Drive traffic to your YouTube channel
The act of posting your videos and remaining engaged with them are the two first steps to driving traffic to your YouTube channel. Without videos, there would be nothing for people to watch and without your interaction, they wouldn’t stick around and continue coming back. Therefore, after a few months, you should start to see your channel receive more and more views. Continue regularly putting out more and more content. In addition, stay active and engaged with your viewers.
Beyond that, there are a few more things you can do to drive traffic to your channel.
Remember that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. That means that your videos are most likely going to be found through people searching for them either on a traditional search engine or directly on YouTube. That means that you need to make sure your videos come up higher in the search results than similar videos posted by other people. It is a competition and you need to win. You need to elevate your videos and make them stand out because even if you have the best video in the world but it doesn’t come up in search results then no one will watch it.
SEO For YouTube: Thumbnail Images
In order to get people to watch your videos, you need to make sure they have good Search Engine Optimization or SEO. In addition, you need to have a good thumbnail image that shows people exactly what the video is about. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words and, in this case, a good picture will likely be the difference between receiving views and not receiving them. After all, if there are two videos and one has an interesting thumbnail while the other is a random image of a segment in the video, which one would you choose?
Despite the saying, people do indeed judge a book by its cover. The same is true with YouTube videos. Therefore it is essential that you have a good thumbnail image. That means that you are probably going to have to create one yourself and upload a custom thumbnail instead of using the YouTube generated images. Don’t worry; it isn’t very difficult. Oftentimes you can search Google for images to use and then put them together in Photoshop or another photo editing program.
It is also a good idea to place some words on your thumbnail so people can instantly see what the video is about. The key phrase here is “some words” not a lot of words. Try to keep the words to a minimum and make sure they are large enough to read. People like images because images represent so much more than words and they are a lot easier to see and remember especially in a thumbnail.
Thumbnails are very small so, when creating yours, remember that less is more.
Another trick you can do to help people recognize your videos and further brand your channel is to add a banner on each of your thumbnails. This will really help when your videos appear off of YouTube, like on a search engine or on social media. Adding a banner is pretty simple and can be done in many photo-editing programs. In addition, they make your videos look very professional and significantly help to increase your brand recognition.
SEO For YouTube: Keywords
Check out our post: SEO for YouTube, Keywords.
SEO For YouTube: Title and Description
In addition to having a great thumbnail image and several keywords, you also need to have a captivating title and a good description. Your title is going to help entice people to click on your video and watch it. It will work hand in hand with your thumbnail image to capture interest and spark curiosity. Therefore, make sure you have a captivating title that will tell viewers exactly what they are going to watch.
People like to know what is coming next. They don’t want to be surprised and they definitely don’t want to be disappointed.
When writing your title try to write it in keyword segments. However, unlike in the tag section, you are going to spell things properly and make it look nice. Your title is something that needs to be appealing. Remember, people judge books by the cover so if the title looks bad then they are going to pass right on to the next one.
The same is true with your video. People are going to decide based on your thumbnail and then your title whether or not they want to watch your video. Although on YouTube you will always have a thumbnail, in some search engines your thumbnail will not display. That means it is up to your title to draw them in. Therefore, make sure it is nice.
Your title and thumbnail must work together to draw people to your video. Therefore, write your title in two or three different search phrases that tell exactly what the video is about. It is a good idea to use dividers between the phrases so that people can easily read them without having to strain their eyes. Things like dashes “–” or vertical bars “|” will work nicely. In addition, try to place your brand at the end of your title so that people will know your videos even when the thumbnail isn’t present. This is mostly for off YouTube promotion like when your title is hyperlinked on another site or on social media.
SEO For YouTube: Channel Details
The final thing you need to do to help your SEO is to make sure you fill out all of your channel details. This includes making sure your channel name is relevant to the type of content you are posting. In addition, make sure to add your channel keywords and other details in the settings area. Fill out your profile and add any appropriate links to your channel page, including all of your social media links. In addition, select a good profile image and a cover image that depicts the nature of your channel.
It is also important for you to take the time to add some related channels in your sidebar and, if you are able, create a video trailer for your channel. In addition, try to create playlists and video selections for people to browse when on your channel.
Place these lists and videos on your channel page by adding as many sections as you want below your cover image and trailer. You may have to switch from the default YouTube channel display settings to a custom display so that you will be able to edit this information as you please.