As an SEO expert, it’s important to recognize how YouTube can work as a valuable tool in driving traffic towards your website and increasing your profits from affiliate marketing. With the right optimization strategies, you can use this video platform to provide potential leads effective and targeted solutions to their problems.
But before we dive in, what is SEO on YouTube, and why is it important?
YouTube SEO involves optimizing your videos, channel and metadata to increase the visibility and reach of your content in YouTube’s search results. When you optimize your content for search, you can attract more potential leads to your channel, improve video watch-time, boost engagement metrics, and add value to your content.
Here are some tips and tricks to help you use YouTube SEO effectively to gain a profit from affiliate products online.
1. Focus on Keywords
Keyword research is a critical skill in any SEO strategy, and it’s same for YouTube SEO. YouTube’s search algorithm pays attention to the video’s title, description, and tags when ranking in the search results. Conduct keyword research to find the most relevant and popular keywords that are likely to be used by your target audience. Make sure you put these keywords in your video’s title and description, and tags. But don’t go overboard with the keyword stuffing– optimize your content in such a way that your keywords and message appear naturally.
For instance, take a look at this video by Backlinko on “The 7 best keyword research tools for SEO in 2023”. Its title is concise and to the point, while the description provides a brief introduction to what the video is about. Also, note how the video is optimized for keyword “keyword research tools”.
2. Optimize Video Length
Longer videos tend to rank better in YouTube search results, but the video length should also correlate well with the topic of the video. So, it’s important to provide engaging content that holds the audience’s attention throughout the video. YouTube’s algorithm pays attention to how long viewers spend watching your videos. This measure is called ‘watch-time’, and the more time people spend watching your video, the more likely YouTube is to recommend it to other viewers. The length of the video will have an impact on this, as videos that are too short may not provide enough value or context for the viewer, while videos that are too long may not be engaging enough to retain their attention.
In Neil Patel’s video “10 Things to Do Before You Hit Publish [Infographic]”, he has managed to sustain a mid-length video (just under 5 minutes), and yet it still provides valuable information in such a way that it holds the audience’s attention.
3. Invest in Quality Content
Quality content is vital for maintaining engagement and ranking high in YouTube search results. Gaining the trust of your audience is important if you want them to stick around, and that means investing time and money in producing high-quality content with an emphasis on providing value. Your videos should have a clear and concise message, offer solutions to the viewers’ problems, and contain shareable content that is aesthetically pleasing, and engages the audience.
Take, for instance, Matt D’Avella’s video “Minimalism: What is it?”, in which he provides a well-edited video that uses graphics and music to support the topic of minimalism. Also, note how he delivers his message by explaining the concept of minimalism in simple and relatable terms.
4. Metadata Optimization
Metadata optimization is all about ensuring that your content’s description contains the keywords, but more than that, it provides valuable information to the viewer, such as a summary of the video, the creator’s name, and the title of the video. Optimization of your metadata is key for both YouTube and Google to understand what your video is about and what makes it relevant.
For instance, in HubSpot’s video “The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Podcast,” the metadata is well-optimized. The video has a detailed description (around 4700 characters) that is packed with keywords, and it provides a clear, concise summary of what the video is about.
5. Promotion of Your Videos
Promoting your videos on other social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn can help you drive traffic to your YouTube channel. This can be particularly important for new channels, as it can help your videos gain traction early on. Video promotion doesn’t end on social media, however. LinkedIn articles, blog posts, or even email marketing can point viewers in the right direction to your channel. In addition, YouTube provides Annotations and End Screens, which are powerful tools that help increase engagement, and encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel or watch other videos.
For example, in video by Brian Dean on “Link Building Strategies: The Complete List”, note the end screen with multiple links to other relevant videos.