YouTube is by far the biggest video sharing website in the world. Since 2005, this website has allowed content creators to create and upload videos to the platform, and in recent years, marketers have begun to understand the power this website holds. According to statistics, there are over 2 billion logged-in monthly users who watch videos on the platform, and approximately 500 hours of content is uploaded to the platform every single minute. Once you look at these statistics, the power, importance, and relevance of YouTube begin to become obvious.
If you’re a business owner, you may be interested in using YouTube to enhance and advertise your company. After all, video marketing and content creation are hugely important factors of digital marketing and SEO, so it only makes sense. However, like every other aspect of digital marketing, your content must be properly optimized if you hope to see real-life results from your content creation and advertising. In this blog, SERP Matrix provides video creators with tips on how to properly optimize their YouTube videos.
Create a Compelling Video Title
Naturally, the first step of optimizing your YouTube video involves creating a compelling, eye-catching video title. You have to let people know what your content is about if you want them to consider clicking on it. However, because YouTube titles are extremely short, you don’t have much real estate to work with.
Experts suggest keeping your YouTube video title under 70 characters, including spaces. Within these 70 characters, you must find a way to maximize the descriptiveness of your title. In an ideal world, the title of a video should serve as a short piece of content that gives your potential viewers an idea of what your video is about, and why they should watch it.
Accomplishing all of this using only 70 characters can be extremely difficult if you’re not an expert in copywriting. Because of this, you may want to hire a professional content writing service to handle your video titles and descriptions.
Use Eye-Catching Thumbnails
Maximize your YouTube optimization by complementing your eye-catching title with an equally eye-catching thumbnail. Thumbnails act as a visual preview for your video. A quality thumbnail catches the attention of users and compels them to click on your video. Ignoring this aspect of YouTube optimization can tank your video, but properly creating and presenting your thumbnail can help you drastically increase your viewership.
According to the YouTube Help Center, the best thumbnails for the website are 1280 pixels by 720 pixels, 640 pixels wide, and have an aspect ratio of 16:9. They should also be formatted as either a .JPG, .GIF, or .PNG file.
Take the time to think your thumbnail through. Many creators and videographers make the mistake of using a freeze-frame from the video, but this is usually not recommended. Upon uploading a video to YouTube, the platform automatically generates three still images taken from your video and allows you to use one of them as your video’s thumbnail. While this may seem like the most convenient option, this shouldn’t be used.
Preparing a thumbnail may seem tedious, but it is absolutely worth your time and effort. Companies spend thousands of dollars on video production, and many executives, actors, and directors dedicate countless hours of their time to make sure they have published their best videography work when called upon to shoot a video. If you’ve already invested a lot of your time and money into your video, spending an extra few minutes of designing your thumbnail may be the step that ensures you get the best possible return on your investment.
Create Content Based on Trending Topics and Current Events
Many YouTube creators make the mistake of creating content centered around topics and ideas that aren’t currently gaining that much attention. While it’s always fun to create videos based on your passions in life, creating a video on a niche topic such as Chinese checkers or commonly overlooked prehistoric animals may not be the best idea if you’re a YouTube user who’s just getting started.
The biggest YouTubers are able to garner views on virtually any type of content, but if you’re like most of us and you’re still trying to make a name for yourself, focus on creating content based on current events and trending topics. Targeting topics and video ideas that have an abundance of search traffic potential is a great way to start putting yourself in front of potential viewers.
In the same way keyword research is crucial for quality SEO content creation, topic research is important for YouTube optimization. Individuals are always looking for advice, opinions on current events, and tutorials on the latest and greatest advancements in technology, business, culture, and many other aspects of life. Beginning YouTube users should tailor their content to fit in seamlessly with what’s going on in today’s world.
Every industry has current topics and events that people like to talk about, research, and share with one another. If you’re trying to grow your channel about law and criminal defense, a video about the latest changes in the law could be a good topic to create a video about. If your YouTube channel is primarily about food vlogging, try highlighting some of the latest and greatest restaurants in your area.
SERP Matrix | Video Marketing Agency Houston TX
We hope this blog has helped you reach a greater understanding of how to increase your YouTube audience. While these are a few tips anybody can use to optimize their YouTube videos, keep in mind that video marketing is always changing. As YouTube and other social media and video sharing platforms become more sophisticated, there are numerous technical aspects that must be mastered in order to reap the maximum benefits of video optimization.
If you’re trying to reach the widest audience possible, hire a professional marketing agency that is experienced in video marketing. For over two decades, SERP Matrix has provided companies and brands around with the nation with their video marketing, digital marketing, and web design needs. For more information on how we can help you create and market high-quality content on your behalf, contact us at 713-287-1134 to receive a free consultation from one of our in-house project managers.
