Greg Jarboe's presentation, "Video SEO: Optimizing YouTube Videos for Search and Discovery," at SE Ranking workshop, April 14, 2022.

1. Video SEO: 10 Steps to
Optimizing YouTube Videos for
Search and Discovery

2. Greg Jarboe
President and co-founder of SEO-PR
https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-jarboe-876364/ https://seo-pr.com/ https://www.facebook.com/greg.jarboe
I’m also the author of YouTube and Video Marketing. Since YouTube
was launched in 2005, I’ve spoken about Video SEO at scores of
industry conferences and written hundreds of posts on the topic for
Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Watch, and Tubular Insights. I’ve
also taught modules on this subject at Rutgers University, Simplilearn,
and the New Media Academy. Now, I can’t help Ukraine produce more
YouTube videos that people in Europe will watch and share. But, I can
teach you how optimize videos that tell the truth about the war so they
are discovered when people conduct relevant searches on YouTube,
the world’s second-largest search engine.
https://twitter.com/gregjarboe

3. Stand with Ukraine
Ukrainians are a big part of the SE Ranking team. Tatiana Perebeinis, the chief accountant of SE Ranking, and her two children, Mykyta, 18, and Alisa,
9, along with a church volunteer who was helping them, Anatoly Berezhnyi, 26, were killed on Sunday, March 6, as they dashed across the concrete
remnants of a damaged bridge in their town of Irpin, trying to evacuate to Kyiv.
The real price of war
To learn how you can help, go to https://seranking.com/blog/stand-with-ukraine/

4. Video SEO
YouTube’s algorithm tries to match each viewer to the videos he or
she is most likely to watch and enjoy. With more than 500 hours of
video content uploaded every minute, this is quite a challenge.
YouTube’s search and discovery systems tackle this Herculean task
by paying attention to viewers instead of videos. YouTube says its
algorithm “follows the audience” by paying attention to things like:
How does YouTube’s algorithm work?
What they watch.
What they don’t watch.
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How much time they spend watching.
Their sharing, likes, and dislikes.
“Not interested” feedback and satisfaction surveys.

5. Videos are ranked based on the following
factors: how well the title, description, and
video content match the viewer’s search;
and which videos drive the most
engagement for a search.
YouTube Search
YouTube has multiple algorithms
Videos are ranked to offer viewers videos
they’re most likely to watch next. These
videos are often related to the video an
audience is watching, but they can also be
personalized based on watch history.
Up Next
Videos are selected based on: how well
they have interested and satisfied similar
viewers; and how often viewers watch a
channel or topic and how many times
YouTube has already shown each video.
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YouTube wants both short and long
videos to succeed. So, broadly speaking,
relative watch time is more important for
short videos and absolute watch time is
more important for longer videos.
YouTube Shorts
01
03
02
04

6. Make videos
worth watching
You don’t have to be an expert in YouTube’s algorithms to be
successful. Instead, you should focus on knowing your audience.
YouTube’s search and discovery system doesn't “promote” videos to
your audience. It “finds” videos for each viewer and their varying
interests. Their goal is to get people to watch more videos they enjoy
so they will come back to YouTube regularly.
Create content worth sharing
For example, Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, made an
emotional appeal to members of the US Congress for additional help in
defending Ukraine from Russia’s invasion. His 18-minute address
included a powerful video, set to haunting violin music, juxtaposing
Ukraine’s pre-invasion joy and beauty with graphic images of the war’s
death and destruction that brought some lawmakers to tears.
Tubular Labs data shows 183 accounts uploaded 232 videos about
this event to YouTube, which got a total of 5.9 million views and
142,000 engagements (e.g. likes, comments, shares). Most were
uploaded in the News & Politics category, but the video with the most
views and engagements was “Trump Dials Back Putin Praise, Russia
Sanctions Prominent Americans & Zelensky Addresses Congress,”
which was uploaded in the Comedy category by Jimmy Kimmel Live!

7. Video SEO
Video SEO has changed dramatically over the years. So, don’t read my
book, YouTube and Video Marketing. The second edition was
published in November 2011. So, even though many of my strategic
insights are still valid, most of the critical data, tactical advice, and
industry trends need to be thoroughly updated. Instead, read my
column, “Video SEO: 10 Steps to Optimizing Videos for Search and
Discovery,” which Search Engine Journal published in October 2021.
What are the latest steps to optimizing
YouTube videos for search and discovery?
This presentation reflects my latest strategic insights into the
confirmed facts about YouTube’s algorithms.
My tactical advice reflects the best practices for Video SEO, but
it has a “best if used by date” of May 14, 2022.
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8. Keyword research
Start typing a term in YouTube’s search box and the Autocomplete
feature will provide you with a series of search predictions related to
what you’ve already typed in and what other people are searching for.
Autocomplete
YouTube Search Insights will be available in English in the Research tab
in YouTube Studio later this month. If a keyword has high search volume,
but relatively few relevant results, the tool will call out this content gap.
YouTube Search Insights
Google Trends shows you “web search” interest by default. But, click on
the Web Search button and a drop-down menu will show you other
options, including YouTube Search trends back to 2008.
Google Trends
When you search on YouTube, vidIQ displays how hot (or not) the word
or phrase is based on its search volume and competition. It’s also worth
noting that Ukrainians make up a large part of vidIQ’s team.
vidIQ
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9. YouTube Search
YouTube Search prioritizes three main elements to provide the best
search results: relevance, engagement, and quality. To estimate
relevance, YouTube looks at many factors, such as how well the title,
description, hashtags, and video content match a viewer’s search query.
YouTube also incorporates aggregate engagement signals from users
to determine relevance (i.e. it may look at the watch time of a
particular video for a particular query to determine if the video is
considered relevant to the query by other users). Finally, for quality,
YouTube’s systems are designed to identify signals that can help
determine which channels demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness,
and trustworthiness on a given topic.
Relevance, engagement, and quality
In addition to those three main factors, YouTube strives to make
search results relevant for each user and it may also consider a
viewer’s search and watch history. That’s why your search results
might differ from another user’s search results for the same query.
Optimizing your titles
Put the most important information upfront and your hashtags,
branding, or episode numbers towards the end.
Avoid using misleading, clickbait, or sensational titles, which
can make your video less likely to be recommended to
viewers.
Use compelling titles for your videos that accurately represent
the content.
Keep your titles concise -- under 50 characters. Titles between
20 and 40 characters long seem to be a sweet spot.
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10. YouTube Search
Descriptions inform both the viewer and the YouTube algorithm of a
video’s content, and can be a good place to add additional information
not available in the video. But, you can think about the description as
two parts – what viewers see before they click Show more and what
they see after.
Information, chapters, and hashtags
In June 2020, YouTube introduced Video Chapters, which break up a
video into sections, each with an individual preview. Video chapters
add info and context to each portion of the video and let viewers easily
watch or rewatch different parts of the video.
Optimizing your descriptions
Add Video Chapters. which use timestamps to allow viewers to
watch or rewatch a specific section of a video.
Use related hashtags (#) to help viewers find your video when
they search for a specific topic on YouTube.
Use the first few lines of text to explain what the video is about
using search-friendly keywords and natural language.
Use the rest of the text (what shows up once they click Show
more) to provide around 200 to 350 words of extra
information.
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In January 2021, YouTube launched a new type of search results page
that appears when users look for videos by hashtag. Use related
hashtags (#) in your video’s description to help viewers find your video
when they search for a specific topic on YouTube. But, only use
hashtags related to your video. And don’t saturate your description
section with more than 15 hashtags.

11. YouTube Search
Video thumbnails let viewers see a quick snapshot of your video as
they're browsing YouTube. After your video is finished uploading, you
can add a custom thumbnail if your account is verified or choose one
of the three thumbnail options that YouTube automatically generates,.
Your custom thumbnail image should be as large as possible. And
your custom thumbnails should:
• Have a resolution of 1280x720 (with minimum width of 640 pixels).
• Be uploaded in image formats such as JPG, GIF, or PNG.
• Remain under the 2MB limit.
• Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio as it's the most used in YouTube
players and previews.
Optimizing your thumbnails
Make sure your thumbnail follows YouTube’s thumbnail policy.
Create thumbnails that accurately represent your content.
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12. Up Next
Recommendations help viewers discover more of the videos they love.
But, their success depends on accurately predicting the videos
viewers want to watch. When YouTube’s recommendations are at their
best, they connect billions of people around the world to content that
uniquely inspires, informs, and entertains them. YouTube has
confirmed that recommendations drive a significant amount of the
overall viewership on YouTube, even more than channel subscriptions
or search. And YouTube’s recommendation system works in two main
places: the “Up Next” panel and a viewer’s homepage.
YouTube’s recommendation system
The Up Next panel appears when a viewer is watching a video. It
suggests additional content based on whatever he or she is currently
watching, alongside other videos that YouTube thinks that viewer may
be interested in. YouTube then tracks what viewers watch, how long
they watch, what they skip over, and more. This helps their
recommendation system figure out what kind of videos a viewer likes
best and what YouTube can recommend to him or her next.
Optimizing videos so they’re Up Next
Use links, cards, and end screens to suggest the next video that
your viewer may be interested in watching.
Develop playlists that are organically connected by specific
theme or tent-pole event to create a long viewing experience.
Make strong calls to action to encourage viewers to watch
another video in your series.
Long endings may delay viewers from watching more, so be
mindful of how your videos end.
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13. Up Next
Links in your description can encourage your viewers to take an action,
which is one of the aggregate engagement signals.
Links, cards, and end screens
You can use info cards to make your videos more interactive. Info
cards can feature a video, playlist, channel, or link. Cards are designed
to complement videos and enhance the viewer experience with
relevant info. Cards work well when they are placed in conjunction with
scripted calls to action or when they are relevant to your video content.
As its recommendation system evolves, YouTube plans to improve it
to show the most relevant cards based on performance, viewer
behavior, and the device a viewer is using.
Video SEO best practices
Leave enough space and time at the end of your video (the
video's last 20 seconds) for an end screen.
Encourage viewers to click using calls to action for different end
screen elements and show them at different times.
Use cards in older videos to highlight your most recent uploads
or to promote fundraising campaigns.
Use cards to cross-promote other creators and credit
collaborators in your video.
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End screens can be added to the last 5–20 seconds of a video. You
can use them to promote other videos, encourage viewers to subscribe,
and more. You can add up to four elements to your end screen for
videos with standard 16:9 aspect ratio. Your video has to be at least 25
seconds long to have an end screen.

14. Up Next
Viewers come to YouTube to catch up on the latest news or to simply
learn more about topics they’re curious about. For content where
accuracy and authoritativeness are key, including news, politics,
medical, and scientific information, YouTube uses machine learning
systems that prioritize information from authoritative sources and
provide context to help viewers make informed decisions. And certain
types of misleading or deceptive content with serious risk of egregious
harm are not allowed on YouTube. This includes certain types of
misinformation that can cause real-world harm.
Fighting misinformation
For example, YouTube blocked leading Russia state-backed channels
RT and Sputnik across Europe on March 1, 2022. And YouTube started
blocking access around the world to channels associated with Russian
state-funded media on March 11. YouTube spokesman Farshad
Shadloo cited a policy barring content that denies, minimizes or
trivializes well-documented violent events. He said Russia's invasion
of Ukraine now fell under its violent events policy and violating
material would be removed.
YouTube’s “4 Rs”
Raise up authoritative sources for news and information.
Reward trusted creators.
Remove content that violates their policies.
Reduce recommendations of borderline content.
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15. Your homepage
There’s a lot of great videos to explore on YouTube, and so remaining
relevant, engaging, and maintaining the interest and attention of your
audience is important. Publishing content frequently and regularly will
improve your ranking in the algorithm and help you build viewership. A
good level to aim for is a minimum of two videos per week, but the
right amount of content depends on your audience, your goals, and
your content. This frequency will provide your audience with new
content regularly, and keep them coming back often.
Schedule your content
Release videos on set days of the week, if possible. Releasing videos
on a recurring schedule helps build a structure to your channel that an
audience can rely on. It case be easier to retain audiences and keep
them coming back to your channel when they know when new
episodes will be coming out.
Optimizing your programming strategy
Keep doing what works. Don’t be afraid to experiment, but do
so mindfully.
See how often your channel appears on Home, globally, by
going to your YouTube Analytics Traffic Sources report.
Upload new videos on a consistent basis to give your audience
an expectation of when they can see more new content.
Keep viewers engaged for longer and encourage them to come
back for more.
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16. Your homepage
Your homepage is what you see when you first open YouTube. It
displays a mixture of personalized recommendations, subscriptions,
and the latest news and information. Unlike other platforms, YouTube
doesn’t connect viewers to content through their social network.
Instead, YouTube’s recommendation system is constantly evolving,
learning every day from over 80 billion signals to help people connect
to videos they love.
63% of video views are on mobile devices
Recommendations connect viewers to high-quality information
and minimize the chances they’ll see problematic content.
Any video that YouTube classifies as “borderline content” is
demoted in recommendations.
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17. YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts makes it easy to create short-form videos that are up
to 60 seconds long with a multi-segment camera. YouTube CEO Susan
Wojcicki revealed in January 2022, “We’re seeing momentum across
the platform, including on Shorts. We’ve now hit 5 trillion all time views
on Shorts!”
YouTube is always testing new ways to deliver content to viewers.
This is especially true for Shorts. Right now, viewers may find your
Shorts by tapping Shorts at the bottom of the YouTube app. They may
also find Shorts:
• On the YouTube homepage.
• In their notifications.
• Checking their Subscriptions.
• Featured on your channel homepage.
• Once they tap into a Short, viewers can scroll to watch more short
videos.
Short-form video experience
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18. Track
Video Rankings
You can monitor video rankings both in YouTube and
Google using SE Ranking:
1. Create a project and enter the URL of your
video/channel into the “Website URL” field
2. Add the keywords you want to track
3. Choose YouTube/Google as the search engine
and select a region
4. It will take some time for the data to load up
on YouTube and Google
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19. Who needs your help?
Oleksandr Tkachenko, a Ukrainian journalist, CEO, and politician, is the
Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. In February 2022,
his Ministry launched an operational press center with the Ukrinform
National News Agency and the Center for Strategic Communication
and Information Security to provide daily updates on Russia’s
“disinformation war.”
Oleksandr Tkachenko
On March 18, 2022, Tkachenko said, "Russian propaganda has driven
itself into a dead end, so it has completely switched to the Russians –
to brainwash them. Roskomnadzor is trying to block all resources that
might tell the truth to the Russians. But they’ve lost control. And soon,
the refrigerator at home will win over the TV at home for the Russians.“
There is another way to tell the truth to the Russians.
Roskomnadzor has demanded that YouTube “stop broadcasting anti-
Russia videos as soon as possible.“ But, YouTube has escaped any
major censorship since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, despite the
company suspending all monetization in Russia. So, optimizing videos
in Russian could help Ukraine tell the truth about the war to many of the
106 million YouTube users in the Russian Federation.
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20. Who needs your help
Bill McKibben is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist.
He is founder of Third Act, which is organizing people over the age of
60 to defend our climate and democracy.
Bill McKibben
In the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he started pushing a
plan called Heat Pumps for Peace and Freedom. He explained, “Putin
built his army on oil and gas earnings, and he’s made Europe cower by
threatening to turn off the energy spigot. Both can be addressed in
part by the massive application of technology. The simple heat pump,
for instance, which is basically a highly efficient air conditioner that
also works in reverse, uses electricity to take the ambient heat from
the outside air to warm a home.”
Five senators – including US Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren
of Massachusetts – wrote to the White House two weeks ago asking
US President Joe Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act and get
America’s air conditioner factories churning out the machines for
immediate export. You can help by optimizing YouTube videos in your
local language to build support for this strategic plan to deliver millions
of heat pumps to Europe before October, which would make Putin’s
energy weapon much less potent.
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21. Stand with Ukraine
David Beasley, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, said the war in Ukraine has created “a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe” and will
have a global impact “beyond anything we’ve seen since World War II” because many of the Ukrainian farmers who produce a significant amount of the
world’s wheat are now fighting Russians. He also stated that the war in Ukraine is turning “the breadbasket of the world to breadlines.” How can we help
Ukraine? Go to https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-support-ukraine/440621/ for additional ways to show your support for our industry colleagues.
Geoeconomic RoundTable: War in Ukraine – Political and Economic Forum