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10 Steps to help you optimize your video content on YouTube

Helpful Tip: Did you know that YouTube is now the second largest search engine after Google?  It’s larger than Bing or Yahoo and Google owns it!

1. Create a great title.
   1. The most important piece of information that search engines utilize is your title.
   2. Use appropriate keywords in the title of your video to help search engines find your video.
   3. Include the word video in your title because it can boost the relevance of your video as a search result.
2. Write a distinctive, keyword-rich description.
   1. Place the URL at the beginning of the description.  Doing this allows the viewer to see the link even when the “more info” option is closed.
   2. Place relevant keywords in the description when appropriate because after the title the video’s description is the next best piece of information search engines use to know what your video is about.
3. Use keywords to tag your video.
   1. Use relevant keywords as your tags to help search engines identify your video’s content.
4. Write video transcripts when possible.
   1. Optimize the content surrounding your video because YouTube videos are practically invisible to most search engines because they can’t read Flash, the format of all YouTube videos.
   2. Leave as much information about the video as you can by placing a full transcript in the description.  Do this because search engines are only guessing about the content of your video based on the title, description, and tags.
5. Utilize Youtube’s captions and annotation features.
   1. Put notes, subtitles, and links directly over the top of your video. Currently only links to other YouTube pages are clickable, but try this:
   2. Place a call to action over your video that says, “Click here to become a fan of our Facebook page. “ Currently only links to other YouTube pages are clickable though.
6. Include links to profile pages.
   1. Links to social media profiles like Facebook and Twitter should be included to extend the social media experience of the viewer if possible.
   2. Links can also guide viewers to a customized landing page.
7. Use viewer participation when appropriate.
   1. Use the “broadcasting and sharing “options in YouTube but keep an eye out for spam and bad language in your comments.
   2. Try posting your videos as a response to other relevant but popular videos. Doing this can help you gain viewers from another’s success by attaching yourself to their comments.
8. Add a watermark on your video.
   1. Crate and place a small translucent logo somewhere on your video.
   2. Placing the watermark in your video will copyright and protect your video from would be thieves.  It can be used as a branding tool that allows you to take ownership of your video.
9. Choose a compelling thumbnail.
   1. YouTube pulls thumbnail images from the one quarter, half, and three quarters marks of every video.
   2. Move around your video until an eye catching image shows up on one of these marks.
10. Use YouTube Insights.
    1. Using YouTube’s analytics program can provide you with demographic data as well as let you know at what point people stopped watching your video.  
    2. This is a great tool to help you with future submissions.

About Hassan Bawab

Tags:internet marketing, Online Marketing, online marketing video, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, SEO, seo techniques, Social Media Marketing, video, video optimization, Viral Marketing, youtube, youtube video optimization