How to properly use SEO and tags?

[Carlos X]

thanks!! so perhaps I should use tags that might also show up in googles search. The question I had is, should I use only non common tags, or should I also use heavy used tags...so for example in my offroad channel

almost everyone has

"dirtbike" as a tag but a lot of people dont have "Dirtbiking in Colorado trail systems" should I avoid using "dirtbike" and ONLY use large keyword type searches

I answered that with this comment...

Those tags are akin to keywords, so yes, they are important. In fact that's how SEO is done on YT. This is technical stuff, don't worry about how YT treats it, just understand that those tags are designed for two things: Placing your video into THAT specific niche, and for Google bot(s) filing it under that niche in Google search engine.

Now, the reason why you're not appearing for the keyword you search on YT, it's because of the YT algorithm. The more competitive the keyword, the harder it is to rank for that keyword. True in Google Search, and true in YT. The more popular you are on YT, the easier it is to rank for the keywords you want, so the best way to work around this is targeting for keywords with low competition, as a few others said. So, in addition to these keywords you have listed:

dirtbike, dirtbikes, KTM, KLX250

Put in (for example listed above by another user):

KTM dirtbike, KTM dirtbike ride, KTM dirtbike review or any other keyword YOU want to target. If your video is about dirtbike vlogging, then use that.

I hope that makes sense.

....In other words, don't just use "dirtbike," find relative words like the second sentence "KTM dirtbike," and so on and forth. Whatever keywords suits you. You have to think like a marketing person. Who do you want to target?

 

[wchap001]

I answered that with this comment...

....In other words, don't just use "dirtbike," find relative words like the second sentence "KTM dirtbike," and so on and forth. Whatever keywords suits you. You have to think like a marketing person. Who do you want to target?

thanks man! alright i should try avoiding single words I tend to do that lol. makes sense

 

[Carlos X]

thanks man! alright i should try avoiding single words I tend to do that lol. makes sense

Nonono. Don't just avoid using single words. Use BOTH single words, and such. You were on the right track, just that you need to widen your nest. Think of yourself in the middle of a pond, and you're using a fishing pole. Changes are, 90% of the time, you won't catch the fish, but if you use a fishing nest that catches 5-10 fishes a time... You've netted more than you would with a single fishing pole.

So your keyword box should look like this:

DirtBike, KTM dirtbike, [insert rest of keywords], dirtbike races, [more keywords here], and so on and on and on. Until you're happy.

Now, I'm not saying go overboard, but the more relevant keywords you have the more you widen the nest.

 

[Matt Dean]

I've written a pretty detailed guide on how to utilise video SEO over on my website. But the long and short of it is this.

1. Titles matter
2. Descriptions matter more
3. Tags, not so much.

Lets say your video is about Top 10 Footballers of 2019

That in itself is a pretty strong keyword oriented title, so the description should follow suit.

I would recommend using the Keyword you want to rank for at least 3 times within the first block of text, but also add in other keywords centered around the niche, for example "Best Footballers" "Greatest Players" that kind of thing.

Tags don't really matter these days in terms of ranking, but are still a good metric for Youtube to look at, so front load your tags with :

1) The title of the video
2)The keywords you're trying to rank for
3) variations of that keyword and other closely related phrases

At the end of the day, the most important metric when it comes to video SEO is watch time, You can optimise your videos to hell and back, but if you can't hook your audience and keep them watching, Youtube will punish you for it.

So make compelling content, tease something that is coming up in the video and make your videos as long as you can (whilst making it entertaining - This is a balance you'll have to experiment with for your channel).

Watch time is super important.

If we have 2 videos by two uploaders on one certain topic each receiving 50% audience retention.
Video A is 5 minutes long and Video B is 10 minutes long.

Video B will rank higher because of relative audience retention. Video A Only got on average 2.5 minutes of watch time where as Video B got 5 Minutes, meaning Youtube will favour that content.

Hope this helps, there's a lot of factors that go into ranking a video, But keeping your audiences engaged and staying on your videos for longer will benefit you way more than any SEO Tip sheet.