Gain Traction in the Algorithm: The Insider’s Manual for Featured Channels

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Since the inception of YouTube, accessing videos and content has become easy for social media users. You can get content in the comfort of your home because millions of featured channel owners feature more channels every minute across the globe. Many YouTubers have learned the importance of how to add featured channels on YouTube mobile; many audiences can access mobile that they can use to access the internet. Featured channels have many advantages for the owner because it is the easiest way to reach many audiences than other means of getting the viewers. Featured channels attract larger target audiences, which leads to more subscribers.

In this article

01 What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

02 Why does Add Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

03 How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

04 Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

05 Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Part 1: What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

YouTube featured channels displayed on YouTube have videos that YouTube considers worth watching by the audience, based on the site’s algorithms. Using featured channels expands your channel being viewed and accessed by many audiences, which leads to many subscribing to the channels recommended on your channel.

Part 2: Why does Adding Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

Here we shall mention the importance of featured channels on YouTube:

1. Give audiences more required content

The channels with videos and YouTube featured channels have more audience because of their content. The audience always visits the channels with more informative content and even refers friends to it.

2. Source of more traffic

Many viewers visit the YouTube channels searching for information found in videos featured and knowing how to add a featured channel on YouTube in 2021 and get what they are looking for. Featured Channels with good content attract traffic and increase subscribers and referrals to the channels.

3. Personal connection

Featured Channels on YouTube matter immensely because they attract viewers to the actors or someone featured in the video. This leads to the audience is getting closer connected to the videos and information conveyed through the content. Videos increase familiarity and build a larger community where the audience identifies themselves with the channels.

4. Source of Revenue

Adding feature channels on YouTube matters because they lead to income/revenue through YouTube Ads, a course on your channels, and subscriptions to the channels by the viewers who view the channels daily.

5. Growing audience

Most audiences are visual learners worldwide, so having channels featured on YouTube matters because they attract many audiences globally. Uploading videos/content more often leads to more visitors flocking to your featured channels.

6. High credibility

Featuring channels on YouTube increases the channel’s credibility among the audience. Especially when the content answers the audiences’ questions and solves the problems they face, audiences develop trust, associate, and frequently interact with your YouTube featured channels.

Part 3: How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

Adding featured channels on YouTube is more accessible than most people think to follow the steps required to upload the channels and videos.

1 Login into YouTube studio

2 Go to the sidebar on the left and scroll to customization

3 Click on ADD section

4 A small window will unroll, scroll down and click featured channels

5 You can change featured channels on YouTube on the featured section, place the mouse cursor on the double lines next to the channel’s name as shown below on “featured channels name, The word,” and drag it to wherever you want.

Part 4: Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

Many reasons can cause failure to feature your channel on YouTube that make you wonder why you can’t feature channels on YouTube.

1. Your YouTube Thumbnails

Your video thumbnail is the first thing your viewers see on their home feed when they click on your channels. The thumbnail must be catchy with accurate images showing what your video entails.

How to fix this issue?

Create relevant and exciting thumbnails that will attract viewers. It is advisable to use custom thumbnails and contrast to be catchy. This will make the viewers desire to visit your channel more often.

2. Lack of Consistency

Being inconsistent in your channels makes your viewers distrust your future work. If you take too long to feature your YouTube video/contents, viewers may decide to even unsubscribe from your channels, which may lead your traffic to drop to zero.

How to fix the inconsistency?

Be open to your viewers about when to expect the following videos on your channels, and it is good manners to keep your audience updated about what is coming. Consistently featured channels always get a good flow of viewers and even referrals.

3. Lack of content on the channels

Failing to update the channels often leads viewers not to visit your YouTube channels; viewers search for up-to-date information. If your channels lack content, audiences will quickly hop onto others in the market for the information they need.

How to fix the lack of content?

Read the minds of your audiences, primarily through comments they leave behind. You should update the channels with the required videos to satisfy your audience. Having quality content is the crucial thing here.

4. Lack of value in your videos

Before uploading videos on your channels, it’s good to ask yourself some questions, like:

What value does my video add to the audience?

How to fix it?

You are ready to value your videos if you answer these few questions. Value is the crucial thing in every product in the market. YouTube channel owners ought to know what the competitors offer to the same viewers and exceed them by posting videos that meet audiences’ needs.

It’s good manners to go back to the drawing board and research why your YouTube channels aren’t being featured.

Part 5: Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Making videos featured in the YouTube channels requires a good video editor. Although various video editors do excellent work, making videos with an exceptional video editor must be a goal. Filmora is such kind of best video editor that can handle the editing of videos very well. It is an excellent software for beginners and pros, and it is more potent than other video editors in the market.

It allows a person to make professional-looking videos because Filmora has various presets like overplays, transitions, elements, filters, and several layers of effects.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Key features of Wondershare filmora

Filmora video editor comes with several features that make it the best video editor. The features include an advanced text editor, GIF support, Color tuning, noise removal, audio equalizer, stabilization of the video, and scene detection.

Conclusion

YouTube featured channels with quality informative videos/contents attract more audiences, mainly social media users, in the larger market. Before featuring channels on YouTube, one has to know what the target audiences need, test and the demography of the audiences matters a lot.

Featured channels on the YouTube platform can be an excellent source of revenue for ready, consistent, and considerate value on their videos uploaded on the channels. Inconsistency can be detrimental to the owner of the channels because the channels can end up being dormant with no one subscribing to them. The owner ought to learn how to add featured channels on YouTube by following the complete guide.

Also, making YouTube videos with a good video editor is advisable for quality videos that will attract more audiences. Value is what viewers are after on the featured channels on YouTube.

Try It Free Try It Free

Since the inception of YouTube, accessing videos and content has become easy for social media users. You can get content in the comfort of your home because millions of featured channel owners feature more channels every minute across the globe. Many YouTubers have learned the importance of how to add featured channels on YouTube mobile; many audiences can access mobile that they can use to access the internet. Featured channels have many advantages for the owner because it is the easiest way to reach many audiences than other means of getting the viewers. Featured channels attract larger target audiences, which leads to more subscribers.

In this article

01 What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

02 Why does Add Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

03 How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

04 Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

05 Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Part 1: What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

YouTube featured channels displayed on YouTube have videos that YouTube considers worth watching by the audience, based on the site’s algorithms. Using featured channels expands your channel being viewed and accessed by many audiences, which leads to many subscribing to the channels recommended on your channel.

Part 2: Why does Adding Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

Here we shall mention the importance of featured channels on YouTube:

1. Give audiences more required content

The channels with videos and YouTube featured channels have more audience because of their content. The audience always visits the channels with more informative content and even refers friends to it.

2. Source of more traffic

Many viewers visit the YouTube channels searching for information found in videos featured and knowing how to add a featured channel on YouTube in 2021 and get what they are looking for. Featured Channels with good content attract traffic and increase subscribers and referrals to the channels.

3. Personal connection

Featured Channels on YouTube matter immensely because they attract viewers to the actors or someone featured in the video. This leads to the audience is getting closer connected to the videos and information conveyed through the content. Videos increase familiarity and build a larger community where the audience identifies themselves with the channels.

4. Source of Revenue

Adding feature channels on YouTube matters because they lead to income/revenue through YouTube Ads, a course on your channels, and subscriptions to the channels by the viewers who view the channels daily.

5. Growing audience

Most audiences are visual learners worldwide, so having channels featured on YouTube matters because they attract many audiences globally. Uploading videos/content more often leads to more visitors flocking to your featured channels.

6. High credibility

Featuring channels on YouTube increases the channel’s credibility among the audience. Especially when the content answers the audiences’ questions and solves the problems they face, audiences develop trust, associate, and frequently interact with your YouTube featured channels.

Part 3: How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

Adding featured channels on YouTube is more accessible than most people think to follow the steps required to upload the channels and videos.

1 Login into YouTube studio

2 Go to the sidebar on the left and scroll to customization

3 Click on ADD section

4 A small window will unroll, scroll down and click featured channels

5 You can change featured channels on YouTube on the featured section, place the mouse cursor on the double lines next to the channel’s name as shown below on “featured channels name, The word,” and drag it to wherever you want.

Part 4: Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

Many reasons can cause failure to feature your channel on YouTube that make you wonder why you can’t feature channels on YouTube.

1. Your YouTube Thumbnails

Your video thumbnail is the first thing your viewers see on their home feed when they click on your channels. The thumbnail must be catchy with accurate images showing what your video entails.

How to fix this issue?

Create relevant and exciting thumbnails that will attract viewers. It is advisable to use custom thumbnails and contrast to be catchy. This will make the viewers desire to visit your channel more often.

2. Lack of Consistency

Being inconsistent in your channels makes your viewers distrust your future work. If you take too long to feature your YouTube video/contents, viewers may decide to even unsubscribe from your channels, which may lead your traffic to drop to zero.

How to fix the inconsistency?

Be open to your viewers about when to expect the following videos on your channels, and it is good manners to keep your audience updated about what is coming. Consistently featured channels always get a good flow of viewers and even referrals.

3. Lack of content on the channels

Failing to update the channels often leads viewers not to visit your YouTube channels; viewers search for up-to-date information. If your channels lack content, audiences will quickly hop onto others in the market for the information they need.

How to fix the lack of content?

Read the minds of your audiences, primarily through comments they leave behind. You should update the channels with the required videos to satisfy your audience. Having quality content is the crucial thing here.

4. Lack of value in your videos

Before uploading videos on your channels, it’s good to ask yourself some questions, like:

What value does my video add to the audience?

How to fix it?

You are ready to value your videos if you answer these few questions. Value is the crucial thing in every product in the market. YouTube channel owners ought to know what the competitors offer to the same viewers and exceed them by posting videos that meet audiences’ needs.

It’s good manners to go back to the drawing board and research why your YouTube channels aren’t being featured.

Part 5: Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Making videos featured in the YouTube channels requires a good video editor. Although various video editors do excellent work, making videos with an exceptional video editor must be a goal. Filmora is such kind of best video editor that can handle the editing of videos very well. It is an excellent software for beginners and pros, and it is more potent than other video editors in the market.

It allows a person to make professional-looking videos because Filmora has various presets like overplays, transitions, elements, filters, and several layers of effects.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Key features of Wondershare filmora

Filmora video editor comes with several features that make it the best video editor. The features include an advanced text editor, GIF support, Color tuning, noise removal, audio equalizer, stabilization of the video, and scene detection.

Conclusion

YouTube featured channels with quality informative videos/contents attract more audiences, mainly social media users, in the larger market. Before featuring channels on YouTube, one has to know what the target audiences need, test and the demography of the audiences matters a lot.

Featured channels on the YouTube platform can be an excellent source of revenue for ready, consistent, and considerate value on their videos uploaded on the channels. Inconsistency can be detrimental to the owner of the channels because the channels can end up being dormant with no one subscribing to them. The owner ought to learn how to add featured channels on YouTube by following the complete guide.

Also, making YouTube videos with a good video editor is advisable for quality videos that will attract more audiences. Value is what viewers are after on the featured channels on YouTube.

Try It Free Try It Free

Since the inception of YouTube, accessing videos and content has become easy for social media users. You can get content in the comfort of your home because millions of featured channel owners feature more channels every minute across the globe. Many YouTubers have learned the importance of how to add featured channels on YouTube mobile; many audiences can access mobile that they can use to access the internet. Featured channels have many advantages for the owner because it is the easiest way to reach many audiences than other means of getting the viewers. Featured channels attract larger target audiences, which leads to more subscribers.

In this article

01 What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

02 Why does Add Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

03 How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

04 Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

05 Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Part 1: What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

YouTube featured channels displayed on YouTube have videos that YouTube considers worth watching by the audience, based on the site’s algorithms. Using featured channels expands your channel being viewed and accessed by many audiences, which leads to many subscribing to the channels recommended on your channel.

Part 2: Why does Adding Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

Here we shall mention the importance of featured channels on YouTube:

1. Give audiences more required content

The channels with videos and YouTube featured channels have more audience because of their content. The audience always visits the channels with more informative content and even refers friends to it.

2. Source of more traffic

Many viewers visit the YouTube channels searching for information found in videos featured and knowing how to add a featured channel on YouTube in 2021 and get what they are looking for. Featured Channels with good content attract traffic and increase subscribers and referrals to the channels.

3. Personal connection

Featured Channels on YouTube matter immensely because they attract viewers to the actors or someone featured in the video. This leads to the audience is getting closer connected to the videos and information conveyed through the content. Videos increase familiarity and build a larger community where the audience identifies themselves with the channels.

4. Source of Revenue

Adding feature channels on YouTube matters because they lead to income/revenue through YouTube Ads, a course on your channels, and subscriptions to the channels by the viewers who view the channels daily.

5. Growing audience

Most audiences are visual learners worldwide, so having channels featured on YouTube matters because they attract many audiences globally. Uploading videos/content more often leads to more visitors flocking to your featured channels.

6. High credibility

Featuring channels on YouTube increases the channel’s credibility among the audience. Especially when the content answers the audiences’ questions and solves the problems they face, audiences develop trust, associate, and frequently interact with your YouTube featured channels.

Part 3: How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

Adding featured channels on YouTube is more accessible than most people think to follow the steps required to upload the channels and videos.

1 Login into YouTube studio

2 Go to the sidebar on the left and scroll to customization

3 Click on ADD section

4 A small window will unroll, scroll down and click featured channels

5 You can change featured channels on YouTube on the featured section, place the mouse cursor on the double lines next to the channel’s name as shown below on “featured channels name, The word,” and drag it to wherever you want.

Part 4: Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

Many reasons can cause failure to feature your channel on YouTube that make you wonder why you can’t feature channels on YouTube.

1. Your YouTube Thumbnails

Your video thumbnail is the first thing your viewers see on their home feed when they click on your channels. The thumbnail must be catchy with accurate images showing what your video entails.

How to fix this issue?

Create relevant and exciting thumbnails that will attract viewers. It is advisable to use custom thumbnails and contrast to be catchy. This will make the viewers desire to visit your channel more often.

2. Lack of Consistency

Being inconsistent in your channels makes your viewers distrust your future work. If you take too long to feature your YouTube video/contents, viewers may decide to even unsubscribe from your channels, which may lead your traffic to drop to zero.

How to fix the inconsistency?

Be open to your viewers about when to expect the following videos on your channels, and it is good manners to keep your audience updated about what is coming. Consistently featured channels always get a good flow of viewers and even referrals.

3. Lack of content on the channels

Failing to update the channels often leads viewers not to visit your YouTube channels; viewers search for up-to-date information. If your channels lack content, audiences will quickly hop onto others in the market for the information they need.

How to fix the lack of content?

Read the minds of your audiences, primarily through comments they leave behind. You should update the channels with the required videos to satisfy your audience. Having quality content is the crucial thing here.

4. Lack of value in your videos

Before uploading videos on your channels, it’s good to ask yourself some questions, like:

What value does my video add to the audience?

How to fix it?

You are ready to value your videos if you answer these few questions. Value is the crucial thing in every product in the market. YouTube channel owners ought to know what the competitors offer to the same viewers and exceed them by posting videos that meet audiences’ needs.

It’s good manners to go back to the drawing board and research why your YouTube channels aren’t being featured.

Part 5: Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Making videos featured in the YouTube channels requires a good video editor. Although various video editors do excellent work, making videos with an exceptional video editor must be a goal. Filmora is such kind of best video editor that can handle the editing of videos very well. It is an excellent software for beginners and pros, and it is more potent than other video editors in the market.

It allows a person to make professional-looking videos because Filmora has various presets like overplays, transitions, elements, filters, and several layers of effects.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Key features of Wondershare filmora

Filmora video editor comes with several features that make it the best video editor. The features include an advanced text editor, GIF support, Color tuning, noise removal, audio equalizer, stabilization of the video, and scene detection.

Conclusion

YouTube featured channels with quality informative videos/contents attract more audiences, mainly social media users, in the larger market. Before featuring channels on YouTube, one has to know what the target audiences need, test and the demography of the audiences matters a lot.

Featured channels on the YouTube platform can be an excellent source of revenue for ready, consistent, and considerate value on their videos uploaded on the channels. Inconsistency can be detrimental to the owner of the channels because the channels can end up being dormant with no one subscribing to them. The owner ought to learn how to add featured channels on YouTube by following the complete guide.

Also, making YouTube videos with a good video editor is advisable for quality videos that will attract more audiences. Value is what viewers are after on the featured channels on YouTube.

Try It Free Try It Free

Since the inception of YouTube, accessing videos and content has become easy for social media users. You can get content in the comfort of your home because millions of featured channel owners feature more channels every minute across the globe. Many YouTubers have learned the importance of how to add featured channels on YouTube mobile; many audiences can access mobile that they can use to access the internet. Featured channels have many advantages for the owner because it is the easiest way to reach many audiences than other means of getting the viewers. Featured channels attract larger target audiences, which leads to more subscribers.

In this article

01 What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

02 Why does Add Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

03 How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

04 Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

05 Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Part 1: What are Featured Channels on YouTube?

YouTube featured channels displayed on YouTube have videos that YouTube considers worth watching by the audience, based on the site’s algorithms. Using featured channels expands your channel being viewed and accessed by many audiences, which leads to many subscribing to the channels recommended on your channel.

Part 2: Why does Adding Feature Channels on YouTube Matter?

Here we shall mention the importance of featured channels on YouTube:

1. Give audiences more required content

The channels with videos and YouTube featured channels have more audience because of their content. The audience always visits the channels with more informative content and even refers friends to it.

2. Source of more traffic

Many viewers visit the YouTube channels searching for information found in videos featured and knowing how to add a featured channel on YouTube in 2021 and get what they are looking for. Featured Channels with good content attract traffic and increase subscribers and referrals to the channels.

3. Personal connection

Featured Channels on YouTube matter immensely because they attract viewers to the actors or someone featured in the video. This leads to the audience is getting closer connected to the videos and information conveyed through the content. Videos increase familiarity and build a larger community where the audience identifies themselves with the channels.

4. Source of Revenue

Adding feature channels on YouTube matters because they lead to income/revenue through YouTube Ads, a course on your channels, and subscriptions to the channels by the viewers who view the channels daily.

5. Growing audience

Most audiences are visual learners worldwide, so having channels featured on YouTube matters because they attract many audiences globally. Uploading videos/content more often leads to more visitors flocking to your featured channels.

6. High credibility

Featuring channels on YouTube increases the channel’s credibility among the audience. Especially when the content answers the audiences’ questions and solves the problems they face, audiences develop trust, associate, and frequently interact with your YouTube featured channels.

Part 3: How to Add Featured Channels on YouTube?

Adding featured channels on YouTube is more accessible than most people think to follow the steps required to upload the channels and videos.

1 Login into YouTube studio

2 Go to the sidebar on the left and scroll to customization

3 Click on ADD section

4 A small window will unroll, scroll down and click featured channels

5 You can change featured channels on YouTube on the featured section, place the mouse cursor on the double lines next to the channel’s name as shown below on “featured channels name, The word,” and drag it to wherever you want.

Part 4: Fix the Problem - Why Can’t I Feature Channels on YouTube?

Many reasons can cause failure to feature your channel on YouTube that make you wonder why you can’t feature channels on YouTube.

1. Your YouTube Thumbnails

Your video thumbnail is the first thing your viewers see on their home feed when they click on your channels. The thumbnail must be catchy with accurate images showing what your video entails.

How to fix this issue?

Create relevant and exciting thumbnails that will attract viewers. It is advisable to use custom thumbnails and contrast to be catchy. This will make the viewers desire to visit your channel more often.

2. Lack of Consistency

Being inconsistent in your channels makes your viewers distrust your future work. If you take too long to feature your YouTube video/contents, viewers may decide to even unsubscribe from your channels, which may lead your traffic to drop to zero.

How to fix the inconsistency?

Be open to your viewers about when to expect the following videos on your channels, and it is good manners to keep your audience updated about what is coming. Consistently featured channels always get a good flow of viewers and even referrals.

3. Lack of content on the channels

Failing to update the channels often leads viewers not to visit your YouTube channels; viewers search for up-to-date information. If your channels lack content, audiences will quickly hop onto others in the market for the information they need.

How to fix the lack of content?

Read the minds of your audiences, primarily through comments they leave behind. You should update the channels with the required videos to satisfy your audience. Having quality content is the crucial thing here.

4. Lack of value in your videos

Before uploading videos on your channels, it’s good to ask yourself some questions, like:

What value does my video add to the audience?

How to fix it?

You are ready to value your videos if you answer these few questions. Value is the crucial thing in every product in the market. YouTube channel owners ought to know what the competitors offer to the same viewers and exceed them by posting videos that meet audiences’ needs.

It’s good manners to go back to the drawing board and research why your YouTube channels aren’t being featured.

Part 5: Bonus Tip - Make YouTube Videos with Good Video Editor

Making videos featured in the YouTube channels requires a good video editor. Although various video editors do excellent work, making videos with an exceptional video editor must be a goal. Filmora is such kind of best video editor that can handle the editing of videos very well. It is an excellent software for beginners and pros, and it is more potent than other video editors in the market.

It allows a person to make professional-looking videos because Filmora has various presets like overplays, transitions, elements, filters, and several layers of effects.

Wondershare Filmora

Get started easily with Filmora’s powerful performance, intuitive interface, and countless effects!

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Key features of Wondershare filmora

Filmora video editor comes with several features that make it the best video editor. The features include an advanced text editor, GIF support, Color tuning, noise removal, audio equalizer, stabilization of the video, and scene detection.

Conclusion

YouTube featured channels with quality informative videos/contents attract more audiences, mainly social media users, in the larger market. Before featuring channels on YouTube, one has to know what the target audiences need, test and the demography of the audiences matters a lot.

Featured channels on the YouTube platform can be an excellent source of revenue for ready, consistent, and considerate value on their videos uploaded on the channels. Inconsistency can be detrimental to the owner of the channels because the channels can end up being dormant with no one subscribing to them. The owner ought to learn how to add featured channels on YouTube by following the complete guide.

Also, making YouTube videos with a good video editor is advisable for quality videos that will attract more audiences. Value is what viewers are after on the featured channels on YouTube.

Enhance Visibility, Amplify Impact (Video SEO)

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.

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