Positioning in Youtube’s internal search engine is an important lever. But for professional content creators, click-through rate optimization is the crux of the matter.
If there are fundamental good practices such as a quality editorial line and the fact of filling in the descriptions of its videos, professional Youtubers go further to generate views. In particular, they spend a large part of their time optimizing the click-through rate.
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Private Test & Learn Communities
For YouTubers, test & learn is the norm. And not just in his corner. Content creators organize themselves around communities: within Facebook groups with private access and discussion channels, they organize themselves to communicate the latest tests, their results, and discuss the latest SEO best practices to be seized. Henri Griesmar of the Hardisk channel (257,000 subscribers) comments: “We do a lot of tests by comparing the figures between channels of Youtubers who know each other. We compare the figures according to reactions and statistics. This gives us an idea of the criteria. SEO. But that’s changing all the time. “Paul Clouzet, from La Chaîne de PAUL (351,000 subscribers), confirms: “Youtubeoften changes the way it operates so that techniques are not abused. At one time, it was said that blue thumbs worked, then that changed. “.
Optimize Search or Suggestion
The SEO strategy is different depending on the type of content posted. Between news commentary, product unboxing (unboxing a product and commenting on it in video), tutorial, and documentary, the methods vary widely. While Paul Clouzet wants to go back to the terms related to the subjects of his documentaries, Henri Griesmar is targeting the navigation features of Youtube. These are suggestions for content around videos from other creators. “My traffic comes in 58% from browsing, and 5% from Youtube search. For most entertainment Youtubers, suggestion is very important. There is a difference between the content that people are looking for and the content that people are looking for. The video suggestion feature is the heart of our channel. It’s different for videos that are cooking or DIY tutorials, which are made for research. “
Differentiate Visibility in Google from Visibility in Youtube
For video tutorials, it is important to treat the visibility gained from SEO results in Google differently from those from the search results of the internal Youtube engine.
If the rankings for the same keyword are similar, the potential for traffic and views is not at all the same. Axelle, from the Heliox channel, dedicated to 3D printing (270,000 subscribers), indicates that a quarter of the views generated by his videos come from SEO traffic from Google (external source). Regarding the views acquired in Youtube (internal source), less than 5% result from a search. Again, it’s the navigation features that bring in half of the views.
The Weight of Titles and Thumbnails
Posting in Youtube search results is a good start, but Youtubers insist on the need for impactful video titles and thumbnails. According to Axelle of the Heliox channel, “as long as the Internet user has not clicked, he does not know the video. You have to convince here as for the cover of a book”. This is the differentiating point for obtaining good performance, even more so when the level of competition is high.
Paul Clouzet cites as an example the optimization of these elements for a poorly performing video dedicated to the creator of Minecraft, an extremely competitive subject. The simple title change allowed it to exceed one million views for content that did not meet its audience.
The importance of these elements is confirmed by Henri Griesmar. The Youtuber, adept at new technologies, analyzes and changes the thumbnails every 4 to 5 hours after each upload until satisfactory performance is achieved. This iterative mode of operation can go as far as creating 8 to 9 different thumbnails for the same video. Everything that can encourage viewing must be continuously monitored and improved.
The Influence of The Community on Performance
Having an active and assiduous community is a major criterion for Youtube SEO. In videos, it is not uncommon for Youtubers to ask their communities to interact. A blue thumb, a comment, a subscription, a share, each of the interactions influences the referencing of content on Youtube. Reacting has become a real goal for videographers.
Also Read: Video Marketing Strategies for Businesses
In figures, Paul Clouzet notes that his “most hated video is the one that worked the best, and which is still very well-referenced”. His 45 minutes dedicated to actor Jean-Claude Van Damme counted nearly 10% of dislikes, while the other content of the channel rarely exceeds 3% of negative ratings. This video has exceeded 2 million views. It continues to generate audiences two years after it went online.
The documentary maker nonetheless emphasizes that it is necessary to make a distinction between the content that makes people react and the editorial project that we carry out on his channel. Attracting views through popular topics is also a strategy for talking about lesser-known topics, but which make all the richness of the content produced. It is for him by producing qualified content that we acquire new subscribers that must then be retained.
This strategy is confirmed by Thomas App (6,700 subscribers on the channel of the same name) for whom “the Top 5 or the ‘5 tips and advice’ work very well. They are easy to make videos and bring more visibility. I use these videos to make myself known to as many people as possible. At the same time, I devote my energy to more in-depth video concepts (meeting with photographers, reports, etc.) that allow me to do something that I like! “.