Your SEO Cape Town Guide to Video SEO:
In the SEO Cape Town Guide To Video SEO, we will look at Video SEO and how it may help you find more users interested in your offering —and ultimately more potential customers—by improving and increasing your views, as well as the visibility of your videos in Google’s search results.
If you want more people to find and watch your videos, you need to make sure they rank well when users look for topics you address online as part of your video SEO strategy. The better your videos are optimised, the higher they’ll rank, and the more chance there is that the viewers will choose your channel over someone else’s. But is there something more to Video SEO than just optimisation?
The SEO Cape Town Guide to Video SEO, takes you through some high-value strategies which will help you get more views, engagement, grow your audience, and garner more new users to your channel and website.
Let’s check out these juicy strategies, which will help you make the most of the videos on your channel!
1. Video Keyword Research according to the SEO Cape Town Guide:
As you can imagine, Video SEO requires a completely different approach to keyword research when compared to traditional SEO. This is mainly because people use Google and YouTube differently and Google monetises these channels differently. On Google, people are trying to solve problems or find information, Google runs ads above these answers. YouTube, however, also provides and answers but Google wants to show video ads, therefore the optimisation here is more about looking engagement in addition to the semantic optimisation.
One key thing to note is that most of your engagement and views will come from YouTube recommending your video, not from search engines. Although it’s still a good idea to optimise your brand’s videos for both Google and YouTube, don’t expect a huge amount of traffic from search engines alone.
With that in mind, let’s have a look at the SEO Cape Town Guide has to say about some of the key video keyword search techniques:
1.1. YouTube Suggest
Very simple and straightforward, it works just like Google suggest. Simply type whatever keyword you want into YouTube’s search bar and get a list of related suggestions. Although simple, don’t underestimate this exercise. YouTube suggest is quite literally telling you the exact keywords and phrases that people are actively searching for.
1.2. TubeBuddy Tags
TubeBuddy is a Google Chrome extension that shows you the tags your competitors are using in their videos and it’s free.
Simply install and add the extension to your Google Chrome Browser, find a competitor’s video you like, and click on the ‘tags’ tab to see a list of tags used for that video. Look out for the little green number next to each tag, as this indicates where exactly that video ranks for those terms in YouTube search.
So, if you spot a poorly optimised /poor quality video that ranks for a keyword, make sure to record it. By creating a high-quality, keyword-optimised video, you could probably outrank that video with your own!
1.3. YTCockpit
Videos take a lot of time and effort, far more than regular written content or blog posts. It is therefore integral to not waste any time, money, or resources videos require on a video that is simply going to be buried due to optimising around a massively competitive keyword that now has millions of videos.
This is where a competition analysis tool like YTCockpit becomes really helpful, especially because the tool was created specifically for YouTube and not search engines.
After entering a keyword, YTCockpit will return a list of keyword suggestions as well as all the important metrics relative to that keyword (CPC, search volume etc.) But wait…There’s more!
What is really great about this tool is that it basically gives you a snapshot of data from videos directly competing with your keyword/s, showing you metrics such as average video length, number of likes and comments, and it even gives you a detailed breakdown of the YouTube SERP.
This kind of competition analysis will help you save a lot of time and effort when deciding which keyword\s to ultimately create your videos around.
1.4. YouTube Video Stats
Did you know that your own YouTube Studio can be the best source of keywords? This is because if your channel has a bit of traction, YouTube shows you the keywords you already rank for.
Simply head over to your YouTube Studio Dashboard, Click “Analytics” and “Reach Viewers”, then navigate to “Traffic Source: YouTube Search”, and there you have it!
With this information you can now do one of two things:
1.Optimise a video you already have around the chosen keyword: By adding a bit of on-page Video SEO and slightly tweaking some things on an existing video, you will likely be able to rank number one for that keyword.
2.Create a new video around the keyword: Basically, instead of optimising an older video to try make it fit into a good keyword you’ve found, you could opt to create an entirely new and fresh video that is hyper-optimised around that keyword for best results.
2. Creating Stunning Videos
Great, so now that you have a good-looking list of keywords, it’s time to get to work in actually producing your videos.
YouTube has some key metrics you need to be hitting in order to ensure a high ranking, so when creating your video, you need to keep the following ranking signals in mind:
1.Watch Time
2.Session Time
3.User Engagement
4.Audience Retention
5.Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
The SEO Cape Town Guide explores this further and breaks down what some of these terms mean and why they matter when creating your videos:
2.1. Total Watch Time
Total Watch Time is most likely YouTube’s no.1 ranking factor and refers to the total amount of minutes accumulated from your video. You can access this data via your YouTube Studio dashboard.
According to the SEO Cape Town Guide, in order to optimise your Total Watch Time, you need to focus on:
Creating longer-form videos: It is estimated that viewers will watch about 40% of a video, so therefore longer videos = more total watch time accrued. If you look at top- ranking videos for most given keywords, you will notice they are generally longer in length. Consider making it a comprehensive, detailed video rather than a short one.
Ensure audience retention: Audience retention is another big YouTube ranking signal and focuses on the percentage of the video that was actually consumed by the viewer. The more time spent by people watching your videos, the more positive the outcome is. To keep them engaged, the first 15 seconds are vital—make those moments count by grabbing their attention from the start!
Peaks and Valleys: Deep dive into your audience retention reports from your YouTube videos and take careful note of where your audience retention peaks and drops. Once you know what works and what doesn’t, just focus on the good and eliminate everything else.
“Pattern Interrupts”: Pattern interrupts refer to the few times in a video where you break your usual rhythm and do something to recapture or reset the viewer’s attention. This can be anything, try something funny or silly, but only do it once or twice per video.
2.2. The Session Watch Time Metric
Session Watch Time is a ranking factor to measure how long a user stays on the YouTube platform after clicking onto your video. It makes sense for YouTube to reward your videos if they drive further viewing of the platform overall as this how YouTube monetises the platform.
If there is no way to measure Session Watch Time, how could you optimise videos for it? Basically, if someone clicks on a video that’s not yours, Google still makes money, you still benefit. But not to worry, it still definitely contributes to your video’s Session Watch Time.
However, there are still some work-arounds that the SEO Cape Town Guide suggests, to assist you in increasing your Session Watch Time:
1.Create playlists: Automatically increases your Session Watch Time when someone clicks on the playlist to watch a video.
End Screen linking: Links can be added at YouTube’s End Screen feature for your other videos or for your channel. This keeps viewers engaged and encourages them to stay on the platform rather than leaving earlier.
2.3. User Engagement & Audience Retention
Another key factor in ranking signal: YouTube wants active engagement with videos and not just passive viewers. This is where user engagement comes in: likes, comments, subscriptions, shares, and the number of adds to a playlist all signal to YouTube that you are keeping users on the platform.
In order to maximise user engagement, the SEO Cape Town Guide suggests the following:
1.Ask your viewers for something specific to comment on from your video, so challenge them to engage in the comments.
2.Remind people to subscribe to your channel by including a clear call-to-action at some point in all your videos.
3.Replying to comments encourages more comments, which means more engagement, which equals higher rankings.
3. Optimising your Videos
Now that you have created and published a great video, just like with traditional SEO, our focus now shifts to optimising those videos for keywords and phrases.
The SEO Cape Town Guide breaks this down into a few basic but purposeful actions, which will help boost the performance, impact and success of your videos:
3.1. Video Titles
The two main goals with video titles are always to firstly, include the keyword and secondly, to maximise the Clickthrough Rate (CTR). We will look at CTR later, but for now just make sure you are using the keyword once, within your video’s title.
3.2. Video Descriptions
Aim to write a description of 200+ words where possible – longer descriptions allow YouTube to discover more about your videos, and this in-depth understanding allows YouTube to suggest it on more videos.
3.3. YouTube Video Tags
Although not as important as they once were, YouTube video tags can still be helpful.
Don’t spend too much time on them, just make sure one of your tags is the keyword and you’re good to go.
3.4. Vocalise the keyword
YouTube transcribes what you’re saying in all your videos, and although it’s not perfect, at least 90% of the words you say are likely understood by the platform.
With that, it’s important that you actually speak the keyword once or twice per video to help YouTube understand your video is about that keyword.
Additionally, uploading a transcript helps YouTube fully understand exactly what your video is about and usually helps with being shown in suggested videos options.
3.5. Optimising for Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
We understand CTR to be a big ranking signal on YouTube because it shows that more people are selecting your video amongst the others when searching for a keyword resulting in a large rankings boost. So, to optimise for CTR, the SEO Cape Town Guide suggests the following:
1.Spend a bit of time crafting a compelling title that attracts clicks but also utilises the keyword well.
2.Putting in a bit of effort in creating an attractive, eye-catching thumbnail goes a long way when users are deciding which video to pick from a large selection all on the same topic.
3.Last but not least, creating an attention-grabbing description is a powerful way to secure more clicks. With only 125 characters to work with, you have to make them count!
4. Channel Authority
Similar to traditional SEO signals, a channel with more authority that has built a strong community will have its videos outrank the same topic from a newer, and therefore less trustworthy channel.
Building your channel’s authority takes time and is a long-term commitment. Hang in there! The SEO Cape Town Guide has a few helpful tips to get you started:
4.1. Clear Branding and Messaging
Understanding exactly how your channel differs from the countless others on YouTube and then consistently pushing that branding in all your messaging is sure to attract more subscribers and therefore, more authority. Coming up with a slogan for your brand is often helpful in this process.
4.2. Channel Header
Include this messaging (or slogan) everywhere you can, especially on your channel header – it is the first thing users see when they click on your channel after all.
4.3. Animated Logo
Another opportunity to enforce your branding is by including an animated logo in all your videos, as it grabs and holds potential new subscribers’ attention much better than a static one.
4.4. About Page Description
Another opportunity to include your slogan or key brand messaging is in your About Page description, mention it as early as possible.
4.5. Playlists
Curate the playlists you create for your channel to represent exactly what your brand is about.
4.6. Channel Trailer
Much like your header, your channel trailer is one of the first things viewers will see when on your channel, so make sure you keep it short and exactly to the point about what your channel is about and why they should be subscribing to it.
4.7. Link to your Channel
Don’t forget to add a YouTube link to your website and social media profiles.
5. Ranking in Google
We have now spoken at length about how to get your videos ranked on YouTube, but what about Google?
Basically, Google does this thing whereby they earmark specific words for video results… let’s call them “Video Keywords”. So, the secret to ranking your videos is to target those very Video Keywords. Trying to optimise for a keyword that does not already have a video on Google is very difficult, so stick to ones that already exist.
5.1. Finding Video Keywords
The easiest way to do this is to simply search for your desired keyword in Google Search. If you can find at least one video result for that search then you’re good, if not, maybe consider choosing a different keyword.
Once you’ve found one that will work, go back and either create a video around that keyword or optimise an existing video around it like we have covered previously in this guide.
6. Video Promotion
Due to the insane amount of volume being uploaded to YouTube and Google every single day, even your best videos might need a bit of help. This is where video promo strategies come in. The SEO Cape Town Guide takes a look at some of these strategies:
1.Announce your new video to your emailing list of subscribers.
2.Create “buzz” by sharing your video on all your social media platforms with an easily accessible link.
3.Embed videos in your blog posts: doing so, not only serves as a ranking signal for YouTube, but also generates backlinks to your channel, which is highly beneficial.
4.Include a “next video” on your end screen: this prompts your audience to engage more with your recent video uploads.
Final thoughts from the SEO Cape Town Guide to Video SEO:
Now that you have some key strategies in your toolkit, it’s time to start putting them into practice.
Remember, building authority takes time and consistency, but with the right approach, you’ll start seeing results. Stay focused, keep refining your strategy, and most importantly, enjoy the journey as you take your Video SEO to new heights!