Performing YouTube Video Optimization

Goal: Enhancing video content on YouTube to facilitate user discovery of the information you provide.

Ideal Outcome: Achieving extensive viewership for your YouTube videos, consequently enhancing your business’s visibility.

Prerequisites or requirements: Possession of a Gmail/YouTube account and high-quality video content for uploading onto your YouTube channel.

Why this is important: Video content enjoys burgeoning popularity among internet users, with YouTube amassing no less than 30 million unique views every day. Just imagine capturing the attention of a mere 0.01% of these viewers and the profound impact it could have on your business!

Where this is done: Primarily on your YouTube channel.

When this is done: Whenever a new video is uploaded.

Who does this: You, your virtual assistant, your SEO specialist, or the digital marketing agency you’ve enlisted.

Environment setup

1. Establish a YouTube account.
   • For a personal YouTube account setup, follow these steps:
   • a. Sign in to YouTube using your Gmail credentials.
   • b. Initiate video uploads by clicking the upload icon located on the top right side of the screen.
   • c. If your YouTube channel isn’t set up yet, complete the required form. For illustration purposes, let’s assume we created “A Channel about Emojis.”
   • For setting up a separate branded business YouTube account, adhere to these steps:
   • a. Complete the steps outlined above to create a personal YouTube channel.
   • b. Navigate to YouTube’s Channel Switcher.
   • c. Opt for “Create New Channel.”
   • d. Specify the desired name for your business YouTube channel.
   • e. To switch between personal and business channels, access the icon on the top right side of the screen → Switch Account → Choose the desired account.
2. Incorporate a custom Welcome Video into your channel.
3. a. Visit the YouTube Homepage.
4. b. Click on the avatar positioned on the top right side of the screen.
5. c. Select “My Channel.”
6. d. Opt for “Customize Channel.”
7. e. Click on “For new visitors.”
8. f. Choose “+ Channel trailer.”
9. g. Select the video intended for use as a channel trailer/Welcome Video.
10. h. To add an avatar, click on the small pencil icon situated on the top right side of the avatar. This action redirects you to your Branded Account page, enabling you to upload your picture. Note that aligning your Branded Account avatar with your YouTube channel avatar may take a few minutes.
11. i. To add a custom YouTube channel header, click on the “Add channel art” button. Upload your preferred image (ensuring it’s at least 2048 x 1152 pixels in size). Post-upload, YouTube displays how your header will appear across various screen types (PC, smartphone, etc.). Optionally, you can adjust the picture’s positioning within the header by clicking on the “Adjust” button below the previews. Investing in good graphics is crucial; for instance, Canva offers numerous free and low-cost options tailored to small businesses, with user-friendly layouts even for individuals lacking web design experience.

Produce quality videos The initial step toward optimizing your YouTube videos involves consistently delivering top-notch content. Here are key characteristics your videos should exhibit to fully capitalize on YouTube video marketing benefits:

• Commence the video production process by conducting comprehensive keyword research. For YouTube, it’s recommended to utilize YT Cockpit or Keyword Tool for research, instead of KWFinder.
• Aim for longer videos, as per the latest quality content guidelines, as they tend to rank higher in YouTube search results pages.
• Incorporate the keyword into the video, as YouTube’s crawler can now discern a video’s focus based on the automated captions it provides. Thus, mentioning the keyword in the video aids YouTube in displaying it for relevant searches.
• Encourage viewers to subscribe, comment, and like your videos, as this significantly influences viewer engagement.
• Mitigate bounce rates by ensuring dynamic video content, featuring transition effects and unexpected changes, alongside entertaining graphics to sustain viewer attention. Capturing the audience’s interest from the outset by elucidating the value proposition within the first 10 seconds is also crucial for viewer retention.

Monetize your channel While the primary focus of this guide is optimizing videos for SEO, monetization constitutes an integral aspect of the process, particularly for adding custom thumbnails to videos, as detailed below in the “Optimize according to the ranking signals” step. However, it’s important to note that business videos on YouTube should generally remain demonetized to bolster viewers’ credibility in your brand. To monetize your channel, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the YouTube homepage → Settings (located on the lower left side of the screen) → View additional features → Monetization.
2. a. If a country location wasn’t selected during channel creation, you might need to specify one before enabling the Monetization feature. Click on the “Choose your country location” link adjacent to the “Monetization” button to do so.
3. b. Upon redirection to the country location selection page, specify your channel’s location and click the “Save” button.
4. Return to your YouTube homepage → Settings → View additional features → Monetization. You’ll encounter four main steps to enable Monetization on your channel:
5. a. YouTube Partner Program: Easily enable this by following the on-screen instructions, ensuring to review the presented Terms and Conditions.
6. b. Sign Up for AdSense: Follow the on-screen instructions to complete this step.
7. c. Set monetization preferences as guided.
8. d. Undergo review post reaching 10,000 views. At this juncture, monetization is primarily pursued to facilitate the addition of custom thumbnails. Consequently, consider manually demonetizing already uploaded and forthcoming videos, particularly pertinent for business channels where excessive ads may compromise credibility. To manually demonetize videos, execute the following steps:
9. Navigate to your icon on the top right side of the screen → Creator Studio → Video Manager.
10. Select all videos by ticking the box adjacent to the “Actions” drop-down menu.
11. Utilize the “Actions” drop-down menu to opt for the “Demonetize” option.

Monetizing your YouTube channel entails a multifaceted process but proves invaluable for incorporating custom thumbnails, which significantly enhance the attractiveness of your videos, ultimately bolstering click-through rates. Bear in mind, however, that monetization necessitates reaching the milestone of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours. Thus, prioritize efforts toward attaining this milestone, as subsequent views and engagement should exhibit steady growth, especially with access to unlocked features.

Optimize for YouTube’s ranking signals While viewer watch time constitutes YouTube’s primary ranking signal, several elements warrant optimization to maximize a video’s ranking potential. Key optimization steps include:

1. Optimize your video title:
   • Incorporate the keyword while ensuring relevance to enhance search ranking.
2. Optimize your video description:
   • Craft compelling, keyword-rich descriptions exceeding 250 words to bolster search visibility.
3. Optimize your YouTube video tags:
   • Include relevant keywords to aid YouTube in accurately categorizing your video.
4. Include an attractive custom thumbnail:
   • Uploading custom thumbnails enhances visual appeal, particularly crucial post-monetization milestone attainment.
5. Include one or more cards to augment watch time:
   • Implementing YouTube cards fosters interactivity and enriches viewer experience.
6. Upload a video transcript:
   • Enhances accessibility and aids search engines in comprehensively indexing video content.
7. Add video to a playlist:
   • Organizing videos into playlists enhances discoverability and viewer engagement.

What to do after publishing Upon publishing and optimizing your video, capitalize on opportunities to maximize its impact:

• Engage with new comments within the first 48 hours, ensuring timely responses to foster community interaction.
• Elevate visibility by embedding the video within blog posts, both on your own website and on guest platforms.
• Promote the video across social media channels and via email outreach to collaborators, partners, clients, and relevant forums such as Quora.
• Prioritize consistency in posting schedules to foster long-term audience growth and engagement.

YouTube presents a compelling avenue for digital marketing, with video optimization and content distribution proving indispensable for maximizing outreach and reaping the associated benefits.