10 Action Tips for Social Media Marketing | Tip 2/10 Video Optimization on YouTube

It should come as no surprise that Videos are being consumed online at a phenomenal pace.  Consumers are making decisions on what to buy based on Videos they are seeing online.  When it comes to Video Optimization, YouTube isn’t the only option in video optimization, however, it is hard to deny that it is likely the most important one.

Questions:

Do you know the largest Search Engine in the world?
If you guessed Google, you are alive to say the least.

How about the second largest Search Engine?
The answer may surprise you, but it is YouTube.  Well actually it is still Google since Google acquired YoutTube for 3.5 Billion dollars.  Trick questions can be tricky J

It has been some time that the Search Engines have been displaying content from various social channels such as Twitter and Video.  Ranking for video in YouTube may be much easier and — as an added bonus — top spots in YouTube often mean equally attractive position in Google’s universal search results.

Optimizing YouTube Videos for SEO

The YouTube algorithm has 3 components:

1. Text in your titles and descriptions.
2. Number of views, and recent trending.
3. Ratings.

Check out this checklist you can use to optimize your videos in YouTube:

• Title text:With 99 characters to use at your disposal, consider your target keywords and any other keywords you may want to rank for, but don’t forget including your branding and descriptive text.  An action word often triggers a click on your video
• Description:With 5,000 characters, consider writing a detailed overview of the video.  Sometimes transcribing parts of the video also prove useful.  Ensure your keywords are spread across the description and also include a link to your website.  User ratings and views play a factor in your search rankings within YouTube (and therefore Google), make sure to ask for people to rank your video, but also share and embed your video.
• Tags:Do some keyword research and have a list of keywords that relate to the video.  These can be useful for search terms you use in your title text and description as well as tags.
• Broadcasting and sharing options:
  • Privacy:  Make sure to select the option to make the video public.  It is sometimes overlooked.
  • Comments:You can enable or disable comments, however user generated content will help the video.
  • Video responses: These help boost views because they are automatically linked to your original.
  • Ratings:Allow viewers to rate the video.  These have a direct impact on your rankings.
  • Embedding:  Enable video embedding so viewers can share the video on Blogs and social media channels.  This helps your message get to new audiences outside of YouTube.
• How to Increase Video Views:
  • YouTube considers a video “viewed” after eight seconds of runtime, so make sure your video has enough “pull” to get you past that hump.
  • Post your videos to your Facebook channel and push it out via your Twitter stream.
  • Consider annotations or messaging in your video to encourage others to share your video on their social media platforms.
  • Push your video social bookmarking and listing sites.
  • Consider embedding your video in your blog.
  • Use Press Releases and Social Media Releases to distribute your links to your videos.
  • Promote views of your video by buying them through Google AdWords.
  • Chunk your videos into smaller parts and link them all together using playlists.

Video Optimization is not new, however many marketers and businesses fail to make the best use of tools and social networks that will take their video and SEO results to the next level.  With the increasing influence that social media is playing on the search algorithms, consider optimization of videos in your marketing mix.

About the Author

A serial entrepreneur with extensive background in franchising and interests in multiple online business channels, Jamshaid (Jam) Hashmi has played an instrumental role in the franchise development and success of a renowned international franchise company. His most recent entrepreneurial interests include launching ClickTecs, a Digital Marketing company specializing in Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing as well as Website and Mobile Application development. In 2007 he co-founded WSI Search Result, an online marketing company that supplies services to Internet Marketing Consultants. A sought after public speaker, Jam has been the featured keynote at many franchise conferences and international summits. He regularly trains ‘C’ Level Executives and supports both new and seasoned business owners on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Optimization, Mobile Marketing, Brand Reputation Management and Conversion & Measurement through web analytics. When he’s not scaling the heights of the Internet world, Jam ‘unwinds’ on extreme thrill-seeking adventures from the jungles of the Amazon to the highest summits. His passions include working with NGOs on humanitarian missions to areas around the world affected by disasters and poverty.

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