It’s an excellent idea to take the time to optimize your YouTube channel and videos to help people find you on YouTube if they aren’t following a link from your website. YouTube actually does a good job of returning relevant results to users who use its search feature. Therefore, you’ll want to do what you can to help your videos show up in search results by following these easy steps for optimizing both your YouTube Channel and all videos you post to your account.

Your YouTube Channel:
- Add a photo or logo to your channel.
- Select background colors or images that compliment your company brand.
- Vivid Image can help you with a customized YouTube channel if you choose.
- Add complete information about you, your business, and add links to your website and blog.
- Use the “Update” and “Comments” section to update subscribers when you post a new video, or other new information.
- Make sure you frequently check for friend and subscriber requests, comments to approve, and other information in your “inbox” on YouTube.
- Customize your channel home page layout by adding a channel trailer for non-subscribers and a featured video for returning subscribers.
- Create Featured Sections on your channel that show recent uploads, featured playlists, or featured channels. This can help your page look more robust, even if there isn’t a ton of content.
Your Videos:
- Write a great Title for every video you upload. Don’t keep the default title that YouTube/Your Camera will assign your video.
- Write a quality description of your video using keywords that people might search. Tell people more about the video such as where it was taken, why it was made, what they can expect to see, and what actions you’d like them to take (leave a comment, visit your Channel, subscribe, contact you, follow you on social, etc.)
- Select as many relevant tags as possible. These help people to find your video when searching. Use variations, and don’t forget about geographic specific tags.
- Write your own tags/keywords, in addition to any that YouTube suggests.
- Select the best category for your video.
- Decide about comments. Since YouTube is a social network, it is highly recommended you allow comments. You can select “approve comments first” if you’d like.
- Add geotracking to your videos to let people know where your business is located or where the video was taken. Simply enter your address and/or state and zip code to the map at the right.
- Review the thumbnail selection of your video and choose the most flattering or enticing. Alternatively, you can create or edit your own thumbnail and add it to the video.
- Don’t forget to publish your changes.
- Closed Captioning helps make your video more ADA and foreign language accessible. To add closed captioning to your videos, go into edit video and select “captions and subtitles”. You’ll have to create a typed manuscript from the video first and save it as a tab-delimited file before attempting to upload. Vivid Image can help you with this too.
- Add cards and end screens to each video to drive users to stay on your page and watch other videos that might be relevant to them.
- It’s ok to remove old videos with old, inaccurate content. If you can recreate the video with updated content that would be best.
Optimized YouTube Channels
Take a look at how our clients are maximizing their YouTube presence. See how they ensure their channels reflect their branding, optimize their videos, and engage with customers on this powerful social platform.
- Rural Computer Consultants
- Be A Great Teacher
- The Broll Team
- Woody’s Trucking is getting started on YouTube!
Ready to Optimize Your YouTube Channel?
If you’d like us to help you look great on YouTube and reach more people through optimized videos, contact us today.