Tag: YouTube

YouTube Answers How Its Algorithms Work

To give more insights into how its algorithm works, Rachel Alves, Product Manager of YouTube Discovery, answered some of the most commonly asked questions on YouTube. Here is how YouTube answers how its algorithms work.

Question No. 1 – Is it a good idea to share videos outside of YouTube?

A video marketing agency Hong Kong highlights that brands and businesses should absolutely share videos outside of YouTube. YouTube’s recommendation system focuses on how videos perform as they are offered up to viewers on YouTube and other suggested platforms. Sharing videos on suggested platforms outside of YouTube allows them to learn how videos are doing, do viewers choose to watch them, how much and how long of the video did the viewers watch, and if they are satisfied with it.

If the videos of brands and businesses are getting more traffic from external sources like social media, it is likely to increase the potential of such videos to be discovered by more viewers. Another benefit is that those videos are now in the viewers’ watch history. As such, there is a higher likelihood that the videos may be recommended in the future.

Question No. 2 – What is up with random videos being recommended from 10 to 12 years ago? Will it have a weird audience effect on the algorithm? Or a deliberate algorithm side quirk?

Whenever people are on YouTube, old videos are being recommended. These are videos uploaded weeks, months, or years ago. The reason behind this is that YouTube’s ranking system is designed to match viewers with the videos they are most likely to enjoy. It is regardless of when the videos are published.

If viewers continue to show interest in a given video, it will likely continue to be recommended even if they are uploaded 10 to 12 years ago. YouTube will recommend them until the viewers’ interest started to decline, or viewers started to choose to watch more of other videos being offered to them.

A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong states that there is great value in all videos for YouTube creators and channels. They can drive in new viewers who are discovering you for the first time. Viewers can binge through your catalog and other stuff that you have uploaded. They may also start a habit of watching your most recent uploads. YouTube ranking work as expected and intended. If an old video gets recommended, viewers are likely to continue to enjoy it.

Question No. 3 – Does YouTube need a new creator tab highlighting new creators to get more views?

YouTube also hears from viewers that they want to discover new artists, channels, creators, and interests. They want to branch out to what they regularly watch. That is why, recently, YouTube added “New to You.” 

“New to You” shows recommendations of videos that the viewers have not yet seen before. The recommendations align with their personal interests and preferences. After a viewer refreshes the homepage feed, the viewer will discover more new content and creators outside of what he or she is currently watching. A social media agency Hong Kong also notes that YouTube is currently working on special projects to help small brands and businesses to find audiences. 

Question No. 4 – Does it makes a difference to add separate action and location tags?

Most brands and businesses treat tagging on YouTube as less important. Tags can help influence the viewers’ focus on decisions that they think about. When viewers are choosing what to watch, the title and thumbnail of a video are what rank on SEO. Changing and swapping tags on a YouTube video is unlikely to impact a video performance. 

Brands and businesses should instead start searching for relevant successful videos and see what is working on them. As an example, listicle formats on video titles seem to be doing well. YouTube suggests using Google Searches or Google Trends to generate tags that fill in the gaps among popular video content. If your video can fill a niche, that is the time video tags can work. 

Question No. 5 – Did YouTube recently change its algorithm?

First off, YouTube changes the recommendation system and makes improvements hundreds of times every year. But what the platform optimizes for does not typically change. Every time YouTube makes an update, the platform usually gets better at predicting what viewers are most likely to watch and enjoy.

Second, viewers’ schedules typically change every September. It is because of the beginning of the school cycle. September is also the month when a lot of creators experience a steady decline with viewership, spiking on the weekends. New uploads also take up a little bit than usual during these periods. But take note that YouTube do no changes in algorithm during those times.


Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaYvtl6mZZ0

4 Ways to Rank on YouTube Searches

YouTube ranks 5th among the top social media networks of 2021. Launched in 2005, it now has 1.86 billion monthly active users. It’s the world’s 2nd most visited website right after Google – its parent company who bought it in 2006. It’s also the 2nd most used social media network right after Facebook. A video marketing agency Hong Kong imagines how people watched YouTube videos for billions of hours daily. That’s an incredible amount of content consumed online. On average, YouTubers aged 18 years old and above spend 41.9 minutes on the platform daily. They stick around checking an average of 9 pages to look for videos. 

In 2020, YouTube made a significant impact on video marketing. There were more than 9 billion video views on the platform from March to July 2020. These majorly include cooking, gardening, how-to’s, learning guides, self-care, and tutorials. But what is most popular on YouTube are gaming channels. Because of the high demand for video content, YouTube has been an important platform for video marketing. It is the perfect way to catch the attention of 4.88 billion mobile users. They are also a budget-friendly way to expand reach. Below are 4 ways to rank on YouTube searches according to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong.

Choose Relevant Keywords to Generate Ideas for YouTube Videos 

A social media agency Hong Kong notes the importance of choosing relevant keywords for YouTube videos.  Start by doing a Google search of what your business does. Use questions commonly typed by people searching for your niche. The search results will show popular articles. List the headlines and titles of those articles. From these lists, you can create YouTube videos under those headlines and titles. They will have the potential to rank higher on search results.

You can also create YouTube videos based on frequently searched keywords related to your business. They can be a city, question, phrase, sentence, series of words, single words, or zip codes. Through the use of a Google tool, Keywords Everywhere, you can get additional data about potential keyword searches. The tool is available in a free or paid version. Once you install it, a list of high-ranking keywords will appear on the right side of your Google search results. 

Another way to rank on YouTube searches using relevant keywords is by creating videos that answer frequently asked questions (FAQs). Generate the list from your customers, and write down the top 10 FAQs. If you are just starting your YouTube channel, frontloading 10 FAQ videos can be a great way to establish yourself. To get further mileage, embed these videos on your social media accounts or website’s FAQ page. You can also upload their links to your email campaigns.

Choose Titles That Trigger Personal Reactions from Viewers

A video title also plays a key role in ranking on YouTube searches. Because the attention span of online users is only limited to 10 seconds, YouTube creators should choose titles that trigger personal reactions from the viewers. They have to be compelling enough for viewers to click them. 

First off, people love lists. This is because a list of content is easy to digest, expect, and skim. So, a good trick is to put numbers on your title to highlight a list. Some good examples are “Top 5 YouTube Videos,” “The Single Most Important Thing to Remember for a COVID Test,” or “5 Steps to Make You Rich.”

You can also create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) on the title of your YouTube video to rank on searches. Phrases like “the first,” “the last,” “the latest,” “the secret to,” “the single most important thing,” or “your key to success” are good starting points.

Similarly, titles with “how to,” “what is,” “where is,” etc. can trigger curiosity. These questions can trigger emotions if they include the “best” or “worst” within a video title. 

Craft a Call to Action (CTA) on Your YouTube Videos

The top priority of brands and businesses in YouTube marketing is conversion. Conversion may either be to prompt viewers to give information like names, email, contact details, etc. They can also be an invitation for viewers to subscribe or watch more videos on a playlist. But the ultimate conversion goal is to influence the viewer to make a purchase of products and services. Like content marketing, YouTube marketing is no different. A CTA can be an extension of the solution to a viewer’s problem. Here’s a proven formula to create a CTA on your YouTube videos.

  • Start the video by addressing the viewer’s problem.
  • Evoke the viewer’s emotion by describing how it feels to experience such a problem. Is it embarrassing, frustrating, heart-breaking, etc.?
  • Show the viewers how the video can help them. You can identify your expertise and willingness to help or highlight the brand’s features and how they can be the best solution to the problem.
  • In the end, craft a CTA that the viewers can’t resist like “exclusive offer,” “grab now,” “limited time offer,” or other similar phrases.

Repurpose Your YouTube Videos

The best way to rank on YouTube searches is to continuously repurpose your YouTube videos. Some great ways to do this are by including the video link on your email campaigns, writing a blog post about the video, and sharing them on your social media pages. 

The Bottom Line

YouTube is a great way to increase reach through video marketing. Creating the right video for your target audience can open up a wide range of opportunities for brands and businesses.

Reference:

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/youtube-seo-how-to-rank-in-youtube-search/