Search and YouTube content strategy
By Stuart Stubbs
Founder, Navigate Video
It’s an undeniable truth that high-quality content is essential to standing out from the crowd on YouTube. But there’s really no point in creating amazing pieces of video content if no one can find it. Search is the backbone of any content strategy on YouTube and should be what leads your plan every step of the way.
We understand that creating world-class content that engages with the target audience is exceptionally important, but we champion optimising your videos specifically to match what users are searching for is a fundamental part of building a successful YouTube strategy.
What is a YouTube content strategy?
A content strategy creates a solid and accurate framework for producing videos. Creating one specifically for YouTube helps you decipher:
● What the videos will be about
● How long they should be
● What format they should be created in
● What your content publishing schedule will look like
● Where and how audiences will find your content
● Why users will want to watch your content
But how do you create a content strategy for YouTube, and why should SEARCH lead it?
Let’s break this down.
Question 1: How do you create a content strategy for YouTube?
➔ Understand your audience
Before you start creating videos, truly understand who you are creating them for. More than 97% of online adults in the UK watch YouTube. 42% of users log in to the platform every single day. This is a huge chunk of the internet population to tap into, so you need to get into the specifics. Look at your audience’s age range, location and gender. Many times, even their income level and marital status could determine the type of video content they are more likely to engage with.
➔ Check out your competition
Conducting a competitor analysis is an essential part of any content strategy. Once you know who your audience is, you’ll want to know who else they’re engaging with and why. Understanding the competition helps you set realistic benchmarks for video performance and also helps you identify areas for improvement.
➔ Understand your budget
You don’t need a big budget to achieve big results on YouTube. We know that creating high-quality, engaging, video content that has a positive impact on your ROI can be an expensive and exhausting process. But it needn’t be. Cross pollination and utilisation of existing video content on YouTube can have a positive and transformative effect on your digital footprint.
Question 2: What is search, and why is it the foundation of a YouTube content strategy?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the ever-adapting exercise of creating web content that ranks highly on a search engine’s results page. On Google, the goal is to get listed among the top 5 on the list. On YouTube, it’s exactly the same.
Search is very often what can make or break the performance of your content marketing strategy. Optimising your video content for YouTube’s search algorithm is essential to drive traffic, build credibility, grow a following and generate leads.
While search engines like Google require backlinks, UX/UI friendliness and accessible web pages to evaluate rank, YouTube search requires its own way of optimising. From organising your playlists in a logical and efficient manner, to ensuring your metadata and descriptions are on point. Once you optimise your YouTube videos for search you can guarantee that the right people will find them both within and outside the platform.
➔ Use targeted keywords
Know your audience and use the same language as them. This starts by researching trends, finding the right keywords and using them in the right places. There are so many useful tools out there to help you. From Google trends to YouTube analytics, Semrush to Moz, looking at what piques your audience’s interest will ensure that your content appeals to them at a deeper level.
Having a deeper understanding of your audience and staying on top of upcoming trends is also essential to always staying relevant. Your content should cater to what is trending, what is sitting on the top of your customer’s minds and should also predict what’s to come.
➔ Content is King
And your audience is its queen. Create content they actually want to watch and will want to share with their network. More than 70% of YouTube videos are consumed on mobile devices. You need to ensure that your YouTube videos are accessible on every device and from anywhere.
➔ Capitalise on the zeitgeist
Keeping on top of YouTube search trends that are relevant to your business will help you ride the wave when audiences are gripped by the latest zeitgeist. Being consistently relevant ensures your content will be served up to as big an audience as possible.
TO SUMMARISE
In 2023, you need to make sure not to get left behind. By 2028, YouTube users are expected to hit 1.1 billion. Creating videos with user search intent in mind is the key to finding success among these numbers. Improving your YouTube search rankings works in tandem with building your overall brand. Customers who are searching for you organically make for the perfect leads for brand advocacy and retention.
GET IN TOUCH
The competition to rank high on YouTube is fierce, and you shouldn’t wait to optimise your search efforts any longer. Get in touch with our team, and we can help you navigate this exciting and growing platform: hello@navigatevideo.com