YouTube SEO: Rank Your Videos Like a Pro | Ep. 26

Wondering how to grow your YouTube channel with YouTube SEO? This video breaks down the key tactics for optimizing your videos to appear in search results. From choosing the right keywords to creating clickable thumbnails, these simple steps will make your videos stand out and attract more views. Plus, discover how SEO strategies can help you build a loyal audience and keep growing over time. Tune in to learn how keyword research can give your content the boost it needs!

If you want to get views almost instantly when you upload a YouTube video or podcast, here’s what you can do!

And this works especially well if you have a small or new YouTube channel.

Want to grow your YouTube channel fast? Learn the simplest SEO tricks to get instant views and subscribers!

VIDEO: YouTube SEO | Ep. 26

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How to Instantly Get Views on a Small YouTube Channel Using SEO

Starting a YouTube channel can be challenging, especially when trying to get your first few views. However, leveraging search engine optimization (SEO) can help you reach your target audience much faster. Whether you’re running a small or new channel, implementing simple SEO strategies is an effective way to gain visibility and grow your subscribers.

Why YouTube SEO is a Game-Changer

SEO is all about optimizing your content so it can be found by users searching for relevant topics. This is particularly important for new channels without an established audience. Without an existing fanbase, your best bet for generating views comes from appearing in YouTube’s search results. By utilizing SEO, you can ensure that your content is easily discoverable by people actively looking for solutions or information related to your video.

YouTube’s algorithm doesn’t just rely on random video suggestions; it also takes into account keywords in your titles, descriptions, and tags to help match videos with the right viewers. For smaller channels, this is a vital tactic. When done right, SEO helps your videos show up in searches, attracting viewers who may never have heard of you before.

The Importance of YouTube SEO for Channel Growth

Views are the lifeblood of your channel. More views mean more opportunities for engagement—whether that’s through comments, likes, or subscribers. And to get those views, your content needs to be found. If you don’t take the time to optimize your videos, they might sit unnoticed. That’s where SEO comes in.

YouTube SEO allows you to:

Get found by new viewers through search results
Control what topics you’re discovered for
Build momentum for long-term channel growth

Without optimizing for SEO, you’re essentially leaving it up to chance whether your video will be found by viewers or buried among thousands of others.

SEO puts you more in the driver’s seat of what exists on your channel. I talked before in Episode 25 about building a spiderweb with your channel using a spiderweb strategy. You’re building this thing; you’re building this library of binge-worthy videos. You get to be in the driver’s seat of the content and the topics that you put on that channel, which then helps you be in control of who your channel attracts.

Key Elements of YouTube SEO

When you’re implementing SEO, focus on these three main areas: title, description, and thumbnail.

1. Optimize Your Title for Keywords

The title is one of the first things both YouTube and potential viewers see, and it’s crucial to match it with what users are searching for. Use keyword research to determine which terms people are actively looking for. A simple rule: place the most important keywords at the beginning of the title.

For best practices, you still want to put those keywords at the beginning of your title versus the end of the title. Make it easy for YouTube to know exactly what your video is actually about.

2. Write a Keyword-Rich Description

The video description gives you a chance to explain the video in more depth. But it’s not just for viewers—YouTube’s algorithm reads it too. Your description should naturally include your primary keyword and related terms, but avoid keyword stuffing. Write in full sentences, and make the description helpful and informative.

3. Create an Eye-Catching Thumbnail

Your thumbnail is what grabs the attention of people scrolling through search results or YouTube’s home page. Make sure it’s clear and easy to read. Big, bold text and simple imagery work best. The combination of your title and thumbnail should build trust and intrigue, signaling to viewers that this video has the solution they’re looking for.

For SEO purposes, the thumbnail should reflect the title and description, offering a visual clue that complements the video’s content. If the topic is about solving a specific problem, ensure that the thumbnail makes it obvious.

Your thumbnail is for attention; your title is for interest or intrigue. I cover thumbnail basics inside Video Brand Academy. There’s a whole training, there’s a whole design tool, and a bunch of templates but in the case of SEO, yes, you want your thumbnail to get people’s attention, but your title and thumbnail combination has to build a little bit more trust than intrigue.

Using Keyword Research to Pick Video Topics

One of the most powerful aspects of YouTube SEO is that keyword research often tells you exactly what content to create. You don’t have to guess what your audience wants to see; you can look at the data. There are free tools like YouTube’s auto-suggestions, where you type a seed keyword and see what popular searches are related to that term.

In addition, tools like TubeBuddy and vidIQ can provide in-depth data about search volume and competition levels for keywords in your niche. Look for terms with high search volume but low competition—what I like to call “golden ticket topics.” These are the topics where you stand the best chance of ranking and getting views.

What’s interesting is that the search experience and how search works and how SEO works on YouTube really hasn’t been impacted, or at least not that I have seen. AI is not replacing SEO, and you know, I still stand by the fact that SEO is still a perfectly viable way—and probably one of the simplest strategies—for you to understand and implement on your small channel to get that traction and to get your channel to grow. It’s also a great way for you to breathe some new life into your channel with some new topics.

No matter what niche you’re in, or whether you have a small channel or big channel—it doesn’t really matter. No matter what niche you’re in, or the size of your channel, or whether you’re new to this or you’ve been creating videos for a while, pretty much generally what you’re looking for with keywords is an indication that this keyword has a lot of people searching for it, but not a lot of videos that are an option for people to watch.

One really telltale sign that a search phrase you’re thinking about making a video about is a ‘Golden Ticket’ topic is when you do a search in YouTube and you see that the views on the videos—the organic videos, not any ads or anything—the view counts of those videos are quite a bit higher than the subscriber count.

In general, you don’t have to go through every single one and do a calculation, but look at those top 10 videos or whatever you’re seeing there at the top of the fold. Ask yourself: are there people with smaller audiences but getting way more views than the size of their audience? That would be a good sign. It means that the algorithm, somehow through search or through the other algorithms (which is great too), is getting that content in front of more people than the size of that person’s actual audience.

I cover all of the steps to setting up a YouTube funnel on your own channel in Episode 1 of Video Brand Infusion. You can do it in any niche, with any offer that you have. So if you haven’t set up a YouTube funnel yet, go start with episode number one.

Staying in Control: YouTube SEO as a Long-Term Strategy

Another benefit of SEO is that it allows you to take control of your content strategy. By carefully selecting your keywords and optimizing your videos, you’re able to dictate what types of viewers find you and engage with your content. This ensures that you’re attracting the right audience—one that is interested in your niche, products, or services.

Moreover, SEO is not just about instant visibility. Videos that are optimized for search can continue to bring in views for months or even years after they’re published. This long-term benefit is what makes SEO such a valuable strategy, especially for small channels. Even if your content is older, if it’s properly optimized, it can still rank high in search results.

I made a video (Best AI Note Taking Apps 2024 (Otter vs EVERYTHING!) comparing AI note-taking apps, which is not related to my niche, but the video ranked., it’s the second most popular video on my channel right now in the last 90 days. It’s at the top of my highest-performing list, and it brought me a few hundred subscribers.

At the end of the day, you have to remember that YouTube is the most powerful way to build your audience online, and SEO is one of the reasons that YouTube is so powerful.

Practical Tips for Mastering YouTube SEO

Here’s a summary of some best practices to get your videos ranking:

Optimize your title: Include relevant keywords at the beginning.
Write a detailed description: Use full sentences and naturally integrate keywords.
Create a compelling thumbnail: Big fonts, bold colors, and clear visuals work best.
Use keyword research tools: Try free options like YouTube’s search suggestions, or use paid tools like TubeBuddy or vidIQ.
Look for golden ticket topics: High search volume and low competition terms offer the best opportunity for ranking.
Use video chapters: These not only help viewers but can also serve as additional SEO opportunities.
Post multiple videos on the same topic: This increases your chances of ranking for different related keywords.

Conclusion

SEO is a straightforward and highly effective strategy for growing a small YouTube channel. By optimizing your videos for search, you can get views almost instantly—even without a large subscriber base. Best of all, SEO has the potential to keep driving traffic to your content for months or years to come.

If you’re just starting or looking for new ways to boost your channel’s growth, make sure you’re incorporating these SEO strategies into your content plan. By doing so, you’ll be setting yourself up for both short-term visibility and long-term success.

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