- Do you want to rank the video on top of the YouTube search engine?
Then, your answers are right down in this post. Ok, here I’m going to talk about “how to rank YouTube videos” moreover, I followed the below techniques to rank my channel videos.
YouTube is the biggest money-making passive income platform. But the twist is the video needs to rank well on YouTube to get better sales/revenue.
Once your videos rank on YouTube search, then everything is possible. So, without further delay, let me get into the topic.
Before that, look at the image,
The above image is one of my channel’s analytics reports. I got 4,13,984 views in just 2 months because one of my videos ranked top on the YouTube search engine.
You may ask, how I achieved this number?
The answer is, “I followed these below steps on my channel and waited for the result, then it happens.” So, let’s get into that.
How to Rank YouTube Videos
YouTube considers a lot of things as a ranking factor. In the meantime, there is no specific formula for that. However, it considers a few basic things as a ranking signal. So, we are going to see that one by one.
Length of the Video
Before publishing your videos, kindly check out the video duration. Because many SEO experts say that “longer videos rank better.” If the videos have more than 15 minutes durations, then it has a lot of possibilities to rank top of YouTube search.
Also, it’s not mean that you have to fluff the video content with low quality for the sake of video length.
So, try to make longer videos and good-quality content. You may hear the word, “Content is king.” If your video reaches unexpected durations like 50 minutes or 100 minutes, then kindly split it into two parts (PART 1 & PART 2) and create a YouTube playlist.
Audiences love to watch this kind of “Parts videos” (PART 1 & PART 2). But the baseline is it must be helpful to audiences. The audience will be ready to watch the video like movies if you’ve excellent content.
Bonus Tip
Add a lot of examples in the videos. Not only for the length of the video but also because it helps to pull the audience’s attention.
Add Keywords
Keywords are the heart of videos. Once you produce the video, it’s time to let YouTube know “you have a great content video” to the audiences. That’s why “Keyword” comes here.
Making excellent quality content alone does not rank your videos, but you also have to optimize it for YouTube SEO. For example, you have a video on “How to make Pizza at home.” But how does YouTube know that? So, you need to enter the related keywords (words or phrases) in a few places.
So, where do we need to use/put the target keywords? In simple words, three places are essential to use the keywords, and they are,
- Video tags,
- Video Title,
- Finally, video description.
Keywords in the video tags
You’ll find the option called tags on the video details page. When someone searches the word “fish cutting skills” in the YouTube search, YouTube will crawl and bring the related video to them (if the video tag has a specified keyword).
But here, you need to note down one more point, which is nothing but using the “proper/good keyword.” High search volume keywords bring more audiences to your channel and rank your videos on YouTube.
For example, consider the two keywords,
- How to cut fish – 170 search volumes per month.
- Fish cutting skills – 1800 search volumes per month.
Which one would you pick? The second one, right? So, we need to find high-search volume keywords to get more views.
I know what is running through your mind. How can I find a “high search volume” keyword? Isn’t? I’m using the TubeBuddy keyword finder tool, a YouTube-certified browser extension and channel management tool.
If you want to install it, then click the below button.
Keywords in Video Title
If the keyword is available in the video title, then it’s easy for the YouTube algorithm to find the video relevant to the search. But you shouldn’t add more keywords like tags in the title. Add only one main keyword in the title.
So, filter and bring the one high search volume keyword with the help of the above-mentioned keyword finder tool and put it in your title. Moreover, I will mention a few points to consider before adding keywords to the title.
- Start with Keyword: Instead of adding a keyword in the middle or last of the title, try to add it at the start of your title.
- Don’t Overdo: Use only one main keyword in the title. Please don’t overdo it with more keywords.
- Use Exact keyword: The YouTube algorithm prefers to find the exact keywords. Therefore, use it in the title as its.
Note: Try to cover your title words within 70 characters. If it crosses above 70 characters, YouTube uses an ellipsis for those characters.
Keywords in Description
YouTube Description is where most audiences find out what kind of channel/video is yours. Add some valuable points regarding your video content in the description shortly with keywords.
Add a maximum of two or three keywords in the description, but it should come naturally. In addition, construct your description neatly, separate it by bullet points, and if it is essential, make the text bold.
Bonus Tip
Use competitor-used keywords in the title, tags, and description. Because they already ranked for that keyword, it helps to rank yours. You can able to find competitors used keywords by clicking here.
Custom Thumbnail
I hope you know the importance of thumbnails. In a nutshell, the thumbnail is where the viewer decides to watch the video. If the thumbnail is related and attracts the audience’s search, the video will get more CTR (click-through rate).
For example, consider your video ranking in the 5th position for a particular keyword. Now, a viewer searches that keyword on YouTube and looks for the results.
Consider the viewer who clicks your video rather than the first 4 ranking videos because of the attractive thumbnail. If this case continues for “n” number of viewers, YouTube changes your ranking position from 5th to move upwards.
This is why thumbnails are essential when it comes to ranking YouTube videos.
Bonus Tip
Use funny and modifier words in the thumbnail related to video content to increase the curiosity level and grab the audience’s attention. Some of the example words are “How to, offer, Free, Discount, Tutorial, and so on…”
Video Quality
Will you watch low-quality videos when there is another high-quality video? I always prefer to watch high-quality videos; moreover, basically everyone.
It’s not mean that you have to buy a high-cost camera and spend more money. Nowadays, a smartphone also rules the video content world. But the location where you shoot, lighting, and editing make the video better.
Kindly watch the video below for better information on how to shoot YouTube videos on smartphones.
If you’re a gaming YouTuber making tutorial videos by recording your monitor, the video couldn’t be blurry or clumsy. So, in this case, use the screen recording software called Camtasia, a high-quality screen recorder software.
Bonus Tip
Follow the same color in the videos throughout your entire channel. For example, take a look atย Neil Patel’sย channel. He used almost the same background color and thumbnails for his complete channel. This makes something unique to the channel.
Add Subscribe Button
Adding a watermark subscribe button is another easy trick to rank the videos. Well, you may think it’s helpful only for getting more subscribers, then how it helps to rank the videos?
Ok, let me clear you that,
When you upload a video, firstly, YouTube will show your video to most subscribers; then, if it goes well, YouTube will suggest the videos to general audiences. So, the main ranking factor is how the video performs among your subscribers.
Therefore, in this case, you need to build your subscribers count. Also, I don’t want to go much about “how to increase YouTube subscribers” in this article. By the way, one of the easiest tricks to get more subscribers is adding a watermark subscriber button, which is directly proportional to ranking the videos.
Also Read,
Share on Social Media
Sharing the video on other social platforms may increase the video’s traffic. If the videos perform well on social profiles, they automatically bring you thousands of views.
Some of the platforms to promote YouTube videos,
- Blogs
Engage more audiences with social profiles, and then it serves to build your channel. Remember that your channel is your brand.
Check Analytics and tune it.
Give some time to your video, like 30 days, and monitor the performances. If one video out of ten videos gets reach means, there is some valuable point in that video. So, you need to find that point and apply that formula to other videos.
For examples,
- Which keyword is this video getting reached, and which keywords are useless?
- How long do audiences stay on your video?
- Which title and thumbnail styles get more clicks?
- From which Geographic location your most of the audiences engaging?
- Traffic sources like how they are finding your videos.
- Analyze which gender and age audiences are mostly watching your videos.
- And many more things…
I review my channel title and thumbnail performance using TubeBuddy’s video A/B test. It ran the test and suggested the best title style for my channel, then after that; I applied that style format to all the videos. To be frank, this technique works.
Also, you can see all other analytics on your YouTube analytics page. So, investigate where you’re up and where you’re down. And finally, improve it. This is one of the important actions you must do regularly to rank the videos on YouTube.
Reply to the comments.
A comment section is the only place you can initially engage with your audience. If the audience comments on your video mean maybe there are only two possibilities,
- Appreciate or suggest you for the video.
- Asking doubts.
YouTube algorithm also takes count of how you’re engaging with the audience.
For example, take a look at Brian Dean’s YouTube channel. He replied to almost all the comments he got. This is what every audience, and YouTube needs to provide a better solution to everyone.
Engaging with your audience is a high-priority task. You have to reply to their doubts in the comment section. So, try to respond to each comment even though their doubts are already cleared in someone’s comment.
If you get any abusive comments or trolls, I recommend kindly ignoring them. It consumes your time and energy. Use that energy for your loyal audiences.
Use Playlists
Creating a playlist is another easy task: holding the audience a little more time on your channel. If the video length increases, try to split it into a separate playlist.
Playlist videos will play automatically when the current video ends, so it increases your channel views, and also, this factor boosts your ranking position.
Bonus Tip
Adding playlists increases the channel watch time (a requirement for monetization). So, leave a twist or give a lead to them in the current video to hold the viewer to watch the following video in the playlists.
FAQ’s
There is no specific time to rank the videos. It depends on how you handle video keywords, quality, channel management, consistency, and audience engagement.
TubeBuddy, no doubts about that. It’s a YouTube-certified keyword finder and YouTube SEO tool.
> Add proper keywords in the title, description, and tags.
> Use playlists.
> Make lengthy videos (10 – 15 minutes longer).
> Optimize it for video SEO.
> Reply to all the comments.
> Create a custom thumbnail.
Conclusion
I used this technique, as mentioned above, to rank my video top on YouTube search. Good things always take some time. All you need to do is give grateful content to the audiences, optimize it for video SEO, and wait for the results. So, do your job and get a reward for it.
I hope you understand how to rank YouTube videos. If you have any doubts, please ask me in the comment section. I have a habit of replying to all the comments. Furthermore, share this post on Pinterest.
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