I know that SEO is important. I really get it. But this morning I received this from a YouTube channel I subscribed to earlier this year:
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][name politely withheld] has shared a video with you on YouTube:
Helicopter Pilot Jobs by some of our past helicopter students. Learning How To Fly Helicopters can be a very life changing experience. These are just a few of the Helicopter Pilot Job Stories we have to tell! We have been training Helicopter Pilots for over 10 years. We have been working on Helicopter Lessons Online & Now Have Helicopter Training DVD’s. We went Live with our Helicopter Online Ground School March 1 2012. Our Helicopter Training DVD’s include Helicopter Flying & Helicopter Ground School as well.
At first the use of Title Case for every instance of “Helicopter Pilot [insert third word or phrase here]” made me a little bonkers. But then I thought “Ok. SEO. I get it” and thought maybe capitalization mattered to Google (here’s a discussion of capitalization.)
So I did a little research, because I thought I would write an article about SEO and YouTube, but discovered…wow, I was not even using YouTube as fully as I could, and I’m supposed to know better.
Optimizing your YouTube channel
- Pay attention to your profile description—Make sure you’re using your keywords here, so people can find what you offer when they search for it. This is true of all social media profiles—make sure they’re search friendly when it comes to your keywords, and reader friendly as you try to work them all in. I tend to get cute with profile descriptions, wanting to express my personality. I’m trying to break myself of this habit.
- Tagging—I wouldn’t over-do this, but adding relevant tags to your videos is very good for search. For example, I always tag one client’s content with “amusement association” because that’s an industry-specific term, and add another two or three keywords that are relevant to the users or the content.
- Optimize your video description—Include your keywords in your video’s description but Don’t Put Them In Sentence Case. It’s like you’re stomping your foot on every word. Just use regular, professional language to convey what your [keyword] video is about, how it features information about [keyword] and why it would be of interest to viewers looking for information about [keyword.] If you can finesse it better than I just did in the previous example sentence, even better.
- Don’t forget your background image—I use a photo that has prominence on my website. This image and my avatar combined are my visual cues for my freelance brand. Here are some great resource articles from YouTube/Google on the specs of your background image (and other things re: YouTube)
- Interact with others—Search for and add relevant people/channels as contacts, subscribe to other channels, and leave video replies as comments. Message your contacts once in a while—ask them to watch a video you posted, ask them to watch a video you added as a favorite, or tell them you just left a video comment. YouTube can be social, and not just be that place that hosts your own videos.
I’d love to hear if you’ve dug down into YouTube and used it effectively to get your message out. Let me know your tips in the comments![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
