How to Turn Mundane Games Into Epic Scenes

How to Create a Sports Highlight Video

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

“I want to make a sports highlight video, but I don’t know how to edit it or what kind of tools I need to use. Can someone tell me how to work on a sports video?”

As I read this query posted on a popular online forum, I realized that so many people out there find it hard to create a sports video. Well, unlike a standard video, working on a sports highlight video can be tough. This is because it needs a lot of editing and we need to handpick the right moments from hours of footage. Though, if you use the right tools, then you can easily work on highlight videos like a pro. In this guide, I will let you know how to create sports videos in a step by step manner.

• Part 1: Why is a sports highlight video and why important?
• Part 2: Highlight Video vs. Skills Video
• Part 3: Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video
• Part 4: How to Create a Sports Highlight Video?
• Part 5: Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

Why is a sports highlight video and why important?

As the name suggests, a highlight video basically includes all the vital events of a game in a short duration of time. You can include the details of some players at the start or focus on a particular player as well. Besides that, a sports highlight video would have fast-forward, slow motion, and frozen clips to skip or focus on certain details.

A lot of times, people don’t have the time to watch the entire game, which can span for a couple of hours. Therefore, they can watch a sports highlight video that would include all the major events of the game and will let them enjoy their thrill in a few moments.

Besides that, if you are applying for a college/academy or just want to showcase your skills, then you can consider making a sports video of an impressive game of yours. You can simply showcase a player and try to highlight their skills in the video.

Highlight Videos vs. Skills Videos: the Major Differences

While making a sports video, you might encounter two different types of content – a highlight video and a skills video. As I have mentioned above, a sports highlight video would include the shots of an actual game. You can either focus on the event of a single game or include clips from multiple games that were played in a genuine setup. If you want, you can highlight a particular player while making the video as well.

On the other hand, a skills video is mostly made to demonstrate the skills of a player and is not focused on the game. In fact, most of the skills videos are made outside of a real game setting. For instance, if you have mastered a skill or would like to demonstrate your game-related actions, then you can make a skills video. Some of these videos are also tutorial game-plays to teach others about a particular skill that they can master.

Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video

If you want to come up with engaging and visually appealing highlight videos, then consider using a versatile video editor like Filmora. Equipped with several video editing tools, it will let you create a sports highlight video in no time. Since the tool has so many features, you can save your time in editing and come up with a new sports video in minutes.

• Filmora is extremely easy to use and runs on all the leading Windows and macOS versions without any issue.
• Using its inbuilt tools, you can clip out the most important events from a sports video or include them in your highlights.
• There are also features to change the motion and pace of the video (like fast forward or slow motion).
• You can also focus on any athlete and freeze a frame on a particular skill or action.
• Besides that, you can also add voiceovers in your sports highlight video, add media layers, use its inbuilt transitions, and fine-tune the overall aesthetics of your videos.
• There are also tons of filters and presets in Filmora that you can use to save your time in editing. You can work on videos of almost every format with seamless 4K support.

Why we picked it

• Options to import/export files in different formats
• Tons of features in one place (extremely easy to use)
• Split-screen support to include multiple events in a highlight video

How to Create a Sports Highlight Video with Filmora?

With the help of Filmora , anyone can create a sports video without even prior editing/designing experience. Firstly, you can install Filmora on your Windows or Mac by visiting its website and have the footage you wish to edit. Now, you can just follow these steps to work on your next sports highlight video.

Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-sports?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )

Step 1: Add a video to Filmora

To start with, just launch Filmora on your computer and add the video that you wish to work on. You can just drag and drop the video to its interface or go to its Menu > File > Import Media to browse and load the file.

Step 2: Edit the Sports Video

In order to create a sports highlight video, the first thing that people do is trim any unwanted part. Once the video is loaded, you can view it on the timeline of the interface. Now, go to the timeline and get the trim tool to manually select the part of the video you wish to trim. After selecting the desired fragment, you can trim the clip or just delete it by clicking on their respective icons.

In the same way, you can also split your video and make other changes in it. You can also include multiple videos together and include them in your timeline as well.

If you are including multiple videos, then make sure they have the same dimensions and aspect ratio. For this, you can select the video, right-click on the timeline, and click on the crop icon. Now, select the same aspect ratio for the entire video to keep it uniform.

Most of the game highlights that we see have different speeds for various sections. That is, some actions would be fast-forwarded while some would be in slow motion. To apply this, simply select the section in the timeline, right-click, and go to the Speed and Duration settings. This will open a dedicated interface from where you can change the speed of the sports video.

Apart from manually setting the speed, you can also take the assistance of the custom speed options that are available in the timeline tools.

Step 3: Make Advanced Edits in your Sports Video

With the user-friendly interface of Filmora, you can do some basic edits and make a sports highlight video in minutes. Though, if you want to focus on some parts and make more changes, then you can use its advanced options as well.

For instance, in a highlight video, we often wish to freeze certain frames. To do this, just select a frame and use the “Freeze Frame” option from the timeline tools. You can even set the duration to freeze the selected frame.

If you have included clips from different videos, then you can apply all kinds of transitions from Filmora. In the end, you can go to its edit options and choose to close gaps as well.

To give your video a uniform and aesthetically pleasing appeal, you can also add different overlays and effects on it from Filmora’s library.

Lastly, make sure that you added sound or voiceover to your video. You can add a sound from its library or import any other music file to it. Since highlight videos mostly have voiceovers, you add the same by visiting the Record > Record Voiceover option.

Step 4: Export your video in the desired format

That’s it! Once your sports highlight video is ready, you can export it in different formats. Just go to the Export option and select the location to save the video and a preferred resolution. You can save your video in formats like MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MKV, and so on.

Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

As you can see, making a sports highlight video with a tool like Filmora is extremely easy. Although to be a pro and make better videos, you can consider the following tips:

Keep it short

Make sure that you only include the highlights of the game in your video to keep it interesting. Your aim is to have a short and crisp video without any unwanted footage.

Use freeze frames and slow motion

Some games can be pretty fast-paced and the viewers might miss out on a few key details. To showcase them, you can freeze certain frames or apply slow motion.

Include other details

A sports highlight video can also be informative. You can include details about the players or the team at the start. Also, it is recommended to have sound or a voiceover in the background to narrate the events.

Pick the best clips

When you watch a game, make a note of the best moments that you know your viewers would enjoy. You can also focus on different skills that you found impressive and include them in your sports video.

I’m sure that after reading this guide, you would be able to come up with an impressive sports highlight video as well. Since you might need to make a lot of edits on a sports video, I would recommend using a diverse tool like Filmora. With the tons of editing options that it provides, you can easily create all sorts of highlight videos while saving your time and resources.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

“I want to make a sports highlight video, but I don’t know how to edit it or what kind of tools I need to use. Can someone tell me how to work on a sports video?”

As I read this query posted on a popular online forum, I realized that so many people out there find it hard to create a sports video. Well, unlike a standard video, working on a sports highlight video can be tough. This is because it needs a lot of editing and we need to handpick the right moments from hours of footage. Though, if you use the right tools, then you can easily work on highlight videos like a pro. In this guide, I will let you know how to create sports videos in a step by step manner.

• Part 1: Why is a sports highlight video and why important?
• Part 2: Highlight Video vs. Skills Video
• Part 3: Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video
• Part 4: How to Create a Sports Highlight Video?
• Part 5: Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

Why is a sports highlight video and why important?

As the name suggests, a highlight video basically includes all the vital events of a game in a short duration of time. You can include the details of some players at the start or focus on a particular player as well. Besides that, a sports highlight video would have fast-forward, slow motion, and frozen clips to skip or focus on certain details.

A lot of times, people don’t have the time to watch the entire game, which can span for a couple of hours. Therefore, they can watch a sports highlight video that would include all the major events of the game and will let them enjoy their thrill in a few moments.

Besides that, if you are applying for a college/academy or just want to showcase your skills, then you can consider making a sports video of an impressive game of yours. You can simply showcase a player and try to highlight their skills in the video.

Highlight Videos vs. Skills Videos: the Major Differences

While making a sports video, you might encounter two different types of content – a highlight video and a skills video. As I have mentioned above, a sports highlight video would include the shots of an actual game. You can either focus on the event of a single game or include clips from multiple games that were played in a genuine setup. If you want, you can highlight a particular player while making the video as well.

On the other hand, a skills video is mostly made to demonstrate the skills of a player and is not focused on the game. In fact, most of the skills videos are made outside of a real game setting. For instance, if you have mastered a skill or would like to demonstrate your game-related actions, then you can make a skills video. Some of these videos are also tutorial game-plays to teach others about a particular skill that they can master.

Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video

If you want to come up with engaging and visually appealing highlight videos, then consider using a versatile video editor like Filmora. Equipped with several video editing tools, it will let you create a sports highlight video in no time. Since the tool has so many features, you can save your time in editing and come up with a new sports video in minutes.

• Filmora is extremely easy to use and runs on all the leading Windows and macOS versions without any issue.
• Using its inbuilt tools, you can clip out the most important events from a sports video or include them in your highlights.
• There are also features to change the motion and pace of the video (like fast forward or slow motion).
• You can also focus on any athlete and freeze a frame on a particular skill or action.
• Besides that, you can also add voiceovers in your sports highlight video, add media layers, use its inbuilt transitions, and fine-tune the overall aesthetics of your videos.
• There are also tons of filters and presets in Filmora that you can use to save your time in editing. You can work on videos of almost every format with seamless 4K support.

Why we picked it

• Options to import/export files in different formats
• Tons of features in one place (extremely easy to use)
• Split-screen support to include multiple events in a highlight video

How to Create a Sports Highlight Video with Filmora?

With the help of Filmora , anyone can create a sports video without even prior editing/designing experience. Firstly, you can install Filmora on your Windows or Mac by visiting its website and have the footage you wish to edit. Now, you can just follow these steps to work on your next sports highlight video.

Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-sports?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )

Step 1: Add a video to Filmora

To start with, just launch Filmora on your computer and add the video that you wish to work on. You can just drag and drop the video to its interface or go to its Menu > File > Import Media to browse and load the file.

Step 2: Edit the Sports Video

In order to create a sports highlight video, the first thing that people do is trim any unwanted part. Once the video is loaded, you can view it on the timeline of the interface. Now, go to the timeline and get the trim tool to manually select the part of the video you wish to trim. After selecting the desired fragment, you can trim the clip or just delete it by clicking on their respective icons.

In the same way, you can also split your video and make other changes in it. You can also include multiple videos together and include them in your timeline as well.

If you are including multiple videos, then make sure they have the same dimensions and aspect ratio. For this, you can select the video, right-click on the timeline, and click on the crop icon. Now, select the same aspect ratio for the entire video to keep it uniform.

Most of the game highlights that we see have different speeds for various sections. That is, some actions would be fast-forwarded while some would be in slow motion. To apply this, simply select the section in the timeline, right-click, and go to the Speed and Duration settings. This will open a dedicated interface from where you can change the speed of the sports video.

Apart from manually setting the speed, you can also take the assistance of the custom speed options that are available in the timeline tools.

Step 3: Make Advanced Edits in your Sports Video

With the user-friendly interface of Filmora, you can do some basic edits and make a sports highlight video in minutes. Though, if you want to focus on some parts and make more changes, then you can use its advanced options as well.

For instance, in a highlight video, we often wish to freeze certain frames. To do this, just select a frame and use the “Freeze Frame” option from the timeline tools. You can even set the duration to freeze the selected frame.

If you have included clips from different videos, then you can apply all kinds of transitions from Filmora. In the end, you can go to its edit options and choose to close gaps as well.

To give your video a uniform and aesthetically pleasing appeal, you can also add different overlays and effects on it from Filmora’s library.

Lastly, make sure that you added sound or voiceover to your video. You can add a sound from its library or import any other music file to it. Since highlight videos mostly have voiceovers, you add the same by visiting the Record > Record Voiceover option.

Step 4: Export your video in the desired format

That’s it! Once your sports highlight video is ready, you can export it in different formats. Just go to the Export option and select the location to save the video and a preferred resolution. You can save your video in formats like MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MKV, and so on.

Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

As you can see, making a sports highlight video with a tool like Filmora is extremely easy. Although to be a pro and make better videos, you can consider the following tips:

Keep it short

Make sure that you only include the highlights of the game in your video to keep it interesting. Your aim is to have a short and crisp video without any unwanted footage.

Use freeze frames and slow motion

Some games can be pretty fast-paced and the viewers might miss out on a few key details. To showcase them, you can freeze certain frames or apply slow motion.

Include other details

A sports highlight video can also be informative. You can include details about the players or the team at the start. Also, it is recommended to have sound or a voiceover in the background to narrate the events.

Pick the best clips

When you watch a game, make a note of the best moments that you know your viewers would enjoy. You can also focus on different skills that you found impressive and include them in your sports video.

I’m sure that after reading this guide, you would be able to come up with an impressive sports highlight video as well. Since you might need to make a lot of edits on a sports video, I would recommend using a diverse tool like Filmora. With the tons of editing options that it provides, you can easily create all sorts of highlight videos while saving your time and resources.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

“I want to make a sports highlight video, but I don’t know how to edit it or what kind of tools I need to use. Can someone tell me how to work on a sports video?”

As I read this query posted on a popular online forum, I realized that so many people out there find it hard to create a sports video. Well, unlike a standard video, working on a sports highlight video can be tough. This is because it needs a lot of editing and we need to handpick the right moments from hours of footage. Though, if you use the right tools, then you can easily work on highlight videos like a pro. In this guide, I will let you know how to create sports videos in a step by step manner.

• Part 1: Why is a sports highlight video and why important?
• Part 2: Highlight Video vs. Skills Video
• Part 3: Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video
• Part 4: How to Create a Sports Highlight Video?
• Part 5: Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

Why is a sports highlight video and why important?

As the name suggests, a highlight video basically includes all the vital events of a game in a short duration of time. You can include the details of some players at the start or focus on a particular player as well. Besides that, a sports highlight video would have fast-forward, slow motion, and frozen clips to skip or focus on certain details.

A lot of times, people don’t have the time to watch the entire game, which can span for a couple of hours. Therefore, they can watch a sports highlight video that would include all the major events of the game and will let them enjoy their thrill in a few moments.

Besides that, if you are applying for a college/academy or just want to showcase your skills, then you can consider making a sports video of an impressive game of yours. You can simply showcase a player and try to highlight their skills in the video.

Highlight Videos vs. Skills Videos: the Major Differences

While making a sports video, you might encounter two different types of content – a highlight video and a skills video. As I have mentioned above, a sports highlight video would include the shots of an actual game. You can either focus on the event of a single game or include clips from multiple games that were played in a genuine setup. If you want, you can highlight a particular player while making the video as well.

On the other hand, a skills video is mostly made to demonstrate the skills of a player and is not focused on the game. In fact, most of the skills videos are made outside of a real game setting. For instance, if you have mastered a skill or would like to demonstrate your game-related actions, then you can make a skills video. Some of these videos are also tutorial game-plays to teach others about a particular skill that they can master.

Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video

If you want to come up with engaging and visually appealing highlight videos, then consider using a versatile video editor like Filmora. Equipped with several video editing tools, it will let you create a sports highlight video in no time. Since the tool has so many features, you can save your time in editing and come up with a new sports video in minutes.

• Filmora is extremely easy to use and runs on all the leading Windows and macOS versions without any issue.
• Using its inbuilt tools, you can clip out the most important events from a sports video or include them in your highlights.
• There are also features to change the motion and pace of the video (like fast forward or slow motion).
• You can also focus on any athlete and freeze a frame on a particular skill or action.
• Besides that, you can also add voiceovers in your sports highlight video, add media layers, use its inbuilt transitions, and fine-tune the overall aesthetics of your videos.
• There are also tons of filters and presets in Filmora that you can use to save your time in editing. You can work on videos of almost every format with seamless 4K support.

Why we picked it

• Options to import/export files in different formats
• Tons of features in one place (extremely easy to use)
• Split-screen support to include multiple events in a highlight video

How to Create a Sports Highlight Video with Filmora?

With the help of Filmora , anyone can create a sports video without even prior editing/designing experience. Firstly, you can install Filmora on your Windows or Mac by visiting its website and have the footage you wish to edit. Now, you can just follow these steps to work on your next sports highlight video.

Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-sports?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )

Step 1: Add a video to Filmora

To start with, just launch Filmora on your computer and add the video that you wish to work on. You can just drag and drop the video to its interface or go to its Menu > File > Import Media to browse and load the file.

Step 2: Edit the Sports Video

In order to create a sports highlight video, the first thing that people do is trim any unwanted part. Once the video is loaded, you can view it on the timeline of the interface. Now, go to the timeline and get the trim tool to manually select the part of the video you wish to trim. After selecting the desired fragment, you can trim the clip or just delete it by clicking on their respective icons.

In the same way, you can also split your video and make other changes in it. You can also include multiple videos together and include them in your timeline as well.

If you are including multiple videos, then make sure they have the same dimensions and aspect ratio. For this, you can select the video, right-click on the timeline, and click on the crop icon. Now, select the same aspect ratio for the entire video to keep it uniform.

Most of the game highlights that we see have different speeds for various sections. That is, some actions would be fast-forwarded while some would be in slow motion. To apply this, simply select the section in the timeline, right-click, and go to the Speed and Duration settings. This will open a dedicated interface from where you can change the speed of the sports video.

Apart from manually setting the speed, you can also take the assistance of the custom speed options that are available in the timeline tools.

Step 3: Make Advanced Edits in your Sports Video

With the user-friendly interface of Filmora, you can do some basic edits and make a sports highlight video in minutes. Though, if you want to focus on some parts and make more changes, then you can use its advanced options as well.

For instance, in a highlight video, we often wish to freeze certain frames. To do this, just select a frame and use the “Freeze Frame” option from the timeline tools. You can even set the duration to freeze the selected frame.

If you have included clips from different videos, then you can apply all kinds of transitions from Filmora. In the end, you can go to its edit options and choose to close gaps as well.

To give your video a uniform and aesthetically pleasing appeal, you can also add different overlays and effects on it from Filmora’s library.

Lastly, make sure that you added sound or voiceover to your video. You can add a sound from its library or import any other music file to it. Since highlight videos mostly have voiceovers, you add the same by visiting the Record > Record Voiceover option.

Step 4: Export your video in the desired format

That’s it! Once your sports highlight video is ready, you can export it in different formats. Just go to the Export option and select the location to save the video and a preferred resolution. You can save your video in formats like MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MKV, and so on.

Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

As you can see, making a sports highlight video with a tool like Filmora is extremely easy. Although to be a pro and make better videos, you can consider the following tips:

Keep it short

Make sure that you only include the highlights of the game in your video to keep it interesting. Your aim is to have a short and crisp video without any unwanted footage.

Use freeze frames and slow motion

Some games can be pretty fast-paced and the viewers might miss out on a few key details. To showcase them, you can freeze certain frames or apply slow motion.

Include other details

A sports highlight video can also be informative. You can include details about the players or the team at the start. Also, it is recommended to have sound or a voiceover in the background to narrate the events.

Pick the best clips

When you watch a game, make a note of the best moments that you know your viewers would enjoy. You can also focus on different skills that you found impressive and include them in your sports video.

I’m sure that after reading this guide, you would be able to come up with an impressive sports highlight video as well. Since you might need to make a lot of edits on a sports video, I would recommend using a diverse tool like Filmora. With the tons of editing options that it provides, you can easily create all sorts of highlight videos while saving your time and resources.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

“I want to make a sports highlight video, but I don’t know how to edit it or what kind of tools I need to use. Can someone tell me how to work on a sports video?”

As I read this query posted on a popular online forum, I realized that so many people out there find it hard to create a sports video. Well, unlike a standard video, working on a sports highlight video can be tough. This is because it needs a lot of editing and we need to handpick the right moments from hours of footage. Though, if you use the right tools, then you can easily work on highlight videos like a pro. In this guide, I will let you know how to create sports videos in a step by step manner.

• Part 1: Why is a sports highlight video and why important?
• Part 2: Highlight Video vs. Skills Video
• Part 3: Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video
• Part 4: How to Create a Sports Highlight Video?
• Part 5: Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

Why is a sports highlight video and why important?

As the name suggests, a highlight video basically includes all the vital events of a game in a short duration of time. You can include the details of some players at the start or focus on a particular player as well. Besides that, a sports highlight video would have fast-forward, slow motion, and frozen clips to skip or focus on certain details.

A lot of times, people don’t have the time to watch the entire game, which can span for a couple of hours. Therefore, they can watch a sports highlight video that would include all the major events of the game and will let them enjoy their thrill in a few moments.

Besides that, if you are applying for a college/academy or just want to showcase your skills, then you can consider making a sports video of an impressive game of yours. You can simply showcase a player and try to highlight their skills in the video.

Highlight Videos vs. Skills Videos: the Major Differences

While making a sports video, you might encounter two different types of content – a highlight video and a skills video. As I have mentioned above, a sports highlight video would include the shots of an actual game. You can either focus on the event of a single game or include clips from multiple games that were played in a genuine setup. If you want, you can highlight a particular player while making the video as well.

On the other hand, a skills video is mostly made to demonstrate the skills of a player and is not focused on the game. In fact, most of the skills videos are made outside of a real game setting. For instance, if you have mastered a skill or would like to demonstrate your game-related actions, then you can make a skills video. Some of these videos are also tutorial game-plays to teach others about a particular skill that they can master.

Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video

If you want to come up with engaging and visually appealing highlight videos, then consider using a versatile video editor like Filmora. Equipped with several video editing tools, it will let you create a sports highlight video in no time. Since the tool has so many features, you can save your time in editing and come up with a new sports video in minutes.

• Filmora is extremely easy to use and runs on all the leading Windows and macOS versions without any issue.
• Using its inbuilt tools, you can clip out the most important events from a sports video or include them in your highlights.
• There are also features to change the motion and pace of the video (like fast forward or slow motion).
• You can also focus on any athlete and freeze a frame on a particular skill or action.
• Besides that, you can also add voiceovers in your sports highlight video, add media layers, use its inbuilt transitions, and fine-tune the overall aesthetics of your videos.
• There are also tons of filters and presets in Filmora that you can use to save your time in editing. You can work on videos of almost every format with seamless 4K support.

Why we picked it

• Options to import/export files in different formats
• Tons of features in one place (extremely easy to use)
• Split-screen support to include multiple events in a highlight video

How to Create a Sports Highlight Video with Filmora?

With the help of Filmora , anyone can create a sports video without even prior editing/designing experience. Firstly, you can install Filmora on your Windows or Mac by visiting its website and have the footage you wish to edit. Now, you can just follow these steps to work on your next sports highlight video.

Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-sports?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )

Step 1: Add a video to Filmora

To start with, just launch Filmora on your computer and add the video that you wish to work on. You can just drag and drop the video to its interface or go to its Menu > File > Import Media to browse and load the file.

Step 2: Edit the Sports Video

In order to create a sports highlight video, the first thing that people do is trim any unwanted part. Once the video is loaded, you can view it on the timeline of the interface. Now, go to the timeline and get the trim tool to manually select the part of the video you wish to trim. After selecting the desired fragment, you can trim the clip or just delete it by clicking on their respective icons.

In the same way, you can also split your video and make other changes in it. You can also include multiple videos together and include them in your timeline as well.

If you are including multiple videos, then make sure they have the same dimensions and aspect ratio. For this, you can select the video, right-click on the timeline, and click on the crop icon. Now, select the same aspect ratio for the entire video to keep it uniform.

Most of the game highlights that we see have different speeds for various sections. That is, some actions would be fast-forwarded while some would be in slow motion. To apply this, simply select the section in the timeline, right-click, and go to the Speed and Duration settings. This will open a dedicated interface from where you can change the speed of the sports video.

Apart from manually setting the speed, you can also take the assistance of the custom speed options that are available in the timeline tools.

Step 3: Make Advanced Edits in your Sports Video

With the user-friendly interface of Filmora, you can do some basic edits and make a sports highlight video in minutes. Though, if you want to focus on some parts and make more changes, then you can use its advanced options as well.

For instance, in a highlight video, we often wish to freeze certain frames. To do this, just select a frame and use the “Freeze Frame” option from the timeline tools. You can even set the duration to freeze the selected frame.

If you have included clips from different videos, then you can apply all kinds of transitions from Filmora. In the end, you can go to its edit options and choose to close gaps as well.

To give your video a uniform and aesthetically pleasing appeal, you can also add different overlays and effects on it from Filmora’s library.

Lastly, make sure that you added sound or voiceover to your video. You can add a sound from its library or import any other music file to it. Since highlight videos mostly have voiceovers, you add the same by visiting the Record > Record Voiceover option.

Step 4: Export your video in the desired format

That’s it! Once your sports highlight video is ready, you can export it in different formats. Just go to the Export option and select the location to save the video and a preferred resolution. You can save your video in formats like MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MKV, and so on.

Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

As you can see, making a sports highlight video with a tool like Filmora is extremely easy. Although to be a pro and make better videos, you can consider the following tips:

Keep it short

Make sure that you only include the highlights of the game in your video to keep it interesting. Your aim is to have a short and crisp video without any unwanted footage.

Use freeze frames and slow motion

Some games can be pretty fast-paced and the viewers might miss out on a few key details. To showcase them, you can freeze certain frames or apply slow motion.

Include other details

A sports highlight video can also be informative. You can include details about the players or the team at the start. Also, it is recommended to have sound or a voiceover in the background to narrate the events.

Pick the best clips

When you watch a game, make a note of the best moments that you know your viewers would enjoy. You can also focus on different skills that you found impressive and include them in your sports video.

I’m sure that after reading this guide, you would be able to come up with an impressive sports highlight video as well. Since you might need to make a lot of edits on a sports video, I would recommend using a diverse tool like Filmora. With the tons of editing options that it provides, you can easily create all sorts of highlight videos while saving your time and resources.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Skyrocket Engagement: Optimizing Videos for Peak Views

5 Tips to Get More Views with YouTube Optimization [Free Checklist]

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett