With over 361 million daily active users, YouTube is a powerful platform for businesses and influencers of all sizes to reach new audiences and grow their brands. Knowing how to rank YouTube videos not only helps you to have a significant reach on the platform itself, but it helps boost your rankings on Google search results, giving your brand even more exposure.
So, how do you make sure your videos pop up first on YouTube search results? And how can you influence YouTube search results so your video finds the right people? In this article, we’ll cover exactly how to boost your YouTube ranking so that you can get more views, subscribers, and conversions.
11 Proven Ways to Rank YouTube Videos Fast
While it might seem impossible to rank higher on YouTube quickly, there are many things you can do to give your videos the best chance at ranking #1. Here are the 11 most effective ways to get higher rankings on your YouTube videos.
1) Choose the Right Video Category
The first step to ranking on YouTube is to select the correct category for your videos. YouTube offers many different “categories” or “topics” that you can choose from when uploading a video, such as music, animals, comics, games, and more. It’s crucial to pick the one that’s most relevant to your video content.
Not only will this help YouTube understand what your video is about, but it will also help you show up in more relevant searches. For example, if you have a how-to video about changing a car tire, you would want to choose the “How to & Style” category instead of “Comedy” or “Music.”
2) Begin with the Right YouTube Keyword Research
Now that you’ve picked the right category for your video, it’s time to do keyword research to improve your YouTube SEO. This will help you figure out what people are searching for on YouTube (and Google) so that you can optimize your title, description, and tags around those keywords. Of course, you’ll want to include target keywords with a higher amount of monthly searches, but you’ll also want to ensure that the keywords are relevant to your video content.
3) Optimize the Video Title
Your title is one of the first things people see when they come across your video, so it’s essential to ensure it’s optimized for both YouTube and Google searches. You’ll want to include your target keywords in the title to ensure your videos rank, but you also want to make sure it’s catchy and appealing so that people will actually click on them. Consider your title’s search volume, relevance, and clickability when coming up with something.
4) Write Effective & Engaging Descriptions
Your video description should be engaging and informative, but it should also include your target keywords so that YouTube knows what your video content is about. You’ll want to write a description that’s at least 250 words, as this seems to be the sweet spot for Google ranking. But don’t stuff your keywords in there!
Use them sparingly and naturally throughout the description so that it reads well and provides value to the viewer. Remember, your goal is to not only rank in YouTube searches but also to get people to watch your video, so make sure your description is engaging.
5) Make Use of Relevant Video Tags
Your tags are how YouTube knows what your video is about, so it’s essential to tag your videos with relevant and popular keywords. You’ll want to include a mix of broad and specific tags, as well as some generic ones (like your brand name) and long-tail keywords. The goal is to include as many relevant tags as possible without going overboard so that Google search and YouTube both have a good idea of what your video is about.
6) Create Compelling Thumbnail Images
Video thumbnails are like little movie posters for your YouTube videos, so it’s important to make sure they’re eye-catching and engaging. People will often scroll through a bunch of videos before deciding which one to watch, so you want yours to stand out. Your thumbnail image should give people a good idea of what your video is about and make them want to click on it.
7) Add Best Transcriptions and Closed Captions
You might not think that transcribing your videos would be important for your YouTube ranking, but it actually is! Adding transcripts of your videos helps YouTube understand what your video is about so that it can be properly indexed and ranked for search engine optimization purposes.
Closed captions are also important, as they make your videos accessible to a wider audience. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can still watch and enjoy your videos with closed captions turned on.
8) Publish Longer Videos
Longer videos tend to rank higher than shorter ones, so if you can, aim for videos that are 10 minutes or longer. That being said, you don’t want to artificially extend your videos just for the sake of making them longer. If you do, your viewers will likely get bored watching your video and move on to something else.
9) Upload High Retention Videos
In order to get higher retention rates and help your videos rank, you’ll need to upload content that’s engaging and keeps people watching. You’ll want to make sure you’re packing in a ton of value so that viewers stay interested throughout the entire video.
Some ways to do this include adding a personal touch, using humor, and including helpful information that people are actually searching for. Remember, the more people you can get to watch your piece of content, the better!
10) Promote Your YouTube Channel & Videos
Make sure you’re promoting your YouTube channel and videos on all of your social media channels, as this will help increase your reach and visibility. You can share your videos on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or even embed them onto your website or a blog post.
11) Increase Your Engagement Rate
The number 1 way to achieve better YouTube rankings is by increasing your engagement rate. This means getting more people to watch your videos, like them, comment on them, share them, and subscribe to your channel.
The fastest way to do this is to buy YouTube views, likes, comments, and subscribers from a reputable company like Media Mister, which has a proven track record of helping people grow their social presence.
