easiest way to get these subscribers and likes is to just ask. In your written description or withing the content of the video you can add something like "If you like this video, I would love it if you would join my channel and follow me for upcoming videos on similar topics." OR "Before you go, would you mind giving this video a quick like or share?" This is your Call to Action. Ask people to like, comment, and subscribe in every single video and every written description. Don't wait to the very end of the video or description. Use your CTA somewhere in the middle as well. This reminds people who don't have much time right now that they can Subscribe to your Channel and come back for more.
6. Keyword Rich Playlists
One of the easiest ways to get more people to your channel and to stay on your channel is to organize your videos into playlists. Include any vlogs/podcasts you have done as well. A keyword-rich playlist give YouTube more information about your video's topic.
More "keyword" text-based content=more views.
Phew....3 days of video posts and we still could go on....
I'll have to think about it.
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