---
title: 'Video SEO - Rank Your Videos #1 in YouTube (Fast!)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=aJFK9k5i1ew'
video_id: 'aJFK9k5i1ew'
date: 2026-06-14
duration_sec: 656
---

# Video SEO - Rank Your Videos #1 in YouTube (Fast!)

> Source: [Video SEO - Rank Your Videos #1 in YouTube (Fast!)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=aJFK9k5i1ew)

## Summary

Brian Dean shares his five-step process for ranking YouTube videos number one, based on experiments that revealed YouTube's most important ranking factors. He explains how to leverage watch time, hooks, keywords, and user interaction signals to boost rankings.

### Key Points

- **Five-step process for ranking #1** [00:00] — Brian Dean introduces his method used to rank in top three for keyword 'SEO'.
- **Struggling channel turned around** [00:24] — Despite high-quality videos, his channel struggled until he learned video SEO.
- **Secret: learning video SEO** [01:08] — Most advice (keywords in description, file name, tags) didn't work; experiments revealed true ranking factors.
- **Step 1: Create long videos** [02:12] — Longer videos accumulate more total watch time, a key ranking factor. Example: 10-min video vs 2-min video.
- **Step 2: Master the hook** [03:51] — Use PPP formula (Preview, Proof, Preview) to hook viewers in first 15 seconds.
- **Step 3: Put exact keyword in title** [05:49] — Include target keyword once, preferably at the beginning of the title.
- **Step 4: Say keyword in video** [06:26] — YouTube listens to videos; saying the keyword helps ranking. Don't optimize for a keyword you never say.
- **Step 5: User interaction signals** [07:36] — Likes, subscribes, comments boost rankings. Use annotations to ask for likes and end with subscribe/comment request.
- **Bonus: Optimize click-through rate** [08:23] — Custom thumbnail, compelling title (include year), and description first line that entices clicks.

### Conclusion

By applying these five ranking factors—long videos, strong hooks, keyword in title and video, and user interaction—you can significantly improve your YouTube rankings and grow your channel.

## Transcript

in this video I'm going to show you my
five-step process for ranking number one
in YouTube I recently used this exact
method to rank in the top three in
YouTube for the keyword SEO I'm Brian
Dean the founder of backlinko the Play
Store marketers turn for higher rankings
and more traffic and today you're going
to learn the five most influential video
SEO Rocky factors to get your videos to
the top of YouTube fast keep watching a
few years ago my YouTube channel was
struggling I consistently created high
quality videos that provided a ton of
value but when I publish my videos
cricket
needless to say I was frustrated I knew
that video was a powerful way to grow my
online business but I learned the hard
way that video only works if people
actually watch your videos and know your
mom watching your videos doesn't count
trust me hey Mom I just published a new
video on YouTube can you watch it for me
thanks Mom you're the best
Flash Forward to today and my videos
consistently get tens of thousands of
views and hundreds of people subscribe
to my channel every single month my
secret I learned everything I could
about video SEO unfortunately most of
the advice that I initially read about
ranking in YouTube didn't work you know
the advice I'm talking about put your
keyword in your video description put
keywords in your video file name write
20 tags for every video sure this stuff
can help but it's not gonna rocket your
video to the top of Google or YouTube
why because everyone on YouTube is doing
the exact same thing after trying all
the generic advice that I read and
getting nowhere I decided to run a bunch
of experiments and that's what I learned
what really works specifically I
discovered YouTube's five most important
ranking factors and these are racking
factors that very few people know about
once I applied these ranky factors to my
videos my rankings shot through the roof
I started ranking first super
competitive keywords like SEO link
building how to get traffic and more and
now it's time for me to share these five
ranking factors with you and show you
exactly how to use them to rank your
videos in YouTube let's start with step
number one which is to create and
publish long videos you may have noticed
that longer videos tend to perform
better in YouTube why well YouTube's
most important ranking factor is your
videos total watch time as you probably
know the more of your video people watch
the better it tends to rank that's
called audience retention which is an
important ranking Factor even though
audience retention is important it's not
nearly as important as your videos total
watch time that's because YouTube wants
to promote videos that keep people on
YouTube for a long period of time so the
more total minutes people watch of your
video the more YouTube will want to rank
it in the search results for example
let's say that you just published two
different videos video one is two
minutes long in video two is 10 minutes
long and let's say that each video gets
1 000 views and the audience retention
for both videos is exactly the same 50
that means that on average people watch
half of your video the total watch time
for the two minute video would be 1 000
minutes but for the longer video that
video's watch time will be 5 000 minutes
that means that video number two will
have five times the watch time of video
number one which means that it'll likely
outrank video number one that's the
power of publishing longer videos in
fact my video that ranks in the top
three for SEO is nearly 10 minutes which
is significantly longer than most videos
on YouTube because it's longer my video
accumulates more total watch time than
my competitors and I'm able to rack
above videos with significantly more
views than mine okay let's move on to
step number two which is to master the
hook as I said longer videos tend to
rank better because they accumulate more
total watch time but there's one big
problem with this approach you have to
keep someone's attention
on the internet fortunately my
experiments have taught me that if you
can hook someone in the first 15 seconds
of your video you've hooked them for
good in fact YouTube recommends that you
focus on the first 15 seconds of your
video to maximize watch time the
question is how do you hook people in
the first 15 seconds of your video start
your video off with the PPP formula the
PPP stands for preview proof preview
here's exactly how it works first
preview what your video is all about
when I first started creating videos my
intros would go on and on about why my
videos topic was important and these
long-winded intros would make people
click away today I cut out the fluff and
tell them exactly what to expect for
example let's say that your video
outlines 10 paleo diet tips you'd want
to start off your video saying in this
video you're going to learn 10 of my
favorite paleo diet tips that's it next
it's time for the proof here's proof
that you can deliver liver you can
mention that you've already accomplished
what the viewer wants that you have lots
of experience in your field or that
you've researched a ton about your topic
for example you could say these are the
same tips I use to gain five pounds of
muscle in 60 days finally hit them with
the preview again here's where you
reiterate what your video is about now
you obviously don't want to just repeat
what you said in the beginning instead
mention something specific from your
video you can mention the number of tips
a detail from a case study or that
you're going to share something
completely new this will make your
viewers curious and want to keep
watching for example you could say and
today you're going to learn about the
so-called healthy paleo diet food that's
actually bad for you next up we have
putting your exact keyword in your title
there's no question that Google and
YouTube are getting smarter every day
which means the days of keyword stuffing
your video to the top of YouTube are
long gone that said Google and YouTube
both use your video's title to
understand what your video is all about
so make sure to include your exact
keyword once in your title preferably in
the beginning of your title for example
I created a video that I wanted to rank
for the keyword link building so I made
sure to include my exact keyword link
building in the beginning of the title
and that helped it rank in the top three
for my target keyword okay now it's time
for Rocky Factor number four which is to
say your keyword in your video when I
first got started with video SEO I'd go
back to old videos and optimize them
around keywords that I wanted to rank
for and it very rarely worked that's
because Google and YouTube can now
listen to your videos even without a
transcript for example let's say they
just published a video about healthy
desserts then a few weeks later you
realize that the keyword healthy
desserts is too competitive so you go
back and optimize it around a different
keyword like low carb desserts now this
sounds smart but it's something that
doesn't work as well as it used to why
even though the keyword low carbon
desserts maybe in your title description
and tags you never said that keyword
once in the video YouTube knows this and
it looks fishy to YouTube your video is
about healthy desserts but all of your
on-page metadata says it's about low
carb desserts so they won't rack you for
either keyword that's why I always make
sure to actually say my target keyword
in every video for example in my video
about SEO I made sure to say the word
SEO a few times simple yet effective
last up we have user interaction signals
YouTube wants to see that people are
actually interacting with your video the
more people watch like subscribe and
comment on your video the higher your
video will rank in YouTube search
results now the strategies that I've
showed you so far will help you
naturally get more of these user
interaction signals but there are two
simple tactics that I use on every video
to increase my videos user interaction
signals first I add an annotation that
asks people to like my video after a lot
of experimenting I found this simple
annotation significantly boosts the
number of likes that my videos receive
at the end of my video I also ask people
to subscribe and comment which also
increases the amount of my videos user
interaction signals I was originally
going to end the video right here but I
decided to throw in a quick bonus tip
for you which is to optimize for
click-through rate when someone searches
for something in YouTube YouTube pays
very close attention to what video they
click on for example let's say the Iraq
number five for your Target keyword as
you probably know videos ranking number
one through four get the vast majority
of clicks but for some reason lots of
people are clicking on your video in the
search results what do you think YouTube
will think about your video that it's a
great result for that keyword and
they'll give your video a rankings boost
to make it easier for people to find so
how do you maximize your click-through
rate well YouTube displays three main
pieces of information
in the search results your title your
thumbnail and a snippet of your
description here's how to quickly
optimize all three for click-through
rate the key with your thumbnail is
simply that it stands out that means
that you want to create a custom
thumbnail that looks different than the
other videos that are on the first page
for example my video has a completely
different design and color scheme than
my competition for your title like I
mentioned before you want to include
your target keyword once other than that
your goal with your title should be to
maximize your click-through rate as you
can see my video title is emotionally
compelling I also include the current
year so people know that the content is
still relevant finally you want to write
something compelling in the first few
lines of your description most people
put a link to their website or channel
here and it's a huge mistake nothing
looks less enticing to click on than a
link to someone's website instead write
a sentence or two that includes your
target keyword in a compelling way for
example in my SC video my first sentence
is if you want to rank in Google today
there's a new SEO ranking factor to pay
attention to in this attention grabbing
line gets more people to click on my
result if you like this video make sure
to subscribe to my YouTube Channel right
now just click on the Subscribe button
right here also if you want exclusive
SEO and traffic techniques that I only
share with subscribers head over to
backlinko.com and sign up for the
newsletter it's free now I want to turn
it over to you which of the five racking
signals from this video are you going to
try first are you going to try to create
longer videos or maybe you're going to
start optimizing your videos for click
through rate let me know by leaving a
comment below right now
the stage is yours all right ready I'll
do it for real this time yeah that was a
very very slight do it like what up I
don't know
PPP your thumbnail