9 YouTube SEO Strategies to Get More Views and Subscribers

Users around the globe continue to use YouTube as a secondary option to a Google search.

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world—just behind Google—with over three billion monthly searches and an average of six billion hours of videos watched each month.

With so much content consumed, how do you make sure your videos stand out from the competition? That’s where YouTube video SEO comes in.

What is YouTube SEO?

If you want your YouTube videos to rank highly in the search engine results pages (SERPs), you need a YouTube search engine optimization (SEO) strategy and a strong understanding of video marketing.

YouTube SEO is the process of optimizing videos and channels to increase visibility in search engine results. By employing a few key strategies, small business owners and content creators can reach more viewers and build an audience on YouTube through organic video search vs. relying on YouTube ads.

The success of a YouTube video partially depends on how well you optimize it for YouTube search results. If you’re struggling with your YouTube rankings, we have nine YouTube SEO tips to optimize videos and channels for better visibility and ranking factors.

1. Conduct keyword research

A good YouTube SEO strategy focuses on keyword research to attract viewers through organic search. Conduct keyword research for free using Google Keyword Planner. Or use YouTube’s autocomplete search bar function to know how to select the right keywords:

YouTube’s search bar for “summer skirts.”

There are three keyword types to focus on when researching:

• Primary keywords. Target keywords with a high search volume and monthly searches. They can be more difficult to rank for, but the payoff is better.

• Secondary keywords. Related to the primary keyword and add more depth and potential to your search rankings. They also take into account search intent more.

• Long-tail keywords. Specific phrases that appeal more to natural language. It’s important to include keywords in your YouTube SEO strategy that match specific search intent because their conversion value is higher.

The title and description of your video should contain the keyword your audience searches for, so your video appears in their search results or feed.

“That's how we managed to increase our subscriber count: by making sure everything was optimized for our target audience,” says Gauri Manglik, CEO and co-founder of Instrumentl.

There are various paid keyword research tools available to conduct thorough research, or you can work with a keyword research freelancer.

2. Optimize video titles and thumbnails for search visibility

Discover your YouTube keywords isn't the end—now it’s time to optimize your content. Include relevant keywords in your titles, video description, tags, thumbnails, and playlists.

Create video titles that clearly communicate what the video is about, while also using relevant keywords where appropriate. Stuffing your content with irrelevant keywords is one of the most common SEO mistakes.

On top of keyword optimization, select custom thumbnails that accurately represent the video’s content to capture viewers’ attention in the SERPs or suggested videos list. Use templates to keep branding consistent across all your thumbnails to grow recognition. Partner with a freelance thumbnail designer if photo editing isn’t your strong suit.

Although YouTube allows 100 characters in a title, the best-performing videos tend to have 47-48 characters. Also, consider including the keyword and relevant search terms in the file name of your video file when uploading a new video to YouTube.

Chart showing the relation between average title length and rank. Source

3. Consistently create and upload high-quality, engaging content

There’s no secret formula to running a successful YouTube channel. You can follow all the SEO hacks and tricks, but your channel will always fall short if you’re not producing high-quality content.

Ensure that all your videos adhere to YouTube standards in terms of production quality, sound, and visual clarity. Focusing on these seemingly small things will differentiate yourself from competitors’ videos. Always include a clear call-to-action (CTA) to improve user experience and increase those video views.

Here are some tips for creating valuable video content on YouTube:

• Identify your target audience and create in-depth videos that address their pain points or interest them

• Structure your videos and create outlines for them beforehand

• Use professional video, sound, and lighting

• Engage with your community and respond to comments

• Have a consistent posting schedule so your audience knows what to expect

If you’re lost on what type of videos to create, start by picking a niche that interests you. This is the easiest way create lots of conteng to grow your subscriber count and monetize your YouTube channel. Make sure your channel is set up nicely and aesthetically with the proper branding and page elements like a YouTube banner and description. Then, come up with a list of video ideas.

Here are some video ideas for beginners to get started:

• Tutorials

• Interviews

• Product walkthroughs

• Challenges

• Behind-the-scenes

4. Understand and learn YouTube’s algorithm

It's essential to understand how YouTube’s algorithm works if you want your videos to rank higher in the SERPs. Factors like watch time, click-through rate, retention rate, and engagement all impact how your videos rank—so pay close attention to these metrics when optimizing a channel or individual videos for SEO purposes.

YouTube’s algorithm also considers whether viewers:

• Return after viewing the first one

• Watch more videos from your channel

• View related videos after viewing yours (indicates user interest)

• Other metrics, such as views per day/week/month

5. Include video transcripts, captions, and timestamps

Provide a video transcript, timestamps, and captions to improve your watch time and rank more favorably on YouTube. Transcripts help users quickly decide if your video is relevant. If you create high-quality content and only include relevant keywords, then a transcript should confirm to viewers they’ve made the right decision.

Closed captions also improve your videos’ accessibility, expanding your reach. If you want to attract international audiences, offer subtitles so those with different languages can still enjoy your content. This can boost your visibility in certain countries/regions where English isn't spoken widely.

YouTube channel “What to Wear - Classic fashion for women” includes captions, a transcript, and timestamps in her videos.

At least once per description, include a “timestamp link” to take viewers to a specific point within the video. Similar to a transcript, this helps viewers find exactly what they’re looking for quicker. It increases watch time overall since people don’t have to sift through large amounts of footage before finding what they need/want, and they’re less likely to get frustrated and find the desired information elsewhere.

Example of a video that includes timestamps that separate the video into chapters.

6. Promote videos across various social media platforms and online communities

Shout your videos from the rooftops—don’t rely on organic search alone to bring viewers to your channel. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter) can grow your channel and build an online community.

Cross-promotion is essential—users are 52% more likely to share video content over any other format. If you publish longer videos, condense them into shorter clips and share them on your social platforms, linking to and embedding the entire video. Plan social media posts with a calendar to organize everything and maintain a consistent publishing schedule.

Sharing videos on multiple platforms is a win-win because it allows you to increase your subscribers everywhere. Repurpose YouTube shorts as TikTok videos to get more followers and turn TikToks into YouTube shorts. Always analyze your metrics with monitoring tools when employing these social media campaign strategies to track conversions.

Content creator Shea Whitney shares similar videos as YouTube shorts and as TikToks.

7. Collaborate with influencers or other creators

Reach new audiences by partnering with relevant creators or influencers to promote your YouTube videos. While it doesn’t make sense to cross-promote with someone who does the exact same thing as you, there are similar industries you can target.

For example, if you have a YouTube channel about pet care, consider channels that focus on families. You’re not directly competing with one another, but your target audiences are bound to have some overlap and interest in one another.

Influencer marketing is another powerful avenue, but don’t focus on chasing after the biggest names. Smaller influencers, with 1,000 to 5,000 subscribers on YouTube, have the highest engagement rates.

8. Use tags and hashtags

Leverage hashtags and tags within descriptions whenever possible and appropriate. Don’t flood your description with them either—it’s best to include only three to five relevant terms. One of these hashtags should be your target keyword for optimal results.

If you consistently create new videos that appeal to trendyYouTube content, tags and hashtags allow a more general audience to discover you, and increase your subscriptions.

9. Monitor video performance metrics and adjust strategies accordingly

It’s normal to experience disappointment when implementing a new strategy, but don’t give up. Take a look at your relevant YouTube analytics to determine if your current ideas work or not. Numbers and performance metrics don’t come easy for everyone, so partner with a freelancer who's fluent in analytics and tracking to make sense of it all for you.

There are a few YouTube SEO tools or extensions you can use to boost your productivity as a YouTube creator and analyze your metrics:

• TubeBuddy. Has AI features and an SEO studio that helps you optimize your video thumbnail image and YouTube video descriptions.

• Ahrefs.Features a Keyword Explorer tool that makes bulk keyword analysis easy to improve your content marketing and digital marketing skill sets.

• VidIQ.Offers optimization scores for each video and gives your entire channel an audit to help you rank videos better.

How do I increase my YouTube visibility?

Follow the nine YouTube video SEO strategies listed above to start getting more traction on your videos. If you’re still not satisfied, consider the following options.

Fiverr’s YouTuber Influencer Program

If your YouTube channel has at least 5,00 subscribers, you can apply to join Fiverr’s Influencer Program. Increase your YouTube visibility with the following perks:

• More engagement. YouTube’s algorithm rewards engagement, and influencers who create content about Fiverr tend to outperform with these posts, leading to more traffic.

• Fiverr credits. Level up your content production by joining forces with some of Fiverr's highly skilled freelancers, thanks to your new free credits.

• Higher commission rates. Depending on the partnership program you select, your commission could increase by up to 100%.

• Promo codes. Share the wealth by offering your viewers an exclusive Fiverr coupon code that allows them to save money on their own Fiverr purchases.

Work with a Fiverr freelancer

Don’t feel pressured to take on all of the work that comes with managing a YouTube channel and creating original, high-quality content.

Either find a more general freelancer to take on the entirety of YouTube SEO, or work with more specialized freelancers on keyword research, off-page SEO, or voice search SEO.

Join Fiverr to hire skilled freelancers who are fluent in YouTube’s algorithm and know how to properly optimize content and your channel for YouTube SEO.