Most of you guys have YouTube channel, you want your videos to appear in several places
You can do this organically if you know how to get more views on YouTube through organic optimization. Organic is just another way of saying that you use non-paid efforts to generate traffic.
First, think about how people use YouTube.
They search for a keyword on Google or through YouTube’s internal search engine, for example. If your video appears early in those search results, you’re more likely to get views.
Additionally, YouTube suggests videos to viewers who have watched another video. You often see those suggestions in the right-hand sidebar. Appearing in those can help you get more views, too.
But how do you increase traffic to your videos organically?
1. Write Optimized Video Titles With Tag Keywords
You probably already use keywords to inform your blog and landing page content. Did you know that keywords can also help your videos get found?
Start with the title of your video. Make it as descriptive as possible of the content, but make sure you include at least one target keyword, too.
For instance, let’s say that you’re creating a video on how to potty-train a dog. Your headline or title might look like one of these:
- Learn How to Potty-Train a Dog in 5 Simple Steps
- What Is the Best Way to Potty-Train a Dog Quickly?
- My Number One Secret for Potty-Training a Dog
Each of these titles is descriptive of the content, but they also include a long-tail keyword: “potty-train a dog” or “potty-training a dog.”
2.Add Keywords and More Description to Your Captions
When you post a video on YouTube, you can include a description that appears underneath the video. Use this space wisely.
As with the title, you’ll want to include your target keyword. Using the keyword just once or twice is sufficient — as with other types of content, you’ll get penalized if you try keyword stuffing.
LSI or related keywords can also help Google and YouTube rank your video organically. You could use several LSI keywords for the video described above, such as:
- Housebreaking a dog
- Teaching your dog to potty
- Crate-training your dog
Your goal with the video description is to give the video context. Google and other search engines can’t “read” a video, but they can interpret your description or caption.
3. Tag Your Videos
YouTube tags can help people find your videos quickly, but only if you use them wisely.
Think about how people search for online content. They often type a question or a keyword into Google, then click on the results that seem most appealing.
Consequently, it’s best to use a combination of generic and specific YouTube tags. You can target multiple types of searches that way.
Let’s go back to our dog training example. You could start with basic, generic tags that identify the basic subject matter of the video, such as “dog training” and “potty training a dog.”
Refine your tags and add a few that are more specific to your video. For instance, if you’re making a series of dog training videos, you could use the tag “dog training series” to let people know that other, similar videos exist.
Finally, use branded tags. Your name or your business’s name can help people find more of your content when they run into your brand elsewhere on the Internet.
4. Use Consistent Thumbnail Images
Thumbnails are the small images that appear next to your video descriptions in search results. If they’re consistent, your videos will become more recognizable to your audience.
Let’s look at an example related to our fictional dog training video. Zag George creates videos on training dogs at all levels, and if you take a peek at his YouTube page, you’ll notice consistent themes across all of his thumbnails:
This is a great way to help you become more identifiable to viewers. Plus, it helps solidify your brand.
5. Transcribe Your Videos for Search Engines and Users
Writing great captions can help you rank higher in the search engines, but video transcripts give you even more SEO juice. They help Google and YouTube understand exactly what your video teaches.
Plus, some people can’t listen to your video or would prefer to read your content. Your video becomes doubly useful when you provide a handy transcript.
For short videos, this won’t take much time at all. You can either do the transcription yourself or hire a professional on a website like Fiverr.
Yes, YouTube automatically adds closed-captioning to your videos, but it isn’t always accurate. You’ll want to make sure your transcript accurately reflects the video’s content.
Increase Views With Your Video Content
Transcribe your video word-for-word. If possible, make sure your video script includes target keywords and related keywords so search engines find it more compelling in terms of ranking.
6. Focus On Quality
A high-quality video will get far more views than one of low or poor quality. That’s just common sense.
But what makes a video poor? Avoid the following qualities:
- Inconsistent focus
- Motion shake
- Low lighting with harsh shadows
- Incorrect color balance
- Inaudible or incomprehensible dialogue
- Distracting backgrounds
You don’t need thousands of dollars worth of equipment to make great videos. In fact, you can create great videos using something as simple as your smartphone.
Focus instead on your environment. Consider standing or sitting against a blank wall. You can also use a larger aperture to blur your background and focus the viewer on you.
Invest in a microphone that will improve quality and use an LED panel light to soften shadows and improve coloring.
7. Focus on Education or Entertainment — Or Both
The best YouTube videos help people solve specific problems. They’re useful and actionable.
However, you’ll also notice that the most-viewed videos and the creators with the highest subscriber counts don’t shy away from humor. They entertain while they educate.
You don’t need to be a professional comic to add humor or entertainment value to your videos. Incorporating a pop culture reference or a joke can make your videos more engaging and shareable.
8. Actively Request Subscriptions From Viewers
Most people don’t watch a video and think, “I should subscribe to this creator.” That’s just not the nature of the Internet.
If you want people to subscribe, ask them. Include a short segment at the end of each video that invites viewers to subscribe to your channel, then add a key benefit of subscribing.
You can also request subscriptions in the video description. Again, including a benefit can vastly increase subscription rates.
9. Pay Attention to News and Pop Culture
Trends come and go on YouTube just like they do on every other site. Additionally, news and pop culture change on a regular basis, so you’ll want to pay attention if you want to capitalize on them.
Let’s say that you’ve seen a particular meme making the rounds. Incorporate it into your video in a humorous way. Just make sure that you connect it to the video’s content.
You can also reference news and pop culture, from politics to television shows. Just make sure you don’t use controversial material unless that’s your goal.
10. Invite Guests to Appear on Your Channel
Joining forces with someone else can make your YouTube video even more popular. Your guest can let his or her audience know about the appearance, which expands your viewership instantly.
Who should you invite as a guest? Look for someone who is an expert in your niche or who can provide valuable knowledge for your audience.
If you live in the same geographic area , you can film in the same location. Alternatively, you can use a dual screen to communicate across long distances. Then you’ll edit the video just like usual.
11. Group Your Content Into Playlists
Playlists are just as useful for your YouTube videos as they are for the group of songs you listen to during your morning run. They group like content together so people can watch them in succession.
Just make sure you have a good reason for creating a playlist. You could group a bunch of videos that share common themes, for example, or do a best-of playlist that unites your best content for a given time period or on a given subject.
12. Host YouTube Giveaways And Contests
Contests and giveaways are among the most popular types of content, and they work just as well on YouTube as they do on your blog or on Instagram. They encourage people to not only actively engage with your videos, but also to tell their friends and colleagues about the campaign.
There are two primary necessities for a great contest or giveaway:
- Truly desirable prizes; and
- Lots and lots of promotion
Feel free to cross-promote your contest on other social channels as well as on your website. People who share your contest or giveaway, such as on Twitter or Facebook, might get extra entries. This tactic can vastly expand your prospective audience.
The prize could be something as simple as one free year of access to your membership site or free access to your most popular online course. You can give away as many of these prizes as you want.
Contests add another layer of engagement to the process. Users have to actively participate, such as by submitting their own videos or other types of user-generated content. Contests help expand your brand awareness better than plain giveaways.
13. Get Serious About Video Responses
When someone leaves a comment or question on one of your videos, don’t just ignore it. Actively respond to it. In fact, provide as detailed and thorough a response as possible.
When you engage with your community, you show that you care about their success and their absorption of whatever knowledge you’ve shared with them. They’ll remember that kindness and generosity, which might lead them to view more of your content in the future.
You can also use responses to content to share information about your digital products. You don’t want to be too pushy with heavy sales tactics, but you can guide viewers toward your products if the opportunity presents itself.
14. Get Active in Your Community
YouTube, just like other social media platforms, can be a community-building machine. You’ll notice that people within the same industry or niche often comment on one another’s videos and even mention each other in their content.
Search for videos related to your own, watch the content, and leave value-driven feedback. Offer plenty of praise if you like the content, but don’t bash someone else — even if you don’t agree with that person’s tactic or perspective.
If you’re not engaging in that community, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to disseminate your content. And it doesn’t always have to be on YouTube.
Promote Your YouTube Videos Away From the Platform
Your YouTube community exists outside of YouTube, too. For instance, bloggers who write about your niche might have YouTube channels, but they also post on their blogs and on Facebook. If you connect with them via those external platforms, you can increase the chances of them viewing your videos.
The idea is to make yourself an indispensable resource to everyone in your niche or industry. If you’re commenting on their blogs, leaving praise on their videos, and connecting with them on social, they’ll remember you. They might even link to your videos to express their appreciation.
15. Focus on Building SEO
Many marketers assume that search engine optimization matters only for text-driven content. At one time, that might have been true.
However, Google crawls YouTube just like it does your blog and landing pages. It can read the content on the page and rank your video based on the ranking factors it detects.
If you have lots of links to your video, for instance, your rankings can increase. The same is true for improved click-through rates. Make sure to use keywords sparingly but logically, and don’t forget about interlinking your videos on YouTube.