how to rank youtube videos

The Complete Guide on How to Rank YouTube Videos in 2020

YouTube recently hit three billion views for a single video. More than ten videos have since reached more than three billion views on YouTube, making the platform the most futuristic yet. These statistics show YouTube’s growing popularity and influence in the online marketplace. Learning how to rank YouTube videos will make a difference.

Some of the highest-ranked videos on YouTube are not necessarily music videos. This means that the platform presents great promise for individuals and corporations hoping to capitalize on videos for varying business ends. 

As such, YouTube SEO will redefine how you attract traffic using complex automated search engine algorithms and other strategies. 

On YouTube, ranking is everything. If you don’t know how to rank YouTube videos, then this guide will be a useful tool. 

Here‘s everything you need to know about YouTube ranking in 2020. 

Why Is Ranking Important? 

Glad you asked. 

Thousands of videos are posted on YouTube every split second. 

YouTube uses different tools and techniques to rank such videos in a way that best suits specific queries. 

The reason why some videos get more views depends on more than just throwing content online.

Could you still be stuck at 19 views on YouTube despite the concerted efforts to put your content out there? Well, for most people, the real mistake is in their lack of understanding of the importance of ranking. 

Regardless of how much unique content you may have, how you package it can be the deal-breaker.

YouTube users don’t have all the time online. As such, if the first video that pops up when they make that query provides the answers they need, then their search ends there. 

It’s a competitive system where visibility relies solely on ranking. 

You need your videos to rank up there, or you’ll end up making do with low ranks and just a handful of loyal viewers.  

How to Rank YouTube Videos 

Ranking on YouTube can be achievable using a variety of techniques. Here are some options worth considering. 

1. Capitalize on YouTube SEO

(Image Source: Lander)

You must have heard about SEO in the course of online marketing. 

However, for most people, YouTube SEO is a new thing altogether. 

Over the last few years, YouTube has emerged as an incredible tool based on the Pay per Click and the View per Click online marketing models. 

YouTube SEO refers to the process of optimizing your videos on YouTube in a way that ensures that you rank high on YouTube’s organic search engines. For most futuristic businesses, it’s agreeable that YouTube offers the best opportunity yet for online marketing, given the growth in the platform’s popularity.

Considering the notable growth in affordable, stable, and fast internet connectivity, more online users are now willing to click on a video or two daily. 

Further, the internet currently ranks high among the most trusted sources of information. As such, enhancing your overall video rank on YouTube will automatically double up your ranks on the Google search engine.

With these changing patterns, focusing on YouTube ranking will ensure that the graphical content about your business, products, or services ranks highly. 

Unfortunately, for most people, achieving that level of video ranking can be a bit of work.

YouTube SEO refers to the optimization of your channel, Metadata, and all your videos to enhance ranking on google search engines. 

Considering that YouTube is the only major video-based search engine in the world, it means that you stand a realistic chance of making critical traction when you choose to use YouTube. 

YouTube SEO can be your best friend during this journey.

How Does YouTube SEO Work?

Search Engine Optimization refers to the rapidly evolving practice of designing web content. 

This approach ensures that the content you post on search engines ranks high whenever users do random searches. 

Search is the gateway to all the content on YouTube. As such, it is essential to consider the gate-keeping role that search engines play when users make queries online.

When using YouTube, optimization is an essential component for your channels and playlists. This move helps to ensure that you can do searches both within and outside of YouTube.

Search Engine Algorithms 

(Image Source: Search Engine Journal)

Videos on YouTube receive rankings based on a variety of factors.  

Aspects such as Video description, video content, and viewer’s queries matter. YouTube also ranks videos depending on the content that drives the most engagement.

Based on these factors, YouTube makes such videos easy to find for viewers. 

Based on the mention of the title and the content, it’s clear that aspects such as keywords are critical. However, when dealing with YouTube SEO, you should understand that high engagement is the underlying baseline. 

You need to focus on ensuring that you can keep the viewers on your channel for as long as possible. That’s why finding the right SEO tools for YouTube is an essential technique for keeping your YouTube campaign going.

With this said, what YouTube search engine optimization strategy would work for you?

2. You Need to Add Accurate Closed Captions  

Are you wondering how to rank YouTube videos? 

Captions are an incredible way of handling your ranking on YouTube. 

Today, YouTube auto-captions provide only 70% of the set accuracy levels. As such, you may end up with instances of embarrassing captions. 

You don’t want to end up with automatically generated gibberish when dealing with YouTube content. 

For this reason, it may be essential to begin with letting go of the YouTube ASR captions. Most of the videos and content on YouTube that ends up being flagged as spam is due to the reliance on automated captions. 

The first strategy to ensure that your YouTube content ranks high would be to consider adding accurate closed captions. This approach would guarantee you a higher search rank and better prospects of user engagement. 

3. Have a Transcript Description of All Your Videos  

YouTube has description fields that provide 4850 characters to ensure you adequately capture your videos. 

This is the best option to ensure that you add a transcript to your channels, Metadata, or videos.  

For modern marketers, video transcripts are a guaranteed way of handling search engines and indexing your videos. Transcripts are an easy and natural way of ensuring that keywords for YouTube videos are customized. This becomes the engine that fuels your YouTube SEO.  

As such, taking this route ensures that you utilize transcripts as the starting point for your content.

As times change, there will be more focus on video transcripts as a critical content marketing shortcut. As such, there will be a greater focus on SEO tools such as Blogs, infographics, and fact sheets as valuable content marketing shortcuts in the future. 

If you’re keen on pushing your videos on YouTube up the ranks, then transcripts are a great deal. 

4. Focus on Translations and Multiple Language Subtitles

The internet has diverse audiences who may want to access your channel or videos for varying reasons. However, language can often be a leading barrier when expanding your target audiences. 

Subtitles and translations are critical toward improving your overall rank on YouTube. 

With the changing trends in globalization and global markets, your target is not limited to American customers. For instance, it’s important to note that 80% of YouTube users come from outside of the United States. 

Introducing translations and video subtitles in multiple languages will not only change how other non-English speakers interact with your videos but also change how YouTube ranks your content.

Most times, targeted customization takes into account factors such as language. As such, your videos may rank highly within the United States but have a low rank in other regions due to the language barrier.

With subtitles and video translations, it’s now possible to reach non-native English speakers easily, which makes your YouTube videos rank higher than content that is not translated.  

You can include your subtitles and translate your titles in a way that allows more people to search and find your content. 

You stand the greatest chance of ranking higher up the YouTube search engines with this strategy. This is because YouTube has lower levels of competition for non-English keywords.  

With subtitles and translations, you’ll rank high in one of the world’s most efficient search engines. 

5. Choose a Keyword in AutoComplete

(Image Source: Search Engine Watch)

You need to ensure that you utilize the Keywords to your advantage when using YouTube. 

The best and most viewed YouTube videos have a keyword in autocomplete. 

If you’re keen on achieving a higher ranking on YouTube, you need to start focusing more on keyword autocomplete. Keywords allow you to utilize online markets on both YouTube and Google autocomplete, which ensures you remain up the ranks. 

You can use specific phrases and target keywords to increase the chances of users landing on your channel. 

The use of specific phrases when preparing your videos depends on the underlying keyword competition on a given range of products. You must, however, balance video quality and the choice of keywords to ensure that you achieve the anticipated outcomes.

6. Determine Search Intent

Search intent, or keyword intent, is the reason why a user searches online or in a search engine. 

You only need to make a quick search of the keyword you wish to rank for on Google then proceed to analyze the content and the angle.

The search allows you to identify the top five results and what exactly they are talking about. As a marketer, it’s often better to follow suit rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. 

The approach helps you understand how you can utilize Keyword competition to your advantage. 

Google provides SEO tools that you can use to check the user intent. Essentially, just like in the case of product marketing, you need to focus on understanding your audiences’ and their needs. Once you understand what the specific needs are by using search intent, you can then move to create the target keywords. 

Phrases that rank highest on YouTube have two critical characteristics. 

First, if your search keywords help more people to get what they are looking for faster, then you are likely to have a higher rank on YouTube. Second, if your keyword phrases help you maximize long-term user engagement and satisfaction, then YouTube will likely rank you higher.

7. Likes, Views, and Subscriptions Matter 

(Image Source: Reviews XP)

Just like with any other social media platform, your YouTube profile is built based on the traffic you attract. 

A YouTube channel that has thousands of subscribers, likes, and comments will tend to rank higher automatically based on the level of activity on such platforms.

Each of the likes, comments, and viewers you attract to your channel boosts your engagement. 

You can ask your target audiences to subscribe to your channel to like or view more content on your Tube channels. YouTube will rank your video content based on such activity on your profile. 

YouTube has done a lot to introduce several metrics when determining how your video ranks.  

You need to be wary of the effect that factors, such as the number of seconds viewed have on ranking. The more viewers are willing to spend time on your video, the more likely your ranking will grow.

Are you hoping to increase your YouTube ranking in the future? You need to focus on producing video content that keeps your viewers on longer. 

You also need to focus on comments, likes, and social shares to ensure that you attract more engagement on your channels. 

8. Push to Social media 

Social media has changed human behavior on various levels. If you’re looking to increase your YouTube ranking, you need to focus on-page and off-page presence. 

Social media can change how your viewers interact with your content.

Your social media is a critical tool toward ensuring an embedment of both internal and external links

By focusing on posting your YouTube content on other personal social accounts, you can be able to increase ranking on YouTube.

YouTube Ranking Is the Deal-Breaker in Online Marketing

YouTube is the second largest search engine globally with a status that is only second to Google. With this growth in the usefulness of online marketing, more users are heading online for solutions on different issues.

However, ranking can make or break your desire to succeed in creating an online profile on your YouTube channels.

Are you wondering how to rank YouTube videos? Well, these eight pointers will ensure that you keep your YouTube channels, videos, and Metadata high up YouTube’s pecking order.

Are you looking to harness more on YouTube ranking? Learn more on our blog.

About The Author

>
Scroll to Top