Youtube Search Engine Optimization

This article will delineate some useful tips for optimizing your Youtube videos to get traffic to your blog. Video search engine optimization is not a widely used term yet, but its usage is growing very fast. The complex world of search is constantly changing, pushing people to think about new strategies. As more and more videos are uploaded to Youtube, video search engine optimization becomes the most important new use of search engine optimization.

Before moving any further, there is one thing one needs to understand. In addition of being a video sharing site, Youtube is a search engine. And the real key to ranking in Youtube and get your video found is to optimize.

Related Videos

In August of 2008, a study showed that more than 70% of views come from related videos. The views coming from search barely exceed 10%. The truth is, when people search for a video, they end up taking shortcuts by clicking on related videos instead of running a new search. And when they are not looking for a specific video, they click on videos that have the most compelling titles or thumbnails.

How can this possible help you optimize your videos? If your goal is to make money from your blog using Youtube as a traffic generator, you will need to upload tons of videos. This, of course, doesn't guarantee that you will get views. Optimization is necessary. The thing here is to use related videos for your advantage. How? You can easily create strings of videos that are connected to each other by entering similar keywords. In that way, your videos are related and viewers are more likely to click one of your videos again while looking for another one. You can, for example, upload videos that complete each other (make money online part 1, part 2, part 3, etc.). These videos would have the same keywords but with variations.

Annotations

Another way of creating a string of videos is with annotations. Let's say, for example, you have a video that is daily getting a good amount of views. Now you want to send some of those viewers to your other videos. All you have to do is to add annotations that link all of your videos. Below is an illustration diagram.

Embedded videos

In some rare cases, most views come from videos that are embedded on websites or blogs. This can eventually help your videos rank better in Youtube and increase their chances to be found easily; however, there's one thing to keep in mind. In most cases, the descriptions of your videos will be omitted. And for this reason, it's essential to always watermark your videos before uploading them.

Partner Program

You've probably noticed little advertisements placed on the frame of certain videos. Well, these videos belong to people that have been accepted to the Youtube Partner Program. No need to tell you that they get paid for those little ads. Why do I mention this? Being a Youtube partner render your videos more visible to the world. Partner videos tend to rank better in the searches.

There's also a program called Video Units that enables publishers to earn cash by embedding partner videos on their sites. While they are probably not supposed to talk about it, it is possible that partners also get paid as people comment on their videos. I'll write an entire article on this subject later.

If you intend to apply to become a partner, you will need to create original videos, get thousands of views, and own the copyrights and distribution rights for all audio and video content that you upload.

Tips

1. Add rich metadata (tags, description, titles,etc).
2. Update your channel frequently. The more you upload, the more you become important and eventually, people will subscribe to your channel.
3. Search your related videos, sort them by views, study them and come up with better ideas.
4. Watermark your videos.
5. Add the URL of your blog in the description areas of your videos.
6. Upload related videos.
7. Consider becoming a youtube partner. If you own the content of your videos, you can share revenues with Youtube.
8. Create compelling content. If the content is not compelling, your video will not emerge to go viral.
9. Include the word “video” in your metadata as many viewers’ searches will likely include it. And if your video is a tutorial, add “how to.”
10. Keep your videos short. If your videos are too long, they may become boring after 5 minutes.
11. Use compelling thumbnails.
12. Allow your viewers to rate your videos.
13. Allow people to embed your videos on their sites.
14. Use annotations to display a message or to redirect your viewers to another video.
15. Do a good job.

That's pretty much what you need to know to succeed on Youtube and make money. I'll be posting a lot more articles this year. Have a great day...