YouTube is an extremely popular platform with over 1.9 billion logged in monthly users and as such has become a major focus for marketing. In 2018, 45% of all marketers are investing more time and money on this platform compared to any other marketing channel. The primary reason for this shift is that video has become a preferred source of content for consumption over the past few years, especially among the millennial generation.

On mobile devices alone, more 18-49-year-olds watch YouTube compared to any broadcast or Cable TV network. With the time spent by people watching YouTube on their TV doubled year over year as well, the importance of being discovered by an audience has never been higher which is why optimizing videos should be a priority for anyone posting on the platform. Today the Internet Marketing Company, Lounge Lizard, shares Top Tips for Optimizing Videos for YouTube SEO. 

• Use a natural video title – The title is often the first place a viewer looks for relevant information about a video and as such, the title should include the primary keyword for the video, this needs to be done in a natural, compelling manner. A video should have a keyword that is close to the searcher’s intent. Matching exactly does not provide much of an advantage and it is a better practice to focus on writing a concise title that uses a relevant keyword rather than using a keyword or keywords without a strong descriptive title. Titles should be kept at a 60-character maximum to prevent them from being cut off in results pages.

• Optimize the video description – The character limit for video descriptions on YouTube is 1,000 characters, which is quite a bit of space to write. That amount of space is about 5-times the amount which should ever be used. After about two or three lines of text, which is approximately 100 characters, YouTube limits the display and requires users to click on a “show more” link those first 100 characters are the true meat of the matter with any other part of the description being secondary in importance. The most essential information, including links and should be included in the first portion. While adding a keyword or two in the description can be helpful for the user to see, it won’t have an on how the video is ranked.
• Categorize each video – After uploading a video, take the time to properly categorize it utilizing the option in the advanced settings. Categories allow users to discover videos with similar content, and by selecting the right category for a video it will increase exposure. Take the time to review a category to better understand it prior to uploading to ensure a video fits properly.
• Tag each video with relevant keywords – Tags are a popular method of letting viewers know more about content. Tags are useful specifically on this platform to help YouTube understand the content and context of the video that was uploaded. Tags specifically help with the way they associate videos together which is why it is important to carefully select the appropriate tags, starting with the most relevant. Make sure not to “stuff” a video with unrelated or semi-related tags as that can cause lower rankings with Google. include at least one or two relevant long-tail keyword tags.
• Include a target keyword in the video file name – Prior to uploading videos to YouTube, take the time to add a relevant keyword to the video file name. This allows YouTube to better categorize your video as there are only a few places which keywords can be inserted. When using multi-word or long-tail keywords use a dash between the words. For example, “optimizing-YouTube-videos.”
• Use a custom image for the video result link – The thumbnail image is what is commonly seen by viewers when scrolling through a video results page. Top creators take the time to create a customized image that either reflects the topic or the brand to better help inform the viewer about content. Images should be 1280x720 in size (16:9 aspect ratio) and no larger than 2 MB in size. An important note – in order to upload customer thumbnail images a YouTube account must first be verified.
• Include subtitles and closed captions – Subtitles and captions are another by which keywords can be added to a video upload to increase overall optimization. Adding either subtitles or captions to a video requires that a corresponding text transcript or timed subtitles file to be uploaded as well.

Lounge Lizard Digital Marketing Agency is an award-winning, high-end design boutique specializing in website and mobile app development, UX/UI, branding, and marketing. Lounge Lizard excels in creating the ultimate brand strategy, fully loaded with expertly crafted visuals that work together to increase sales and effectively communicate a client's unique personality.

Media Contact: Ken Braun, Lounge Lizard, 631-581-1000, ken.braun(at)loungelizard.com

Source: PRWeb
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