TouchStorm's Jeff Martin on YouTube Video Optimization

October 4, 2010

©2010 TouchStorm, LLC. A unit of PowerPact Holdings Group. All rights reserved. Proprietary and confidential.

Maximizing YouTube Visibility With Organic SEO

2©2010 TouchStorm, LLC. A unit of PowerPact Holdings Group. All rights reserved. Proprietary and confidential.

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Driving Views


Tips From The Trenches:

YouTube Metadata Optimization


YouTube Metadata Optimization Tips The title:• 100 characters max (65 are visible in search results)

• Seems to have the most weight of any single item for optimization

• Represents your video (along with the thumbnail) wherever it appears on YouTube: Search results, related videos, etc.

Tips:• Make sure your core keywords are present

• Keep your phrases together - proximity is important

• Ordering doesn’t appear to be much of a factor

• Using a keyword more than once seems to provide lift

– Avoid awkward and redundant keyword usage

– Your titles must entice users

• Use your titles in the description

– If your title is optimized its going to help with optimization to use it here

– The first ~140 char appear in the search results and searched for keywords will be bolded to users and will help draw the eye as they do in Google results.


YouTube Metadata Optimization Tips The description:• 5,000 characters max - use it and abuse it!

• The first 80 characters are displayed by default - and need to be taken advantage of.

• Notoriously unutilized according to YouTube despite being a factor for optimization.

Tips:• Two useful ways for utilizing the first 80 characters (examples below):

– Feature a link to drive traffic to your website (video only promotions are nice for clicks and conversions).

– Use text with special characters to entice users to open the description fully (this may also entice users to click the video from the search results).

• Including detailed info, tips, techniques and transcripts makes the video more of an information source and can encourage “likes” and favorites which are crucial.

• Keep traditional SEO principles in mind as you work the content with your keywords.

• If you cant modify the copy use keywords in “plain sight”.

• Place links to more of your videos

– YouTube takes notice of what videos drive views to others for helping them determine related videos.


YouTube Metadata Optimization Tips The tags:• 120 characters max

• Can consist of words or phrases (use quotes for phrasing)

• Tags are a factor for optimization

Tips:• Ordering doesn’t appear to be a factor.

• Make sure to cover all of your targeted keywords. Use phrasing for the targeted core keywords you have in addition to breaking the words out as tags.

• Break out keyword stems (bake, baking, baked, bakes) don’t rely fully on YouTube to figure them out. If you are literal then there is less room for inconsistent interpretation.

• Don’t stuff with duplicates - it wont work.

• Don’t use irrelevant tags - users will flame you for it and drop out quick.

– Dislikes + low attention span = a buried video


YouTube Metadata Optimization Tips Captions / Transcripts:• Indexed by YouTube and Google and have proven to be a

signal

• SubViewer (*.SUB) and SubRip (*.SRT) formats are fully supported

Tips:• Optimization will be natural if you draft your scripts before

shooting with your keywords in mind.

• Don’t force optimization into the captions. They are for the hearing impaired and your videos will appear unprofessional when what is spoken isn’t matching the text on the screen.



YouTube Engagement Tips


YouTube Engagement Tips Comments

• User must be signed in (Thank God).

• Each comment counts as an engagement - even your own. Participate!

• Keep users involved and coming back (which increases views) by keeping conversations going.

• Prune your overtly negative comments. Like a garden, if you don’t pull the weeds eventually that’s all you’ll see. These can and will affect all engagement.

Likes/Dislikes

• You want as many “likes” as you can get.

• Observation: you want a “like” percentage of 88+% but take it case-by-case with competing videos.

• New Observation: Our beta optimization tracking tool is indicating that a “like” has less impact than a “dislike.” Your video has to work harder to make up for a dislike.

• Flaming and overtly negative arguments in the comments may raise the risk of a dislike.


YouTube Engagement Tips Favoriting

• Is essentially a bookmark.

• May have more positive impact than a “like” (gathering data).

– Why? The video was so valuable to you that you felt the needed to keep it close.

• Reversely, losing a favorite may have a negative impact.

• Helpful and detailed info in the description can help the chances of gaining favorites.

• Use annotations to remind users they can find useful info in the description and recommend they “bookmark” the video in their favorites.



Guiding YouTube Watching Habits


Guiding YouTube Watching Habits Relate your videos:

• The more similar your video metadata is to another video the more likely they may wind up related.

– BUT you must find a balance between respecting a video’s topical uniqueness and relating to it.

– Consider using similar related tags and series-like titling:

• Appetizer Recipes: Sweet and Sour Shrimp Puff Appetizers

• Appetizer Recipes: Ham and Cheese Pinwheel Appetizers

Annotations:

• Suggest the next video to watch by using a linked annotation before a video ends.

• Ask the user to “like” the video. Sales 101: ask for the sale.

• Remind the user to check out the description for a video special promotion code, recipe, instructions, more tips, etc., they may bookmark (favorite) the video.


Guiding YouTube Watching HabitsLinks In The Description:• Link to other related videos you have

• Use tracking URLs for each link so you can test how effective they are

Video Responses:

• Feature two of your own videos as responses to a related video of yours that’s getting more views.

• Keep an eye out for 3rd party popular videos as well.

– Keep an eye on “new” videos appearing in search results

– Keep an eye on the most popular, viewed, rated, favorited, videos in your category.

– Cross promote with another YouTuber by exchanging relevant video responses.


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TouchStorm's Jeff Martin on YouTube Video Optimization