We’ve discussed SEO for your blog, but since video marketing has really taken off, we should review how SEO for your YouTube videos can be beneficial for your digital presence. Perfect timing since I know you’ve already established a YouTube channel for your financial practice. Luckily, the SEO for YouTube is in the name of your content.
To make this an easy explanation, we will use an example. You’ve just recorded an explanatory video about tax planning. How can we improve the SEO for your YouTube videoes?
File Name
You’ve recorded your video and saved the file. You may have named your file “Video123_finalv2.mov” or something that helps you organize your files. Rename your video file with keywords of the content that will direct viewers to your video. The backend of YouTube can see what you’ve named your video files and incorporating your keyword will help with the SEO.
Example: “Tax_Planning_101.mov”
Video Title
The title of your video is what will entice viewers to watch your video and YouTube channel. This title needs to be clear and descriptive while naturally using your keyword. HubSpot recommends a 60-character limit to make sure your title isn’t getting cut off on the results page.
Example: Tax Planning for Beginners
Description
YouTube’s description box allows 1,000 characters to describe your video. However, only the first two or three lines are visible unless the viewer selects “show more” to continue to read. Your viewer is here to watch a video, not read a lengthy description. Feel free to use 1,000 characters but make sure the first lines have your most valuable information, such as a strong CTA and appointment links. Also, it is a best practice to provide a disclosure in your description.
Example: Book an appointment to learn more about tax planning (website link)
Tags
Tags help the viewer and YouTube know the content of your video. It will also group your video with similar videos and help the reach of your viewers. Choose tags that are relevant to your content and begin with the most important keywords of your video. Try to not use too many tags or YouTube may penalize you. Think about how you would try to find your tax planning video.
Example: Tax Planning, Taxes, Income Tax, Tax Preparation, Financial Planning, Finances
Category
Like tags, if you categorize your video, it will group with similar videos to help reach more viewers. Luckily, your tags help categorize your video too. Research related videos that are popular with your audience and observe different patterns that are occurring. Since you are a financial professional, offering financial advice to the public, you might choose “Educational” or “Finances” for your category.
Thumbnail Image
The thumbnail image of your video is one of the first things a viewer will see and is a good indication of what the video is about. YouTube will offer an auto-generated thumbnail, but a custom thumbnail that this eye-catching and informational is a better option. Also, make sure your YouTube account is verified. If not, you will not be able to upload a custom thumbnail.
Sharing and Optimization
Building your social media presence is great for optimization and the same is said for your YouTube channel. In the basics of SEO, we recommended being socially present, which entails sharing posts. This is a post worth sharing! When you’ve made a new video, share it on your other social platforms and ask others to like, subscribe, and share. This will let Google know you have valuable content. You can also include new videos in your newsletters and ask clients to subscribe to learn more financial tips.
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