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YouTube SEO: How to Optimize Your Videos for Search and Ranking

Let’s start with a simple exercise, shall we? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about search engines?

I bet you immediately thought of Google, am I right? Well, I don’t blame you. After all, Google is the biggest and most popular search engine out there. But here’s the thing… it’s not the only one. In fact, there are lots of search engines on the internet.

They may be less popular and not as powerful as Google, but you’ll be able to boost your search rankings and visibility by tapping into them. But for this article, we’ll be focusing mainly on YouTube. Yes, that’s right. Apart from its social networking site characteristics, YouTube is one of the most visited search engines in the world.

Google owns YouTube, so videos hosted on YouTube rank well on Google. If you’re looking to boost your video rankings, I urge you to read on.

Here are five ways to optimize your videos for search and ranking.

Do keyword research

If you’re looking to improve your YouTube SEO, the most important thing you need to do is to find the right keywords.

By choosing the right keywords, you can ensure that your video appears in the search results when people are looking for something related to your video’s topic. Start by thinking about what keyword people might use when looking for a video like yours.

You can also use a keyword research tool to see how many people are searching for those terms. This will give you insights into what people are actually searching for.

Incorporate keywords in the video title

When it comes to ranking your YouTube videos, optimizing your title is vital.

So if you’re looking to boost your videos, incorporating keywords into your title is a great place to start. By including relevant keywords in your title, you’ll be more likely to appear in YouTube search results for those terms. What’s more, you’ll also be more likely to attract viewers who are interested in your content.

Keep in mind that YouTube users often skim titles, so make sure your keywords are front and center. By optimizing your titles for YouTube SEO, you can ensure that your videos are seen by the people who are most likely to be interested in them.

Optimize your video description

Like with any other form of SEO, using the right keywords in your description can help ensure that your videos come up in search results. But it’s not just about using the right keywords – you also need to use them correctly.

For instance, including a list of keywords near the beginning of your description will help YouTube’s algorithm understand what your video is about and make it more likely to appear in relevant searches. In addition, be sure to use natural-sounding language and avoid keyword stuffing. If you can do this, you’ll be well on your way to getting more video views.

Use a custom thumbnail for your videos.

While it might be tempting to choose from one of the thumbnail options that are auto-generated by YouTube, it is best to upload a custom thumbnail image for your videos.

A custom thumbnail shows up in the search results and can help you stand out from the competition. When choosing a custom thumbnail, select an image that is high quality and represents the content of your video. Remember, your thumbnail is often the first impression people will have of your video, so make sure it accurately represents your video’s content and style.

You can also include keywords in the thumbnail to help people find your video. Be sure to test different thumbnails to see what works best for your videos.

Add subtitles and closed captions. 

YouTube is the second largest search engine and the third most-visited website in the world. That’s a lot of potential viewers! And what do viewers want? Videos that are informative, entertaining, and easy to understand.

Adding subtitles and closed captions to your YouTube videos is one way to ensure your content is accessible to as many people as possible. Not only will it help hearing-impaired viewers follow along, but it will also make your videos more searchable.

YouTube uses automatic captioning algorithms, so be sure to proofread and edit your captions for accuracy. You can also add keywords to your captions to improve your YouTube SEO. By doing so, you’ll be able to reach a wider audience and achieve your video marketing goals.

Final thoughts

As you can see, optimizing your YouTube videos for better search engine ranking is crucial if you want to improve your visibility and get more leads. Using the tips outlined above, you can give your videos a better chance of being discovered by potential customers and clients.

But if you need help with your YouTube strategy, our team is here to assist you. Schedule a free consultation call today to discuss how we can help improve your ranking and visibility on this powerful platform.

YouTube SEO: How to Optimize Your Videos for Search and Ranking

YouTube SEO: How to Optimize Your Videos for Search and RankingYouTube SEO: How to Optimize Your Videos for Search and Ranking

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Business

Most people think of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram when we talk about social media marketing. But Youtube is the second biggest search engine globally, and it’s also considered a social media platform.

With over 2 billion monthly average users, Youtube isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. If you’re looking for ways to get your products or services in front of your target audience, we highly recommend that you include Youtube into your marketing mix.

Here are six ways you can use Youtube as a marketing tool for your business or healthcare practice.

Grow your audience

With over 2.3 billion users worldwide, Youtube is the biggest video-sharing platform in the world. The numbers are growing year after year. Simply speaking, creating a presence on this platform means having an endless flow of potential customers.

Unlike other social media platforms, people use Youtube as a search engine. They type something into the search bar, and then your videos come up in the search results. That means you get qualified traffic, not just some random people who stumbled upon your content. They are interested in what you have to offer.

By publishing videos on Youtube, you’re not just exposing your brand to a huge audience; you’re actually getting potential leads, clients, and customers.

Connect with your target audience 

Youtube provides a powerful yet informal way of connecting with your audience. Remember that Youtube is a competitive platform, with 500 hours of video uploaded every minute.

If you want to capture your target audience’s attention, then you need to create videos with your audience in mind. Remember, it’s not all about you; it’s about your followers.

We also recommend creating a content calendar to plan and organize your upcoming content. Plus, you’ll spare yourself the stress of coming up with a topic on the spot.

Use the platform to show your expertise 

Besides watching countless hours of entertaining videos, one of the main reasons why Youtube is so popular is because it provides users with quick answers and solutions.

A lot of people are searching for health-related topics online nowadays. As a healthcare professional, you can quickly provide your audience with informative and educational videos related to your practice. There is no better way to share your knowledge than through video.

What may seem like common knowledge to you can be extremely valuable to your audience. Go ahead and share tips, give advice, or create how-to videos for your audience.

Providing your audience with educational and informative content will not only maximize your visibility but you’ll also be seen as a great resource and an industry expert.

Tell your brand story 

As a business owner, you’re probably looking for ways to get the word out about your products or services. But here’s the thing… People are tired of ads. So how do you capture your target audience’s attention without annoying them? One way you can do that is by telling your brand story.

In today’s competitive marketplace, you can no longer afford to be a faceless entity. People want to talk to real humans. Telling your brand story will help you stand out from the competition and help humanize your brand. The result is a brand that is as profitable as it is captivating.

Use video content to boost SEO ranking 

If you do a quick Google search, you’ll notice that videos appear more often on the search engine results. Why? Because Google loves video content. This is why it’s a necessary tool for your business.

When creating video content on Youtube, it is best to add a link to your website. While having lots of views is great, remember that you’re using the platform to encourage viewers to take action. You want to drive them to your website, where they can get more details about your offer.

Another idea is to incorporate video into your blog post or landing page. This will not only help you rank on Google, but it will also attract inbound links.

Be consistent with content production 

If you’re planning to use Youtube as a marketing tool, you need to commit to it. You can’t just post two videos this week and then be gone for a few months. Youtube is fast-paced by nature, and content becomes obsolete quickly.

If you go weeks or months between posts, people are likely to forget about you. Posting consistently and frequently will help you build loyal followers and strengthen your brand.

Decide how frequently you’ll post content. You don’t need to publish videos every day. But if you’re starting, we highly recommend that you publish videos two to three times a week to help your channel perform well in the algorithm.

Commit to posting video content multiple times a week and stick to your posting schedule. Also, let your followers know when you’ll be posting, so they can tune in the next time you have a new video up.

Final thoughts 

While every social media platform provides some benefits, there is one platform a lot of business owners seem to forget – Youtube.

Having a solid online presence on Youtube provides immense possibilities for increasing brand awareness, generating leads, driving traffic, and increasing conversion rate. If you still haven’t embraced the power of video, you’re seriously missing out.

 

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Business

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Family Medicine Practice6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Nutrition Practice

6 Ways to Use Youtube as a Marketing Tool for Your Mental Health Practice

Creative Ways to Repurpose Content into Something New

Many of you have probably spent a lot of time creating those high quality blog posts. Despite the effort, most of your blog posts are aging like milk, not wine. Now, no one is interested in them because it has been years since you published them. The good news is that you can make your old content valuable and relevant through the process of re-purposing. The key is to spice up each piece of content and making it a bit different than the last.

Repurposing content can be beneficial for your business. It’s a second chance at content promotion. People who weren’t able to read your post will have a chance to read about it. It also ensures that great content is never forgotten. Ultimately, reformatting your content helps you reach a new audience.

In this blog post, we have listed 3 different ways to repurpose old content. Read on and we’ll breathe new life into your existing content.

Write an ebook

One of the best ways to repurpose old content is by turning it into an ebook. While writing an ebook requires a great deal of effort, they are often considered as high-value pieces. There are dozens of tools that can help you design and publish your ebook. Papyrus, for instance, can help you create a beautiful cover page within a few minutes.

You can either distribute it on the Amazon Kindle Store or as a free giveaway for those who would subscribe to your newsletters.

Create a video  

Online videos continue to grow in popularity with web users. A lot of people prefer watching a one-minute video than to read a 1,000 world blog post. Contents that you have previously published to your site can be a great jumping off point for a larger discussion. This allows you to open up a whole new way to connect with others, especially for your audience who prefers content they don’t have to read. You can post your videos on Youtube or Vimeo for maximum exposure.

Create an infographic

People love visual content. You can repurpose your content as an infographic and then share it on social media. Take boring information like statistics or raw data and turn it into an infographic. This is effective because it provides a fun and creative way to present complex information quickly and clearly.

BIMSYoutube_2.23Today, Youtube is considered as the second largest search engine in the world. In fact, millions of viewers are turning to Youtube everyday to learn more about products and services, find answers to their questions and find solutions to their problems.

Here are a few reasons why it’s time for your business to start embracing Youtube as part of your marketing strategy.

Build trust

Online video marketing provides businesses an opportunity to build trust. Your videos will demonstrate what you can do and what you know. By uploading videos that feature your expertise in your field, it provides you an opportunity to build authority and recognition.

Online video also allows you to project a better and more personal profile to your clients. This gives customers a sense of intimacy; thus, making it easier to build rapport and trust.

SEO benefits

By utilizing Youtube as part of your marketing strategy, you are also increasing your search engine optimization. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing consider video as important as text-only pages. Marketing on Youtube will help your videos appear more frequently in Google’s search results.

Generate sales

Youtube allows customers to see your products in action before buying them. This is particularly beneficial for those who sell online. Reember, nothing will market your product better than an actual video demonstration.

Youtube can help your business attract customers from different parts of the world. The more people watch your videos, the more business you can generate.

More content in less time

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a minute of video is worth millions. Every second of video is equivalent to reading an article with at least 15,000 words.

People love videos because it provides them a lot of information in so little time. Long articles provide a significant amount of information. However, some people are not interested in reading them because it will take a lot of time. Who would want to read a long, boring article, when you can just press the play button and get the same amount of information in a minute or two?

It’s where your customers want to find you

Youtube is the 3rd most viewed website in the world, next to Google and Facebook. In fact, over 3 billion Youtube videos are being watched every single day. Plus, millions of people subscribe to different channels each day. With this statistic, it is safe to say that people wants it. Not delivering on this desire means somebody else will.

 

BIMSThe holiday season is the busiest shopping time of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, the average American adult usually spends about $810 during the holiday season. Because of that, retailers and brands are fighting for consumer’s attention to drive up their sales.

Incorporate the excitement and spirit of the holidays into your social media campaigns. Here are some tips on how to take advantage of the holidays with the help of social media.

Help your customers get into the holiday spirit

Most people are sprucing up their homes and putting up lights and ornaments around their home. Why don’t you do the same and add some seasonal touches to your website and social media pages? Update your Facebook cover photos, Youtube channels, Google+ images and Twitter backgrounds where possible.

Holiday promotions

While the shopping season usually starts in September, most people don’t start until November. Others would wait until the first week of December before they start shopping. It’s never too late to capture a holiday shopper.

Share holiday promotions with your followers and give them something to look forward to.  Take advantage of social media advertising options such as Twitter sponsored tweets and Facebook offers if you really want to bank on your sale.

Give back to the community

Truly get into the spirit of giving by adding a charitable element to your holiday campaign. Use your platform as a business leader to draw attention to a cause. Get your employees on board and give back to your local community.

Give away prizes

The holiday season is a time for giving. Since people interact with businesses more frequently during the holiday season, this is also the best time to run a contest.

Contests and giveaways are a great way to create buzz around your product. They also help increase social sharing, engagement and fan base. Ask for shares and likes for entries into the contest for a chance to win. The monetary value of the prize is totally up to you, but make sure that you provide them something they will value and appreciate.

 

youtubemarketing_11.25.14

YouTube might try to wow you with the latest statistics by revealing that 48 hours worth of video are being uploaded every minute. By the time you finish reading this article, we’re guessing 3 days’ worth of videos have been uploaded on the site.

With the competition getting tougher, you’re probably thinking if someone would be interested enough to watch your videos. If you are doing this to capture the attention of your target audience, you have to make sure that your videos standout from the rest and focus on conversion.

Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your Youtube marketing campaign.

Keep it short

Whether it’s in TV or the Internet, no one is interested to watch ads anymore.

Most Youtube ads allow users to skip the ad after 5 seconds. Majority of the users would take advantage of this option and click on the “skip ad” button immediately and proceed to watch the video they came to Youtube for.     That being said, you only have 5 seconds to capture the attention of your target audience and get your message across. Otherwise, it’ll be out of the picture. Make sure to keep your ads short and watchable. Don’t go beyond the 60-second mark.

Selecting the right keywords

Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world. And the fact that Google owns Youtube cannot be overlooked.

Videos appear on search engines. To make your video more findable, you have to make sure that it lands on top of the search results page. To do that, you need to select the right keywords and use them in the first few words of your title, description and tags.

Create compelling videos

When individuals are searching online, they are looking for quick information. That said, each one of your videos should be relevant, valuable and educational to your prospective and current clients. Create content that addresses your audience’s needs.

 

Every marketing channel has tools that can make your marketing tasks more
effective and efficient. Social media marketing is one of them.
For the past few years, several social media marketing tools have been launched.
However, not all of them were created equal. So, before choosing which of these
tools you should use, it is important to have a clearly defined objectives and
measurable outcomes. This will help you determine if your social media marketing
efforts are successful.
Listed below are some of the most popular monitoring tools. Read on and decide if
these tools are the ones you need.

Viralheat
One of Viralheat’s most interesting features is that it allows business owners to
compare their overall brand mentions against their competitors. The data is then
presented in a pie chart or graph.
This is advantageous as it helps you determine if your marketing efforts enables
you to increase brand buzz across social media platforms.

Sysomos
Sysomos is especially useful for larger companies. With a $550 monthly plan, you
can throw in a few bells and whistles as it includes a dedicated account manager, 5
users and unlimited data.
Sysomos provides management of your company accounts and social media
account monitoring as well. Data Visualization is one of its best features. This allows
users to get to the root of conversations in order to understand the factors that
influence them.

UberVU
UberVU provides its users with actionable insights. When providing listening and
monitoring data, it sources the most social media networks. This tool monitors a
variety of networks such including Picasa, Youtube, Blogger, LinkedIn, Twitter and
Facebook. It also has a feature which they refer to as “Signal”, which scans all the
conversations and mentions relevant to your brand. They also detect dozens of
signals such as trending stories, spikes in sentiment and volume and influencer
mentions.

Sprout social
This is a modestly priced tool that can help you monitor and manage your company
profiles on the Internet. With a $39 monthly plan, it allows you to manage a
maximum of 10 profiles.
In terms of monitoring your brand metrics, Sprout Social only provides results from
Twitter and Facebook. However, this tool has the ability to monitor brand mentions
from other sources like news sites and blogs.

How do you get more people to watch your YouTube videos? One way to generate traffic is to use the power of Pinterest. To boost your business and increase your subscribers, link your YouTube channel with your Pinterest account. If you already have both a YouTube and a Pinterest account, you may as well leverage the influence of both these social media platforms.  Remember, your YouTube videos cannot help your business if they are not seen!  Here’s how to get started:

If you do not use Google Chrome, download it now (it will make this much easier. Google Chrome offers a “Pin It” button that lets you take an image from any site and put it to your boards.  Once in chrome, to get the “Pin It” button go to http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/ – then simply drag the “Pin It” link to your bookmarks bar.

Before you do any official linking between your YouTube channel and Pinterest, you must make sure your YouTube channel is fully optimized to your brand. Anything in your YouTube description box must have a URL/link back to your blog or company website. This is usually where viewers look to get more information. You also want to ensure that your YouTube profile is fully developed – add a personal photo or company logo, and keep your description short and sweet (all of this will help to leverage all of your traffic from Pinterest).

Let’s go back to the “Pin It’ button you downloaded earlier. Simply click the button to Pin the video you want to share. Create a board that is dedicated to your YouTube channel.  When coming up with a board name, remember to focus on keywords. Pinterest not only generates traffic from its own community, but also from Google Search. So it is very important to consider search engine optimization.

Now that you have pinned your video, it is time to add keywords to your pin description.  Whatever you do, do not leave this box empty. It is also a good idea to add the complete URL to your company site inside the description box. This makes it easy for viewers to get back to your page.

Since you have pinned your video from your YouTube channel, users who click will automatically be taken back to your channel. In linking your YouTube channel, Pinterest account, and company blog you are generating more traffic to all three of your marketing platforms. Remember to pin all of your videos!

 

The fact is you could put as many videos as you want on YouTube, but you are not getting any positive return if nobody is watching them.  So the big question is, how do you get more people to watch your videos?

The answer: Pinterest.

To boost your business and increase your subscribers, link your YouTube channel with your Pinterest account. If you already have both a YouTube and a Pinterest account, you may as well leverage the influence of both these social media platforms.  Here’s how to get started:

If you do not use Google Chrome, download it now (it will make this much easier. Google Chrome offers a “Pin It” button that lets you take an image from any site and put it to your boards.  Once in chrome, to get the “Pin It” button go to http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/ – then simply drag the “Pin It” link to your bookmarks bar.

Before you do any official linking between your YouTube channel and Pinterest, you must make sure your YouTube channel is fully optimized to your brand. Anything in your YouTube description box must have a URL/link back to your blog or company website. This is usually where viewers look to get more information. You also want to ensure that your YouTube profile is fully developed – add a personal photo or company logo, and keep your description short and sweet (all of this will help to leverage all of your traffic from Pinterest).

Back to the “Pin It’ button you downloaded earlier. Simply click the button to Pin the video you want to share. Create a board that is dedicated to your YouTube channel.  When coming up with a board name, remember to focus on keywords. Pinterest not only generates traffic from its own community, but also from Google Search. So it is very important to consider search engine optimization.

Now that you have pinned your video, it is time to add keywords to your pin description.  Whatever you do, do not leave this box empty. It is also a good idea to add the complete URL to your company site inside the description box. This makes it easy for viewers to get back to your page.

Since you have pinned your video from your YouTube channel, users who click will automatically be taken back to your channel. In linking your YouTube channel, Pinterest account, and company blog you are generating more traffic to all three of your marketing platforms.

Remember to pin all of your videos. Give this a try and boost your marketing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YouTube is now making it difficult for users to remain anonymous when trying to post negative or inappropriate videos and comments. Currently the site is pushing for users to use their full name when uploading videos or making comments. Rather than showing a pen name that links to their YouTube account, the site would prefer to link to the user’s Google+ account, showing their picture and full name.

This new move by YouTube will attempt to prevent any hurtful, inappropriate or negative comments to be posted onto the site. In a YouTube company blog, it was stated that YouTube is, “giving you the ability to change how you appear on YouTube, with the option to use your Google+ profile on your YouTube channel.” This idea launched after the option to have one Google-wide identity seemed popular among new YouTube users when it was first offered back in March. Now the site wants to extend this option to its current users as well.

Now when posting a comment on YouTube, the site will ask if you want to use your full name. If you decline to use your full name, you must select a reason for doing so, such as, “My channel is for a product, business or organization.”

YouTube has stated that, “We’ll help you review your YouTube content before your full name starts to display.” Furthermore, if a user changes their mind, they are able to return back to their username.

This new information about YouTube’s commenting system was released just about a month after a YouTube developer at Google’s I/O conference claimed that the website would be, “undergoing some changes to prevent bullying” in the site’s comments section.

 

YouTube is hoping that this new change will encourage users to think twice before posting an inappropriate comment. And for users who have made comments that they now regret posting, the site has a ‘Review my content’ section to view every video and comment they’ve ever posted to the site and decide if they want those videos or comments to be associated with their full name before committing to the new change.