10 steps to optimize video SEO for search and discovery
Today, innovation and constant updating of SEO video optimization methods are essential and bring great value to creators. The article below helps you learn about simple and effective video optimization steps.

With the continuous development of video SEO, there have been many significant changes in recent years. By improving videos with disappointing performance that aren’t engaging, rewarding, and on-point.
YouTube’s algorithms have improved to match viewers in order to convey to them the videos they are interested in and increase the likelihood that they will watch and enjoy them. With more than 500 videos being uploaded every minute, this is a big challenge for YouTube creators and algorithms.
To get around that, this article covers YouTube’s algorithms and how it works, offers helpful advice on video SEO methods, and walks you through the steps of optimizing your videos. .
How does YouTube’s search algorithm work? How to optimize video for SEO?
YouTube’s search and discovery system provides the best user experience by displaying results that match search queries through sorting through the multitude of posted videos.
Thereby, Youtube’s algorithm will “follow the user” by paying attention to:
- What do they see.
- They do not want to see what.
- How much time do they spend watching.
- They like it or don’t like it.
- How Do They Respond “Certainly/Not Interested”
It’s good that now YouTube’s search and discovery system can help you SEO YouTube videos easily without resorting to manual tips or tools.
10 steps to optimize video SEO effectively
Step 1: Search for videos on YouTube
Just like Google, YouTube search shows the most relevant results according to the user’s keyword queries. Videos are ranked highly based on many factors including the title, description, and video content that match the viewer’s query.
In addition, YouTube looks at which videos get the most watch time and engagement for a particular query. In other words, YouTube search results are displayed from the list of most viewed videos to the lowest for a keyword query.

Step 2: Recommended videos
As a set of personalized videos that viewers might want to watch next, recommendations are based on their previous activity. These videos are shown to the viewer on the right side of the page in the next section, and are below the video currently watching on mobile devices or in other words the next video in autoplay.
Users tend to watch more videos when they find it relevant from a variety of channels, so recommended videos are intended to maximize viewer engagement.

Suggested video improvement factors:
- Videos that viewers are watching along with the current video or videos related to the topic they are looking for. This can be video from the same channel or from different channels.
- Videos from their past watch history.
Additionally, you can see which videos brought users to your channel from Recommended Videos in the Traffic Sources report in YouTube Analytics by clicking the Recommended Videos box.
Some recommended Video SEO tips:
- Provide a call to action to encourage viewers to watch another video in your series.
- Pay attention to the ending so as not to bore the viewer.
- Use playlists, links, tags, and end screens to suggest next videos.
- Develop naturally connected videos.
- Create videos related to popular YouTube formats like playlists or challenges.
Step 3: Title and Thumbnail
Title and Thumbnail are the first things viewers see when opening the YouTube browser.

With an attractive title, true to the keywords that viewers search for, it will be clicked in less than 10 seconds, but with a misleading title that is not attractive, no matter how active you are with YouTube SEO , there will be no results. fruit. This allows users to decide to watch your video and build accurate predictions about your video content. Well-designed Titles and Thumbnails will attract and encourage video viewers because they know what they’re watching. If a viewer clicks on your video and stays to watch most or all of it, this lets YouTube know that the viewer is enjoying your content.
However, if your Title and Thumbnail don’t provide searchable value to your viewers, viewers tend to leave almost immediately. This can limit your discovery on YouTube.
The more you can keep viewers on YouTube with your content engaging, the more exposure your videos will get.
- The title contains keywords and arouses curiosity.
- A concise title (60 characters) with the most important information.
- Delivering video counts and lasting branding.
- Make sure your title doesn’t get cut off in your suggested videos on search results and mobile devices.
Thumbnails are often the first thing viewers see when they search for one of your videos, and most of the 90% of YouTube’s best performing videos have Custom Thumbnails. When you customize your Thumbnail, make sure you has relevant, vibrant image conveys key information about your videos.
Alternatively, you can apply the “rule of thirds” to create interesting and dynamic images, then overlay them with your branding or descriptive text. If you add text, make sure to use a font that is easy to read on the screen. In addition, you can think of ways to make them catchy and relevant to your audience.
Here are some tips for optimizing your SEO video thumbnails:
- Think about your Thumbnail before taking a photo
- Make the thumbnail resolution as high as possible but keep it under the 2MB limit.
- Specifications: 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio) as .JPG, .GIF, .BMP or .PNG.
- Zoom in and out of your thumbnails to see if the thumbnails look good.
- See if your thumbnail stands out among other thumbnails.
Step 4: Description and hashtags
The description field is extremely useful to help viewers learn and decide if they want to watch your video or not? At the same time, this is also an important SEO factor .
The description can be divided into two parts which is what viewers see before they click Show more and what they will see afterwards.

YouTube video description Here are some tips for optimizing descriptions:
- Make sure each video has a unique description – this makes it easy to find through search and helps it stand out from other similar videos.
- Use the first some lines of the text to explain the content of the videos use search friendly keywords and natural languages.
- Use the rest of your text (the part that shows up when they click Show more ) between 300 and 2,100 characters as additional information like your channel content, social links, etc.
Next, use relevant hashtags (#) in your video title and description to help viewers find your video when they search for a specific topic on YouTube, on desktop desktop or mobile app.
Here are some tips for optimizing your hashtags:
- Make sure you only use hashtags relevant to your video. Example, if you are uploading a review of a specific movie,do not add hashtag related to different or unrelated popular movies, actors, or unrelated topics to increase views in the wrong way.
- Don’t try to add multiple of your descriptions with hashtags as YouTube will ignore all hashtags on the video if the video has more than 15 hashtags.
Step 5: SEO video for Homepage
The homepage is what viewers see first when they visit YouTube.com or open the YouTube app. This is where they can discover recommendations that work best for them, and where non-subscribers can find your videos. According to statistics, more than 200 million different videos appear on Home every day to viewers around the world.
When a person visits the Home page, YouTube shows videos from the channels they subscribe to, videos watched by similar viewers, and the latest videos.
The video selection is based on:
- Performance: How well the video engaged and satisfied similar viewers, among other factors.
- Viewer search and watch history: How often viewers watched a certain channel or topic, and how many times YouTube showed the video to viewers.
It’s worth noting that viewers tend to watch videos more through the Home page than through the Subscriptions tab .

YouTube homepage Here are some tips for optimizing your video SEO for YouTube Home:
- Upload new videos at the exact time your audience expects them to see more of the new content.
- Keep viewers engaged longer and encourage them to come back for more. Whether it’s one long video or several short videos, the longer you keep people watching, the more likely your content is to be shown.
- Keep doing what works. When you create something that works for your audience, do it again. YouTube shows more content that your viewers like.
Step 6: Shorts
A tool to help connect audiences with just a smartphone and camera Shorts in the YouTube app. Makes it easy to create a short video up to 60 seconds in length and allows you to record multiple videos. and can scroll to see even more short videos.

Shorts YouTube Viewers can find Shorts:
- On the YouTube homepage.
- Your inform.
- Check your Subscribe channel.
You should also include #Shorts in your short video title or description to help YouTube’s system recommend your Shorts on YouTube.
How do Shorts affect video watch time and engagement?
YouTube’s discovery systems use relative and absolute watch time as signals when determining audience engagement, and they encourage creators to do so. What’s more, YouTube wants both short and long videos to perform well, so they encourage you to make your videos the right length depending on the content.
In summary, relative watch time is more important for short videos and absolute watch time is more important for longer videos. You can use the audience retention report in YouTube Analytics to see how long viewers are ready to watch and tailor your content accordingly.
Shorts views are counted like regular videos, and subscribers gained from watching your Shorts count towards Creator Rewards Program milestones.
Here are some methods to optimize SEO video Shorts YouTube:
- Focus on making the first few seconds catchy to grab the viewer’s attention and keep your content engaging.
- Remember that Shorts loop, so tailor your content accordingly and think of ways you can encourage replayability.
- Make Short relatable by using your authentic voice or showing a behind-the-scenes moment.
- Make your Shorts rewarding by creating content that educates, entertains, or puts viewers at ease.
- You can post Shorts on your main channel or start a second channel or keep it in the Shorts section on your channel homepage, this makes it easy for viewers to distinguish between Shorts and your regular long videos.
Step 7: Cards and End Screens

YouTube video end screen Cards and End Screens are meant to encourage your viewers to take action. Tags are pre-formatted messages that you can set up to promote your brand and other videos on your channel.
If viewers tap or click the trailer, the card associated with the video will appear below the mobile player in portrait (or along the right side of your video on desktop). If the viewer doesn’t touch or click the trailer, the trailer will disappear from their view. Tags work well when they are placed alongside a scripted call to action or when they are relevant to your video content.
Here are some tips for optimizing your tags:
- Use tags and scripted calls to action to link to other linked videos, playlists, websites to urge viewers to buy merchandise or support your crowdfunding campaign.
- Use up to five tags per video.
- Use the tag to cross-promote other creators and give credit to your video collaborators.
End screens also a powerful tool that can help prolong watch time on channel by directing viewers to next content at the end of your videos. You can add them to the last 5-20 seconds of your video and they appear on both desktop and mobile.
Here are some tips for optimizing end screens:
- Consider leaving a space at the end of the video.
- Don’t use tag ads and brand watermarks in end screens as both are blocked.
Step 8: Likes and Dislikes – an important factor in video SEO
Likes and dislikes have an impact on your videos.

Like and Dislike Likes and dislikes are among the hundreds of signals YouTube looks at for ranking. Their recommendation system is determined from whether the viewer chooses to watch the video or not. At the same time, the system learns how many videos viewers have watched and whether they are satisfied. Your overall video performance is dictated by a combination of these factors.
See YouTube ‘Typical Audience Retention’ Referral Data to learn how YouTube Analytics currently reports key moments in viewer retention. This can help you understand what works and what doesn’t.
You can see for yourself why many YouTube creators ask viewers to Like their videos. They also ask viewers to post comments, share videos on social media, and subscribe to their channel. All of these are meant to demonstrate viewer engagement and satisfaction – more than that, they’re all signals YouTube looks at for ratings.
Step 9: “New to You” and Explore Feeds
YouTube notes that the feed that’s new to an individual is different from the discovery feed.

Explore on YouTube Many users commented that their Home feed is getting old for similar recommendations. Therefore, YouTube has updated the “new for you” feature to the homepage for mobile devices. This allows users to explore beyond the usual recommendations and browse through different types of videos related to their interests.
With data feed:
As for the Discover feed , it helps YouTube viewers discover what’s trending around the world. And also help viewers discover content by specific industries such as Music, Movies & Shows, Live, Games, News, Sports, Learning, Fashion & Beauty, etc.
So how do you SEO videos for Discover feed? Start by checking which videos are trending or popular. Then quickly create a new video of your own that can be discovered in Recommended Videos after viewers watch trending or popular videos.
This can help you reach new fans who may not have known about your channel.
Step 10: Upload and Playlist

Create a playlist of videos on Youtube A regular publish schedule can draw viewer back to your channel for more vedios. You can use playlists to make it easier for them to find the more of what they like on channel.
To create a habit with viewers, many creators have found that setting a recurring schedule helps viewers know when your next release will be – it’s like predicting when your next episode will air. favorite program.
Subscribers can find your new uploads in their Subscriptions feed and can choose to receive mobile or email notifications based on their interests.
Here are some tips for SEO Video for your upload schedule:
- Specify publication times at set times (such as weekly) and on certain days (for example, Tuesdays). Your publishing frequency may depend on your staff and content.
- Try spacing the videos (instead of publishing multiple videos at once). You can upload videos and then schedule the date, time, and time zone you want them to be published in.
- Let your viewers know when you plan to release a new video. For example, you can let them know in the video, the video description, the channel trailer, and the About section.
Also, use playlists to provide a comfortable viewing experience for viewers for easier viewing
Playlists can help you introduce your fans to more of the content they love, while showcasing your channel’s creativity and personality.
Good playlists can keep viewers longer. Some creators create playlists about major events. Or they put together “best of” playlists so viewers can easily find the most popular videos.
Video SEO has changed significantly and requires creators to update it in a timely manner to be able to exploit well from the YouTube platform to get the best results. Hopefully with the article “10 steps to optimize video SEO for search and discovery” TopOnSeek can bring useful knowledge to you!
Good playlists can keep viewers longer. Some creators create playlists about major events. Or they put together “best of” playlists so viewers can easily find the most popular videos.
Video SEO has changed significantly and requires creators to update it in a timely manner to be able to exploit well from the YouTube platform to get the best results. Hopefully with the article “10 steps to optimize video SEO for search and discovery” TopOnSeek can bring useful knowledge to you!
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