YouTube Optimization Tips for SEOs at #SEMrushconf2019

1. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti#youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti YouTube Optimization Tips for SEOs

2. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiwww.orainti.com * SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti * SEO Speaker at +100 Events in +20 countries * Author “SEO. Las Claves Esenciales.” * Blogger in Search Engine Land & Search Engine Journal * Crawling Mondays YouTube Channel Host * European Search Personality of the Year in 2018 I’m Aleyda Solis, SEO Consultant   & Founder at Orainti

3. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti I wanted to try something new for 2019

4. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.youtube.com/intl/en-GB/about/press/ And then I saw these numbers…

5. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Who wants to have a share of this? semrush traffic analysis

6. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti I decided to do it #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

7. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.youtube.com/c/crawlingmondaysbyaleyda I registered, filmed myself and announced   the Crawling Mondays YouTube Channel

8. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Phil Nottingham from Wistia saw my ﬁrst video quality was a bit crappy and sent me tips for camera, mic, lighting and a soapbox video kit Thanks @philnottingham

9. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti I then started using this kit to film   Crawling Mondays Logitech Panavise  & iPhone XS Max SmartLav+  &   Snowball ice Aputure AL- M9 Light Mic LightCamera Camtasia Editor

10. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti I needed to research and test YouTube to identify the optimal way to produce my videos and grow their views

11. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti#youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Putting my SEO experience to the best use

12. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Answering key video questions to then test   their production & optimization process 1.   Research 2.   Implementation, Optimization & Testing Refining the videos Distributing the videos Which are the main factors to grow your videos views? Promoting the Videos Optimizing the Videos Producing the videos Establishing goals & targets to track Measuring videos results Who are your Video competitors ? What’s your audience Video Search Behavior? How do you measure Video results?

13. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti#youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Let’s go through my top video optimization findings when researching, developing & testing

14. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti 1. YouTube’s Videos discovery goes well beyond in-YouTube Search, so is important to optimize for those other channels too #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

15. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://qz.com/1178125/youtubes-recommendations-drive-70-of-what-we-watch/ Most of users don’t discover videos through YouTube search, but via video recommendations

16. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti YouTube search is one of many other trafﬁc sources within the platform powered by YouTube’s functionalities https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1714921?hl=en

17. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1714921?hl=en YouTube videos also have important external trafﬁc sources too Embedded Videos Links to videos from external sites Google Search Results

18. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintisemrush traffic analysis Organic search is the 2nd traffic driver to   the YouTube site after direct traffic

19. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Country Video Carrousels in top 20 results In all Categories In Arts & Entertainment Beauty & Fitness Any Video From YouTube Any Video From YouTube Any Video From YouTube USA Desktop 51.14% 79.91% 68.10% 90.87% 63.50% 83.47% Mobile 31.91% 81.91% 33.60% 93.20% 47.15% 85.69% Video SERP data via SEMrush 31.91% of mobile search results in the US   include video carrousels

20. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Usually +80% of Videos in these carrousels in Google Search Results are from YouTube Country Video Carrousels in top 20 results In all Categories In Arts & Entertainment Beauty & Fitness Any Video From YouTube Any Video From YouTube Any Video From YouTube USA Desktop 51.14% 79.91% 68.10% 90.87% 63.50% 83.47% Mobile 31.91% 81.91% 33.60% 93.20% 47.15% 85.69% Video SERP data via SEMrush

21. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti 2. To maximize your discoverability within YouTube you need to optimize for relevance, retention and engagement #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

22. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/discovery YouTube’s algorithm has two goals Help each viewer to find the videos they want to watch Get viewers to keep watching more of what they like 1 2

23. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://qz.com/1178125/youtubes-recommendations-drive-70-of-what-we-watch/ It’s actually pretty good at it

24. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/discovery These principles are used through different   discovery channels within YouTube Suggested Videos Search Home Videos Trending Subscriptions Tab Notifications

25. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/discovery YouTube’s will follow the audience behavior What users watch and don't watch What users like and dislike How much time users spend watching the video "not interested” feedback

26. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/discovery Suggested Videos are ranked to maximize engagement based on prior user activity Topically Related Videos Videos that viewers watch along with the current video Videos from a viewer’s past watch history

27. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/discovery YouTube Home shows videos from subscriptions, videos watched by similar viewers, new videos How many times the video has been shown How well the video has engaged and satisfied similar viewers How often the channel or topic is viewed

28. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/discovery YouTube search ranks the most relevant and highly engaged videos to the query Title Relevance Watch time of video for query Description Relevance

29. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.briggsby.com/reverse-engineering-youtube-search Most of these have been found to have a high correlation with the best ranked videos in YouTube across many studies

30. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://backlinko.com/youtube-ranking-factors With a few exceptions that I wanted to test when optimizing my videos to maximize their relevance

31. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti However, it was clear relevance is not enough   (as in SEO), here retention & engagement are key Relevance Engagement Retention  Title, description, etc. Likes, views, ratings, comments, shares, subscriptions   Watch Time

32. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti How to develop relevant videos to be liked so much that retain and keep users engaged?

33. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti 3. As in SEO, start with an audience preferences, topics and competition analysis to establish relevant queries targets to establish a video content plan #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

34. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiAhrefs & keywordtool.io Obtain popular queries to target by using your current keywords tools with YouTube support

35. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiBuzzsumo Identify the videos with more engagement   about your topic using tools like Buzzsumo

36. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Refine the terms by using YouTube’s focused   tools like vidIQ, including competition metrics vidIQ

37. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintividIQ Identify the top ranked videos keywords used in tags, as well as the most popular related terms

38. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Trends You can also verify trending topics by using Google Trends that includes a YouTube ﬁlter

39. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Use SocialBlade & Noxinfluencer to obtain the top channels from any topic in any country Socialblade & Noxinfluencer

40. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Analyze their ongoing behavior:   How often do they publish? When? Noxinfluencer

41. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiNoxinfluencer What topics do your competitors publish about? What are the best performing ones?

42. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiNoxinfluencer What terms are they targeting   with their top performing videos?

43. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti As a result you will now have a set of not so   high competitive, but relevant terms to cover Medium Search Volume Low Competition High topical relevance for your audience High expertise Feasibility to produce and cover w/ a video Possibility to repurpose on blog post Is there a video intent? Google shows videos Are aligned with your marketing/ business goals

44. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiTubeBuddy In my case this would mean to avoid generic SEO topics, much competition not so relevant audience

45. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiTubeBuddy While focusing on more specific yet still popular terms for a more niche audience with experience

46. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Establishing a consistent publication schedule for them Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 1 Publish How to “Set SEO Alerts” 1. Promote  in Social & Groups 2. Reply to comments 3. Repurpose video in blog post 1. Reply to comments 2. Retweet/Reshare other people 1. Reply to comments 2. Retweet/ Reshare other people 1. Ask for feedback on current video 2. Ask for questions for next topic Record next week video 2 Publish How to “Optimize faceted pages” 1. Promote  in Social & Groups 2. Reply to comments 3. Repurpose video in blog post 1. Reply to comments 2. Retweet/Reshare other people 1. Reply to comments 2. Retweet/ Reshare other people 1. Ask for feedback on current video 2. Ask for questions for next topic Ask for ideas/run poll for future topics Record next week video 3 Publish Interview “With Carlos - How an SEO agency in Spain is run” 1. Promote  in Social & Groups 2. Reply to comments 3. Repurpose video in blog post 1. Reply to comments 2. Retweet/Reshare other people 1. Reply to comments 2. Retweet/ Reshare other people 1. Ask for feedback on current video 2. Ask for questions for next topic Record next week video … … … … … … … …

47. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Which I have followed to publish 21 videos this year

48. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Targeting terms like this, that would be also otherwise more competitive to rank in Google PWA SEO SEO for Web migrations SEO alerts SEO dashboard Voice optimization Facet pages optimization Google Update Analysis AMP SEO Hreflang Tags Keyword Research International SEO Content Pruning

49. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti I now had the targets, but how would I measure my videos results?

50. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti 4. Monitor from the start your videos performance both within YouTube and Google Search Results to measure and identify opportunities #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

51. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiYouTube Studio Analytics YouTube’s channels come with a powerful analytics tool, allowing you to check your videos reach, engagement, audience

52. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiYouTube Studio Analytics Your videos overall impressions, CTR, views and unique viewers

53. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiYouTube Studio Analytics Which are your top YouTube’s trafﬁc sources, and their video behavior

54. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiYouTube Studio Analytics The keywords used to ﬁnd your videos via YouTube Search

55. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Analytics You can additionally monitor your videos behavior by using Google Analytics

56. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintividIQ Use video’s optimization tools like vidIQ analytics to track your evolution vs. competitors channels

57. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti And set alerts in them to get to be warned whenever new videos from relevant topics start trending vidIQ

58. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiRank Ranger You can further track your videos rankings for targeted terms in YouTube search results

59. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiRank Ranger As well as tracking your own site videos in Google’s search results per SERP feature! With a video thumbnail…

60. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiRank Ranger … Or your videos rankings in Google's video carrousels for your targeted queries

61. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiRank Ranger With the possibility to check your rankings evolution in the video carrousel vs your competitors

62. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Search Console Now you can also check this (sort of) with the Search Console “videos” search appearances

63. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Search Console With the capacity to see structured data errors that avoid showing videos rich results when publishing on your site

64. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Search Console … and troubleshooting them!

65. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Once you have a video tracking system in place it’s time to move on with the execution!

66. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti 5. Optimize your YouTube videos content areas to maximize their relevance and better structure their format for search visibility #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

67. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://youtube.com/c/crawlingmondaysbyaleyda Start by optimizing the base of your presence: Your channel description, keywords…

68. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti When publishing your videos you want to make the most out of each content area to optimize towards the video targeted queries Tubebuddy & VidIQ

69. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Starting with titles, descriptions, tags for which YouTube’s gives length references and you can get keywords suggestions w/ tools add-ons Tubebuddy & VidIQ Titles Descriptions Tags

70. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Which can save you time from looking for the related keywords elsewhere Tubebuddy & VidIQ

71. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Adding relevant hashtags in descriptions and titles

72. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiRev LOL Upload your own “higher quality”   closed captions to videos if you can

73. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti vs Take a look at how the top ranked videos for your queries are optimized to improve yours

74. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Are they all taken into consideration when ranking in YouTube search results though? Title Description Hashtags Tags Closed Captions

75. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti#youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti I tested it

76. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti I included the same “dummy” text in the title, description, tags, hashtags, closed captions to see which video ranked

77. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Tests results suggest that the title, description and hashtag are taken into consideration

78. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Title Description Hashtags Tags Closed Captions No tags and closed captions though

79. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti However, closed captions have other important roles that will improve engagement & retention For Hearing Impaired Watch muted video Non-native audience support

80. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://blog.google/products/search/key-moments-video-search/ Google has also started to show Timestamps in the ranked Videos in English search results from YouTube (other sites are not yet supported at the moment)

81. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Label (timestamp) Enable them for your videos by adding labels and timestamps in your YouTube’s videos descriptions https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/video#best-practices-youtube

82. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti They can be shown like this in Mobile Search Results…

83. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-video-timestamp-results/332623/ … although they need to be ranking ﬁrst already in video carrousels   (ht/@brodieseo)

84. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti 6. Optimize your YouTube Videos towards Engagement & Retention #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

85. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Once you're ranked for a query in YouTube Search Results: How do you engage and retain users?

86. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Besides a relevant, catchy title and description, it starts with your video thumbnail, that can make your video to stand out vs the rest and improve your CTR

87. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Thumbnails are the “ads” of your videos and as such you should design them to make them unique, attractive with a representative image, including a catchy title

88. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Replace the “default" thumbnail autogenerated from the video with an original image for it

89. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Run AB tests of your video thumbnail and metadata with tools like Tubebuddy, to identify your audience preferences and optimize them accordingly Tubebuddy

90. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Create playlists to facilitate users to browse through your channel videos using their topics

91. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Include info cards in your videos to link to other relevant ones or create a poll to engage users

92. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Add end-screens to your videos using the YouTube’s studio feature to refer your users to more of them and subscribe to your channel

93. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Don’t be shy! Ask your users to engage Keep watching to get answers Leave comments with questions Like the video Subscribe to channel

94. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Interact with users in the comments addressing their questions, liking meaningful comments and pining the best one

95. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Promote your videos and incentivize subscriptions outside YouTube too https://twitter.com/crawlingmondays

96. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Even ofﬂine!

97. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.seroundtable.com/youtube-subscriber-giveaway-28157.html You can do give-aways to encourage subscriptions, like Barry has done

98. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.briggsby.com/reverse-engineering-youtube-search It’s important to promote while the video is “new” since YouTube gives a “freshness” boost

99. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Engagement and retention require you to polish your conversion & community management skills #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

100. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti 7. Repurpose your YouTube videos to generate blog posts that will also help to maximize your Google video search results #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti

101. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Create a blog or section within your existing blog, creating a post for each one of your videos https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/crawling-mondays/

102. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Embed your YouTube video in the post initially to help promote it, along a transcription of it, including complementary information and resources

103. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Include a “rel=0” parameter to show related videos only from your channel (no competitors)

104. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Link to your channel with a “?sub_conﬁrmation" parameter to go to subscription option

105. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Include a watermark to your entire videos, allowing users to subscribe

106. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti You can generate the transcriptions with automated speech to text services , which are very cheap Rev

107. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Or you can do it for free, copy/pasting YouTube’s automated transcripts

108. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti#youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Free content FTW

109. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.briggsby.com/reverse-engineering-youtube-search After the “freshness” period passes by, you’ll want to switch the YouTube embed for Wistia

110. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintiWistia Wistia videos will add VideoObject structured data to the embedded videos automatically

111. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Like this you’ll have higher chances to rank for your target queries in Google search results with long-form posts with embedded videos

112. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti#youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Ready to see some results?

113. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti You can rank for those not yet so competitive but highly relevant terms within YouTube

114. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Like this

115. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Or this

116. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Or this

117. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Rank as well in Google search Results with your YouTube videos and embedded video in blog posts too

119. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Ranking also in Google’s search results with the post with a video thumbnail when the YouTube video doesn't rank

120. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Or rank twice with the same video within the Carrousel, with the YouTube video and the embedded one in the post

121. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti#youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Expanding your existing organic presence… while better addressing your users needs

123. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @orainti Keeping always in mind that it’s   about maximizing the RER Relevance Engagement Retention  Title, description, etc. Likes, views, ratings, comments, shares, subscriptions   Watch Time

124. #youtubeseo at #semrushconf2019 by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://youtube.com/c/crawlingmondaysbyaleyda Thank you! Questions?

YouTube Optimization Tips for SEOs at #SEMrushconf2019

Aleyda Solís

YouTube Optimization Tips for SEOs at #SEMrushconf2019