The landscape for SEO is changing, or at least Google is not the only platform actively seeking solutions and inspiration. Recently, I myself was inspired by HEMA's successful SEO case study. Their "Cross-channel" video SEO strategy (yes quite a mouthful), resulted in more than: 3 million organic views and a lot of top positions in various search engines.
How is YouTube used as a search engine?
Three Google researchers have used an extensive scientific study to examine what motivates people to use YouTube. Their research shows that all of the participants' YouTube use can be divided into three main motivations: Entertainment (59.5%), Information (30.7%) and Connection (9.8%). Although this study is several years old, the main motivations are still relevant.Thus, YouTube is not only a source of entertainment, but also a huge educational platform. More than 30% of visits to YouTube stem from the need for information. Within this category are visits related to self-development (13% of all visits), instructional videos and how-to's (11%), product reviews (5%) and news/updates (2%).For these search intentions, YouTube is used as a search engine, which sets it apart from Google. Although Google is also used for these purposes, the spectrum of search intentions is broader. The same goes for platforms like TikTok, which are used specifically for certain search intentions, but not all of them..
How does the YouTube search algorithm work?
To optimize for YouTube, you need to understand how the algorithm determines which videos are recommended. Although the YouTube algorithm is complex, we can stick to the main points here.The YouTube Search algorithm combines context (what is your video about?), quality (how long and how often is your video watched?) and profile data to personalize search results. Because you have no direct influence on profile data, it's important to focus on increasing context (using the right keywords) and quality (viewing time).In other words, YouTube SEO is not just about using the right keywords, but primarily about generating view time. Although you can add keywords later, you need to upload a new video to improve quality..
Getting started with YouTube SEO: Topics, tips & tools
Now that you understand why people use YouTube as a search engine and have a general idea of how the algorithm works, we SEO specialists can get to work. Starting with:Topics: How do you find the perfect topic? Step by step, we conduct research to determine that.Tips: An overview of helpful tips to get more results immediately. What works and what doesn't?Tools: What handy tools are there to improve and speed up your work on YouTube SEO?
The perfect video topic:
Let's start with one of the most crucial aspects for success in YouTube SEO: choosing your topic. It may sound simple, but choosing the right topic is often a stumbling block. Before delving into tools and tips, it is essential to select the right topics first. Take the time to research. This will prevent you from putting energy and effort into videos that may score well in search results, but no one is watching..
Which topics always do well?
More than 30% of YouTube visits are focused on finding information. Within this category include self-development (13% of all visits), instructional videos and how-to's (11%), product reviews (5%) and news/updates (2%). So unless you are a news brand, that leaves a few options. These four types of topics generally score well and play a role in the purchase process of products and services..Education: Explanations and in-depth information on specific topics.Instructions: How-to's, tutorials and step-by-step instructional videos.Buying advice: Product reviews and comparisons between different options.Inspiration: Creative ideas and inspiring applications of your product/service.
Getting started with a fictional case study:
Now we can really get started. I recommend doing manual research first before possibly using tools to get results faster.In my hypothetical research, I am a company focused on making homes more sustainable. SEO is an important part of my marketing strategy and I want to dominate YouTube search results in addition to Google. I have been given a trial budget by management to create just one video to prove that we can rank high on this. Therefore, I do everything possible to choose the right topic. I made a list of potential topics based on my SEO work and completed it after a brainstorming session with colleagues from different departments.To find the topics with the greatest potential within my industry, we perform three analyses: (1) popularity, (2) competition and (3) Google search results (SERP).
1. Popularity analysis: views are more important than search volume:
As an SEO specialist, you're probably used to deriving popularity primarily from search volume. But for YouTube, the number of views is a much better indicator of popularity. This is because Google/YouTube does not release exact search volumes. Tools that claim to be able to do this are often wrong. Both too high and too low. Therefore, you should focus mainly on the number of views to see which topics are popular.How do you perform a popularity analysis?A simple method is to add up the views of the top 3/5 videos in the YouTube search results for each potential topic. You can refine this further by looking at how old the videos are to get a better idea of views per month.In my research, "heat pump installation" and "wall insulation" proved much more popular than other topics..
2. Competitor analysis: can you beat them?
After the popularity check, it's time to assess the competition. Here you provide an estimate on a scale of 1-10, rather than an exact calculation. Focus on the three most important aspects of a video:Title and description: Does the title contain the exact keyword? How attractive is the title and does the description contain relevant information?Quality of the thumbnail: Is there an attractive, customized thumbnail? Are the thumbnails relevant to the topic?Quality of the video: Assess the intro, content and overall quality of the video.Based on this analysis, you can quickly see which topics have high or low competition.
SERP Analysis
After analyzing popularity and competition, we look at the Google SERP. If you can also score here with your video, it makes the chosen topic even more interesting.You can do the SERP analysis automatically with tools, but it is also quite easy to do manually. Search in an incognito window and see if videos show up high in search results. Note the position of the videos and give them a score.In my research, I found that both 'install heat pump' and 'insulate wall' had video carousels in the Google search results. However, 'wall insulation' ranked higher in the results.
Advice 1: Use the power of suggestions
As an SEO specialist, you surely know and use a number of good keyword research tools. Use them primarily to find relevant keywords, but don't forget the power of YouTube search suggestions. This will give you a list of related keywords around your seed keyword in no time. In an incognito browser, go to YouTube, enter a keyword and again go to the search window. This will give you a list of relevant related keywords. You can copy these by going to "report search suggestions," selecting the list of suggestions and copying them. Et voilà, this way you will very quickly have good input for the content and script of your video.
Advice 2: Use your keywords in the right places
Once you have determined your list of keywords for each topic, the key is to use them appropriately. Use the most important keyword in the title, the first spoken sentences of the video and at the front of the description. Place the other keywords in the script and description. Possibly add some synonyms or variations to the description later if you find out after shooting the video that you forgot them.
Advice 3: Answer questions from the audience
Make sure you not only incorporate the right keywords into your script, but go one step further: actually answer the questions your audience is asking online. But how do you discover these questions? They might be the questions displayed in the "People Also Ask" section of Google search results, but don't forget to also take a close look at the comments under the videos you want to cover. Are there questions from viewers that are not fully answered in the competition? If so, you're the one who can do this. Viewer comments are often an untapped goldmine for video SEO, but are often overlooked.
Advice 4: Pay attention to the title & thumbnail
Pay attention to the title and thumbnail of your video. These two elements are often the first thing viewers see when scrolling through YouTube. A catchy title and attractive thumbnail can make the difference between ignoring your video or clicking on it. Make sure your title accurately reflects the content of your video and that your thumbnail is visually appealing and relevant. With a strong combination, you increase the chances that viewers will notice your video and decide to click on it.
Advice 5: Focus on view time in addition to the right keywords
YouTube SEO is not just about the proper use of keywords, but more importantly about generating view time for your videos. YouTube rewards videos that retain viewers for a long time, and viewer loyalty plays a crucial role here. YouTube provides insight into where viewers drop out and how your video performs against the average. By analyzing this data, you can figure out where you are losing viewers and improve your future videos. Especially the first 30 seconds are very important; in this short time viewers decide whether to keep watching your video. Therefore, avoid elaborate branded introductions and make sure you captivate viewers immediately with interesting content. By holding their attention from the beginning, you increase your chances of ranking higher in YouTube search results.
YouTube SEO tools
After selecting your topic and an overview of useful tips, it's time for tools.Which handy tools can help you do your job better and faster?Here is an overview of the five handy tools that are all affordable
VidIQ & TubeBuddy
What Ahrefs and SEMRush are to Google SEO, VidIQ & TubeBuddy are to YouTube SEO. These powerful tools support YouTube content creators in various ways to optimize their videos for maximum visibility and reach. They are not only useful for keyword research, but also provide inspiration for titles and insight into the best-performing videos, as well as optimization ideas. Both tools also provide a (free) Chrome extension that offers insights directly into the YouTube platform. Although they do not always work perfectly for Dutch-language channels yet, they are constantly improving.
CreatorML
Less well known than VidIQ and Tubebuddy, but extremely powerful, is CreatorML . The unique and greatest strength of this tool is its use of predictive AI. Imagine being able to predict how your next video idea and packaging would perform, before you invest time and money in creating the video. With CreatorML, you get all the benefits of studying your YouTube analytics without wasting hours in Studio or hiring an expensive data analyst. In addition to a free Chrome extension, CreatorML also offers a free 7-day trial.
Botster.io
Botster.io offers extremely useful No-code bots for data collection, monitoring and automation that you can use in your SEO work.It is like your personal robot army to automate work processes and routines.With Botster, you can make use of useful YouTube bots that speed up your work considerably, such as the YouTube Keyword Scraper, which collects keywords and phrases from YouTube search suggestions, and the YouTube Search Extractor, which collects video information from YouTube searches for a list of keywords.Should you be looking for a feature that is not available, I can tell you from personal experience that Botster.io can develop very affordable custom bots.
