Video SEO: Optimize your YouTube Channel For Better Search Rankings

Here on ReelSEO we write a lot about optimizing your video content so it can be discovered on YouTube, but did you know that your YouTube channel as a whole can rank independently from individual videos? Today, we are going to give you three tips to make sure your YouTube channel is as optimized as possible.

Optimizing your YouTube Channel for Better Search Rankings

Every creator, brand or agency wants their videos to perform well on YouTube, so why not aim for the same result for your channel? For example, say a user is searching YouTube for surfing videos (of which there are a lot), and they see a whole surfing channel shows up in the results. That’s a fantastic opportunity for any creator who wants to attract more views and subscribers. To give your channel the best shot of ranking on YouTube, independently of any videos you may have created, you’ll need to update three things:

#1 Update Your Channel Title

The channel title should reflect the name of your brand or company, or the individual but, if it’s possible, try and include a relevant keyword or two (without being too spammy). For instance, if your company sells caravans and has created video content around that then it would make sense to change the Channel title fom ‘Joe Bloggs Ltd’ to ‘Joe Bloggs Caravan Sales’. BUT, do not keyword stuff – you need to make this title as natural and relevant as possible. Keyword spamming won’t work.

#2 Update Your Channel Description

You can do this via the ‘About’ tab. Using normal, conversational English (or whatever language you are writing in), write as much information as you can about the channel, the brand or you as an individual. Again, no keyword stuffing. Google is getting smarter at sniffing out this kind of tactic. Pay very close attention to the first sentence because that will show up in the snippet text in the search results.
#3 Update Your Channel Keywords

You can access these via Channel Settings > Advanced > Channel Keywords. Start with your main keywords first with your secondary keywords towards the end. These keywords, unlike the keywords we use for our videos, are space separated so if you have a phrase that you want to use that includes one or more words, than these need to be in quotation marks like “video marketing” or “makeup tutorial”. Use a mix of specific and generic tags

While optimizing your channel is best practice, if your video content doesn’t match your title, description or channel keywords then it’s going to be counter-productive. If you advertise your channel as a source of video marketing but actually only post pet videos then YouTube is going to pick up on that pretty quickly and won’t return it in the search results for the keywords you want it to. Just be as consistent as you possibly can be with everything.