The video-sharing platform YouTube is currently the second most visited website and search engine in the world, attracting over 46.6 million visitors per month . With its ever-increasing subscriber base, YouTube presents enormous potential for businesses. According to some reports, internet users spend 70% of their time on YouTube watching algorithm recommendations . To increase your company's visibility on this platform, you'll need to understand how the algorithms work and develop a strategy accordingly. Of course, it's still possible to boost a channel's visibility using paid advertising and influencers. But it's also important to improve your reach without spending any money. Here's how!
Describe the YouTube channel clearly
brief presentation is necessary . It's best to mention its purpose, its goal, and what viewers can expect. This information appears in the "About" section and is part of the channel's brand
To do this, you will need to use the appropriate keywords in the first 100 characters , as these will be used as the snippet when a user searches for the string. This will also help the string appear in search results.
Personalizing your channel also yields better results. Having more characters in your description, for example, improves your channel's visibility. It's recommended to use at least 300 characters for this.
Create engaging titles that include keywords
When you search on Google, the engine always displays results including YouTube videos. But to rank the video well in search results, one of the best practices is to optimize its title .
To achieve this, the video title must not exceed 70 characters , as longer titles will not appear in search results. It's also essential to ensure the title is keyword-rich . Keywords that naturally appear in video titles play a significant role in generating more views. Titles containing keywords can help videos rank higher on YouTube and in Google search results.
However, keywords should not be used randomly. Your video title always be engaging , while clearly indicating to viewers the content of your video.
Write a good video description
It's always helpful to have a proper description for each video on a YouTube channel. This description should obviously be informative . Viewers often prefer to read video descriptions, especially when it comes to product reviews or tutorials.
The first 100 to 150 characters are crucial . They appear as a snippet in search results. You should therefore highlight your main keyword in this section . Then move on to secondary keywords , if necessary. Hashtags are also highly recommended. According to Google, hashtags help users easily find your video. To top it all off, it's essential to include links to your social media profiles or other platforms.
An interesting point: YouTubers ask their viewers to like the video and subscribe to their channel .
Add thumbnails to videos
Thumbnails help viewers quickly get an idea of a video's content . According to the YouTube Creator Academy, thumbnails make videos more appealing to advertisers and are also an important part of a video's metadata.
There are three options for selecting a thumbnail once, but it's still best to create your own . In fact, 90% of the top-performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails .
The goal is therefore to use impressive images . The video title can also be added to the thumbnail to provide more information about its content.
In practical terms, the thumbnail file size must not exceed 2 MB and it must respect the ratio of 16:9 . The formats taken into account are: JPG, PNG, GIF or GMP .
Having a precise publication schedule
If there's a significant gap between video uploads, the channel will be less discoverable. This is due to YouTube's algorithms, which prioritize consistency in uploads. Therefore, adhering to a content .
If you're busy, you can schedule videos on YouTube. To do this, you'll first need to upload a video and mark it as "private" or "scheduled." Then, simply select the date and time you want the video to be published.
Warning! The upload time mentioned on YouTube is based on Pacific Standard Time (PST) .
Engage the audience
Engagement fosters a better relationship with viewers and encourages them to like, comment on, and share videos. To achieve this, it will be helpful to create authentic, useful, and entertaining video content .
To begin with, the comments section must be fully utilized. Viewers should therefore be encouraged to leave comments. These comments should then be responded to and addressed in order to foster discussion.
Besides liking videos, sharing them and requesting to subscribe to the channel, contests can also help with engagement.
There are many other ways to promote YouTube videos without resorting to sponsorships . You can feature your channel and videos on your main social media platforms , your blog, and your website . However, keep in mind that attracting viewers to your channel takes time and patience . Don't expect spectacular results for your business overnight.
