Video SEO: Optimizing YouTube Videos

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jmar(n@touchstorm.com

Video SEO:
Optimizing YouTube

©2011 Touchstorm, LLC. A unit of Diginary Holdings Group. All rights reserved. Proprietary and confidential.

DFWSEM - Video SEO – Why YouTube?
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What We Do
We produce and distribute video. Online. As earned media
not paid advertising. So, the videos show up center of the
page, not over in the margins with the advertising.
We deliver TV-like reach, engaged audiences, and
measurable conversion.

©2011 Touchstorm, LLC. A unit of Diginary Holdings Group. All rights reserved. Proprietary and confidential. 2

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Who We Do It For


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Where We Put It


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Us on YouTube
o  We’re known as HowdiniGuru
o  We’ve gained 90,000 subscribers
o  We’ve gained 150MM views and
currently avg ~7MM a month
o  comScore ranked in the top 10% of
all YouTube partners

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H w We D It


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Why YouTube?


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Why YouTube?
1.  Reach: DoubleClick reports YouTube as the #2 most visited
website behind Facebook with 800mm monthly unique visitors.
2.  Mobile/Connected: is having a significant impact on video
views on YouTube
o  YouTube generated 600mm mobile views in May 2012
o  Mobile views tripled in 2011 alone


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Why YouTube?
3.  On-site Exposure:
o  YouTube is a social network. However, unlike Facebook and
Twitter you don't need to build an audience before you can derive
real value from it. Videos can start collecting views and
engagement soon after upload through:
  Related video listings on similar videos
  YouTube search


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Why YouTube?
4.  Off-site Exposure: Social
o  Video is social by nature
  YouTube videos are the most shared content on Facebook
  500 years of YouTube videos are watched ever day on Facebook
  30 million users click to YouTube from Facebook monthly compared
to 24 million who click to news sources and blogs combined
  700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter every minute


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Why YouTube?
4.  Off-site Exposure: Search


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Google
Universal
Video
SERP
Pla4orm
Alloca8on

Other

14%
Dailymo(on

1%

Metacafe

1%

Google

1%

YouTube

83%

Source:
aimClear
Study
at
SMX
East
2011


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Bing
Blended
Video
SERP
Pla4orm
Alloca8on

Other

MSN

9%

2%

Dailymo(on

1%

Metacafe

1%

YouTube

87%

Source:
aimClear
Study
at
SMX
East
2011


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Frequency
of
Query
Deserving
Video
(QDV)
by
Intent

100%
84%

80%

60%

40%

20%
18%

0%
12%

Informa(onal

Naviga(onal

Source:
aimClear
Study
at
SMX
East
2011

Transac(onal


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YouTube Videos can thrive outside of informational queries:
o  [payday loans chicago]
o  [payday loans dallas]
o  [payday loans houston]
o  [mesothelioma lawyer chicago]
o  [mesothelioma lawyer dallas]
o  [mesothelioma lawyer san antonio]


DFWSEM - Video SEO – YouTube Tactics
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YouTube Tactics: SEO



SEO for YouTube directly affects three of the largest regular
sources of views:
o  Related video watching
o  YouTube search results
o  Google/Bing blended results


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1.  Keyword Research – Where Not To Go


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1.  Keyword Research – Where Not To Go

Keyword
sugges(ons

for:

“leash
train
a
puppy”


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2.  Standard Keyword Research Tools Aren’t Enough
o  Need to understand that user search habits are different
around video than typical organic queries
o  Need to look at real-world data to pre-qualify keywords
o  Need to discover QDV keyword opportunities for Google/
Bing (Query Deserves Video)
o  Need competitive intel to judge opportunities

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Need: Understand that user search habits are different
around video than typical organic queries.
How: Look at YouTube suggest vs. Google suggest.


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Need: Ability to look at real-world data to pre-qualify
keywords specifically for video searches.
How: Look at YouTube Insight snapshot data for videos
already ranking for keywords you are considering.


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Need: To discover QDV keyword opportunities for Google/
Bing (Query Deserves Video).
How: Review SERPs for QDV listings.


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Need: Obtain and review competitive intel to judge
opportunities.
How: Review search results metrics as well as the YouTube
Insight snapshot engagement factors.


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What
to
look
at/for:

o  Speciﬁc
op(miza(on
of
the

keyword
phrase
in
(tle
and

snippet

o  Age
of
videos
–
older
videos

with
lots
of
views
and

engagement
can
make
it

tough
but
when
older
videos

with
few
views
are
mixed
in

that
can
indicate
opportunity


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Engagement
ranking
factors
to

look
at:

o  Total
#
of
likes
and
dislikes

compared
to
views

o  Like
ra(o:

  likes
/
(likes
+
dislikes)

o  #
of
favorites

o  #
of
comments


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When done you will have:
o  Beefed up your keyword research with YouTube data
o  Found QDV opportunities
o  Gauged the competitive landscape
o  Estimated potential views


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3.  Page Optimization
Best Practices
o  Title & description: Same SEO principles apply that you’d
use on your site
o  Tags: Use words and phrases listed in order of importance
o  Ex: puppy leash training train how “how to leash train a puppy”
“leash train a puppy” “train a puppy” dog tips teach howdini


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YouTube Tactics: Leveraging The Platform


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1.  Series Playlists
o  Adds an extra related videos “slot” on your video pages
o  Displays a listing of videos inside the playlist
o  Automatically pushes viewers through your content
o  Can rank in searches and be included in related
suggestions on video pages


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2.  Annotations
o  Good tactic to encourage users to take a variety of actions
o  Can link to most places within YouTube: videos, channels,
playlists, subscription areas, etc.
o  Can be displayed as text or encompass an area you want
to highlight within the video


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3.  Video Responses
o  Can be posted to 3rd party videos to leverage their visibility
o  Can be used on your video pages to surround your content
with more options to keep a user engaged longer
o  Seen as a signal of engagement (like comments)


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4.  Activity Feeds: Driven by Engagement
o  Your activities (uploading, commenting, favoriting, rating,
making playlists, etc.) can be picked up and included on
the home pages of your YouTube subscribers
o  Bulletins are the only way outside of a video to directly
communicate with your subscriber base collectively


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5.  Promote with TrueView Ads
o  There are a variety of ad types and targeting methods to
choose from
o  Paid and organic activities are not divided. All views and
engagement derived from paid promotion counts towards
organic visibility
o  Costs can be very low compared to paid search


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TrueView
in-‐Search

These
ads
run
on-‐top
of

and
along
the
right
side

of
YouTube
&
Google

video
search
results.

TrueView
in-‐Display

These
ads
run
on
video

pages
to
the
right
of
the

player
and
can
appear

inside
the
player.


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TrueView
in-‐Stream

These
ads
run
as
skip-‐
able
pre-‐roll.
You
Pay

when
users
click
or

watches
15-‐30sec
of
ad.

TrueView
in-‐Slate

User
chooses
which

video
to
watch
from
a

selec(on.
You
pay
when

a
user
clicks
your
ad.


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5.  Promote with TrueView Ads
o  Targeting methods:
  Keywords (both for search and content targeting)
  Topic
  Interest
  Re-marketing lists


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5.  Conversions
o  Incentivize your videos to drive user action
o  Use call-to-action overlays to drive back to your site
o  Use links in the description


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Recap


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Why YouTube?
o  800mm uniques a month
o  Strong mobile penetration with 600mm mobile views in May
o  Strong Facebook sharing with 30mm monthly shares and 500 years of videos
watched in a month
o  Strong Twitter sharing with 30mm monthly shares as well
o  Unparalleled platform penetration in organic search results
o  The ability to break into very competitive search verticals


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YouTube: SEO
o  Impacts the 3 largest sources of views:
  Related, YouTube and Google/Bing searches
Keyword Research
o  Understand that video keyword research varies from typical keyword
research
o  Add QDV keyword data from Google/Bing
o  Add 3rd party view count info to your research
o  Reviewing competitive landscape for opportunities

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YouTube: SEO
Video Optimization
o  Same principles apply to title/description area content
o  For tags make sure to use words and phrases in order of importance


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YouTube: Leveraging the Platform
Playlists
o  Use to add additional visibility to your related videos area
o  Helps push users through your content
o  Can rank for YouTube searches
Annotations
o  Use to encourage users to engage with your videos
o  Use to encourage viewers to watch more videos


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Video Responses
o  Post to 3rd party videos to leverage their traffic
o  Post to your videos to offer users more viewing options
o  Count as engagement
Activity Feeds
o  Set specific actions to appear in your feed which can appear on subscribers
home pages
o  When users engage with your videos their actions can appear in other's
feeds as well

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Promote Your Videos
o  All views and activity count towards your organic visibility
o  CPCs can be significantly lower than paid search
o  Several ad formats options: in-search, in-display, in-stream, in-slate
o  Several targeting tactics: keywords, topics, interests, re-marketing lists
Conversions
o  Incentivize your videos to drive action
o  Use call-to-action overlays to drive back to your site
o  Use links in the description supported with annotations

Video SEO: Optimizing YouTube Videos

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