Google SEO over the past few years has focused heavily on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Yet, it seems many businesses managing Google SEO have forgotten that YouTube is also one of the most visited websites in the world. This is undoubtedly a potential and lucrative market for anyone who can leverage it effectively. Let's explore some tips for doing SEO on YouTube!
Why can you improve Google SEO with YouTube?
Why does YouTube make such a significant contribution to improving your Google SEO ? The answer is that Google search results provide many different types of content: images, information, news, and… videos. With billions of people visiting and watching video clips every day, YouTube has become the second-largest search engine in the world, second only to Google. Every day, about 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute, which is why YouTube is considered one of the most powerful platforms for Social Media Marketing that can become an excellent source of traffic for your business website. With YouTube, you can improve Google SEO, because:
- First, your content is fully searchable directly on YouTube.
- Second, content uploaded to YouTube can be indexed by Google, thereby increasing the chances of appearing on organic search results pages alongside keywords related to your business and activities.
- Finally, the videos you upload to YouTube can be embedded on your websites and shared on social media pages. From this, it is clear that uploading video clips to YouTube not only helps you improve Google SEO but also helps develop your Social Media Marketing that your business carries out.
How can a YouTube video help you improve your Google SEO?
YouTube is an effective tool for improving Google SEO, another gateway to help you get closer to potential customers. According to experts, you should use it wisely and consider creating and uploading video clips to YouTube an indispensable activity in your overall Digital Marketing plan. The reasons why YouTube can help improve SEO are:
First, YouTube is owned by Google, so there is a connection between these two tools. Specifically, videos posted on YouTube will be ranked in Google search results. If you optimize your video content with keywords on YouTube, it will serve as a basis for Google to boost the ranking of those keywords on SERPs.
Second, if your YouTube channel consistently updates with useful video clips for Internet users, becomes increasingly popular with a significant number of subscribers, and is well-received, the position of the linked website will be boosted by Google. However, note that YouTube links are tagged as "no follow," so building backlinks by placing links in YouTube clips will be ineffective.
Third, even if your YouTube channel does not yet provide SEO benefits, it can still help you increase traffic. The more popular your YouTube channel is, the more clicks, comments, and shares you will receive... for those reasons, you can still improve your ranking on Google.
Markdao has just presented the reasons why you can improve your SEO thanks to YouTube. Now, let's explore the ways you can improve Google SEO using YouTube!
1. The longer the video, the higher the Google SEO ranking
On YouTube, videos that appear on the first page have an average length of about 15 minutes. If viewers watch a specific video for a longer period, its ranking will increase accordingly. In particular, if the video can provide more details and useful information (about the product), it will also have a higher Google SEO ranking.
2. Titles with optimized keywords are no longer as important when doing Google SEO with YouTube
Keywords always play a certain role in Google SEO. However, when it comes to YouTube video titles, they are less important than all the reasons mentioned above. There are many cases where synonyms for keywords replace the actual keywords, leading to higher rankings for the video in Google SEO. This is both a benefit (if the system prioritizes your video) and a disadvantage (if the system prioritizes a competitor's video). By using target keywords, you can rank for related phrases and drive traffic directly to your website.
3. The description for each clip is also of immense value for Google SEO
Keep in mind that YouTube and Google cannot actually watch or listen to videos. Therefore, these two search engines rely on the video description to understand the content being conveyed. If your description is rich in information, YouTube will "trust" it, which in turn helps rank your video for your target keywords.
To optimize your video description, you need to:
- The description should be at least 250 words long. It is best to include your keyword within the first 25 words of the description.
- Include your keywords 3-4 times in the description.
- The longer the description, the better, as it helps YouTube and Google understand the meaning of the uploaded videos more accurately and closely.
4. Don't forget to add tags to each of your videos
In terms of SEO, tags are not as valuable as other factors. However, that doesn't mean they aren't necessary; if they weren't, we wouldn't have mentioned them in today's article. To create these tags, simply enter a few keywords into the tag field (#) to help Google and YouTube identify your video. A major advantage is that when someone watches a video with tags similar to yours, your video may appear in the YouTube sidebar's autoplay feature!
5. Comments, likes, and shares on videos also affect Google SEO
Among videos on the same topic, if one receives more comments than others, it indicates that the video is more engaging and connects better with viewers. User engagement is one of the most important factors affecting Google SEO. Here is a highly effective tip to increase the number of comments on your YouTube videos: ask your viewers one (or more) questions related to the video's content and encourage them to post their answers in the comments section.
On any social media platform, getting more likes means building more interest among your audience. The thing is, you can only get a lot of likes if you have a lot of views. And of course, just as when you Google SEO with articles on your website, the higher the quality of the video—both in terms of visuals and content—the easier it will be to attract more likes.
Just like comments and likes, the number of shares a video receives is considered a metric for measuring user engagement. However, remember that YouTube's share button is completely independent of Google's algorithms. YouTube shares—specifically who shares them and where they are shared—are tracked separately. In general, YouTube shares are usually aimed at audiences on other social networks, so even though they don't follow Google's rules, video shares are an indirect way to help with your Google SEO in general.
6. Video quality is also highly valuable for Google SEO
High-Definition (HD) videos are more likely to appear on the first page—the YouTube recommendation page. The reason is simple: YouTube wants to showcase and provide its audience with the highest quality content, meaning it prioritizes HD videos over lower-quality Standard Definition (SD) ones. Furthermore, internet bandwidth is improving at a breakneck pace, allowing viewers to access more professionally produced content, and naturally, no one wants to watch a video with blurry visuals and poor audio.
7. The more views a video has, the more advantageous it is for Google SEO
This is perhaps something everyone understands. The immediate and most important goal of Google SEO is to reach as many potential audience members as possible, or in other words, to get as many people as possible to view the content you post, whether it is text, images, video clips, or any other format. However, it should be clarified that while video views were once the most important criterion for high rankings, the focus has gradually shifted toward maintaining audience engagement. Nevertheless, views still play a fundamental role in Google SEO on YouTube, because without video views, all the other factors mentioned would no longer be relevant.
8. Call-to-action buttons
To convert your audience into visitors and thereby drive traffic to your website, the best method is to use a call-to-action (CTA) button.
Therefore, every description must clearly show users:
- What they need to do: “Visit our website”
- How to do it: “Click this link”
- Why they should do it: “Discover our products”
The more engaging your video is, the higher the likelihood that viewers will become visitors to your website.
9. Embed your clips on your main website to improve Google SEO
Another way to improve Google SEO from YouTube is to embed videos directly into your website's content. By embedding videos on your pages or blog posts, you increase the chances of them being viewed, boost your site's popularity, and ultimately improve your search engine rankings.
Furthermore, the mere presence of video on a webpage has a positive impact on Google SEO , especially within your content. Indeed, beyond just text, having videos signals to Google that you offer a rich and diverse range of content.
10. Create playlists featuring multiple clips for a single keyword
A sincere piece of advice is to avoid letting your YouTube channel become cluttered and disorganized. One of the easiest ways to gain more search traffic on YouTube and make your videos easier to reference is to organize them into playlists, using your primary keywords as the playlist titles. Keyword-rich playlists provide YouTube with in-depth information about your channel's content, video topics, and your business as a whole. This can significantly help you improve Google SEO .
Invest in your YouTube channel wisely; it not only helps you gain more subscribers but also earns you a "high rating" from Google. Hopefully, through this article, you have a better understanding of the importance of YouTube for SEO, as well as how to optimize your video uploads to improve Google SEO .
