YouTube SEO: How to Rank #1 in YouTube

[00:00] number one in YouTube. have helped me rank for hundreds of different keywords. I even rank in the top three for the keyword video SEO.

[00:15] I'm not gonna give you generic advice like use video tags. Instead, you're gonna see little-known SEO tips I'm Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko

[00:28] and let's dive right in. And to get ready, I watched dozens of videos

[00:40] So, I was super excited when my channel finally went live. "before your videos rank in YouTube and get lots of views."

[00:52] There was only one problem, it never happened. my views barely budged. from so-called YouTube experts.

[01:06] to figure this whole YouTube SEO thing out myself. I tested different combinations of keywords,

[01:19] It took months of almost non-stop testing for ranking videos that actually worked. views, subscribers, and traffic.

[01:34] most powerful strategies that I used. with strategy number one, front-load your keyword. your target keyword in your video title.

[01:48] puts more weight on words that appear for cold brew coffee. Now, that title isn't horrible or anything.

[02:02] by front-loading your keyword. would look something like this. in almost all of my titles.

[02:17] boost video engagement signals. YouTube ranking factor study ever. Specifically, we analyzed 1.3 million YouTube search results

[02:30] rank higher than others. We found that videos with lots of engagement signals So, what are engagement signals exactly?

[02:43] likes, comments, and subscribes. it tells YouTube people are loving this video. Our data found that comments correlated with rankings

[02:57] The question is, how can you get more people a hyper-specific call to action You see, most YouTubers use a generic call to action

[03:12] But I've found that hyper-specific call So, instead of a generic, "Leave a comment," For example, at the end of this video,

[03:27] from the video they're gonna try first. that video has racked up hundreds of comments. Our third strategy is to use the tab formula for video tags.

[03:41] According to our ranking factor study, That said, tags still make a difference. Unfortunately, most people on YouTube

[03:55] Remember, your video tags are designed to help YouTube Which means you don't need a lot of tags you're just gonna confuse YouTube and Google

[04:11] For example, take a look at this video. Imagine for a second that you're YouTube. is about 17 different topics.

[04:26] they're not gonna rank it for anything. of highly specific tags. The TAB stands for target, alternative, and broad.

[04:41] First, make sure that your first tag Just like with your title, YouTube puts more weight on tags that appear early on, especially your fist tag.

[04:53] you'd make your first tag green smoothie recipes, simple. Next, create two to three tags that are alternative versions For example, you'd use variations of green smoothie recipes

[05:07] and easy green smoothie recipes. by popping a target keyword into the YouTube search field These suggestions make perfect alternative versions

[05:22] of your main keyword to use as tags. as your last set of tags. overall topic or industry.

[05:34] more context about your video. would be things like nutrition and smoothies. You probably already know that click-through rate

[05:50] In other words, if your video gets an above-average YouTube's gonna give you a rankings bump. Use CTR magnet thumbnails.

[06:05] They're thumbnails that are strategically designed Here's the step-by-step process. First, use non-YouTube colors in your thumbnail.

[06:18] Well, the main colors on YouTube's website So, if you use those same colors in your thumbnail, that contrast with YouTube's color scheme

[06:32] For example, I use green, blue, and gray from the others which brings me more clicks.

[06:45] My experiments have taught me that thumbnails with text get more clicks than thumbnails without any text. So, you don't have a lot of room to work with.

[06:58] That's why I recommend using 30 characters of text max. For example, the thumbnail of my video that ranks number one for e-commerce SEO, has a grand total of 23 characters.

[07:11] for your video descriptions. I put zero thought into my video descriptions. And description done.

[07:25] From lots of testing I've found that long descriptions because the longer descriptions help YouTube better understand what your video is all about.

[07:38] between 100 and 200 words. that's done really well. And that long description has helped that video

[07:51] for competitive keywords like SEO. "in my description?" without giving away the farm.

[08:04] e-commerce SEO video. but I don't get into the meaty details. they still need to watch the video

[08:18] Let's jump right into our next strategy, When it comes to video SEO, what works better? Well, when we analyzed 1.3 million YouTube videos,

[08:31] tended to outrank short videos. on the first page of YouTube is 14 minutes, 50 seconds long. "We focus on those videos that increase the amount of time

[08:48] "that the viewer will spend watching videos on YouTube." that keep people watching for long periods of time. it's almost 14 minutes long.

[09:02] it racks up lots of watch time automatically. if my video was only two minutes. make your videos between eight and 15 minutes long.

[09:16] for ranking in YouTube search results. strategy number seven, which is to use brackets Like I mentioned earlier, YouTube uses click-through rate

[09:30] And, yes, your thumbnail is a big part of the equation. In fact, YouTube themselves, state that, "between someone watching and sharing your video

[09:43] One of the easiest ways to increase or parentheses to your video title. discovered that simply adding brackets and parentheses

[09:56] to titles boosts the click-through rate by up to 38%. that outlined 10 video marketing tips. Well, according to HubSpot's research,

[10:10] you can increase your clicks by more than a third. that I tend to use them in almost all of my vide titles. that you can include in brackets or parentheses

[10:25] Now it's time for strategy number eight, Here's the deal, YouTube SEO is more than just ranking if not more by getting your video to appear

[10:41] next to another video in the sidebar. next to a really popular video, The best way to show up as a suggested video,

[10:55] When YouTube sees that some of your tags they'll understand that your video is about the same topic. For example, let's say you wanted to rank

[11:12] First, check out the tags that video uses. at the source code of the page. on the page and click view page source.

[11:27] Then look at the keyword section of the page. You can also use a tool like TubeBuddy or VidIQ without needing to look through the source code.

[11:42] Next, use a few of the tags that video uses on your video. Make sure to copy the tags exactly word for word. and closely related to the popular video,

[11:54] With that, let's dive into our last strategy, The fact is this, whether you're a small channel that do better than others.

[12:10] But from analyzing millions of videos, tend to have one thing in common, lots of watch time. It's the total amount of time that people spend

[12:25] I recently discovered a great way to increase my watch time, Here's how it works. and click on audience retention.

[12:39] and where they tend to drop off. on your channel that's done really well. Finally, keep an eye out for audience retention peaks.

[12:52] that have above average audience retention. to figure out what kept people watching that part. Or maybe you did something simple

[13:06] Then apply what you learn to future videos. from a video I published a while back. In that section of the video, I outlined a real life example

[13:21] So, I made sure to use real life examples It helped those videos go from potential donkeys Okay, so I know I said I'd show you

[13:35] But I recently came across a cool little hack That hack is include the current year in your video title.

[13:47] that's current and relevant. How do you actually demonstrate Include the current year in your video title.

[14:00] in your video title, your result instantly stands out in the search results and in the suggested video sidebar. Plus, as a bonus, lots of people search

[14:13] So, when you add the year to your video title for these keyword plus year keywords. just add the current year and you instantly have a title

[14:28] So, did you learn something new from today's video? Just click on the subscribe button below this video. that I only share with subscribers,

[14:43] for the newsletter, it's free. Which of the YouTube SEO tips from this video Or maybe you're ready to turn donkeys into unicorns?

[14:57] a comment below right now. Do you hear that? You know what I mean?

[15:10] Button, goggles.