This is Part Two of my 3 part series articles on optimizing your Youtube Videos for viral views. You can read the first part of the Search engine optimization tips to make your videos go viral.
Call to Action
You need to tell your viewers what you want them to do.
- A call to action is the next steps a viewer should take
- Usually, videos tell a user to like, comment, and share the video. They may also tell a user to visit their website or get on Twitter to post something with a hashtag.
- Call to actions can be placed in the video, on the YouTube page, or in the video description.
- Consider making the titles of your videos a call to action as well.
Optimizing the Title of Your Youtube Videos
- Make the title 70 characters or less including spaces. This helps YouTube index them for higher search result placement.
- Use keywords at the beginning of the title.
- Accurately represent the subject of the video in the title.
- Include the episode number in the title if it is part of a series.
- Titles need to be enticing so people click on them.
Stat: Generalized call to actions increase conversion by 10% while call to actions that are specific to the product or brand can increase conversion rates to 20%.
Tip: A call to action that is related to your product or service will convert better than a generic call to action.
Stat: Putting a call to action at the end of a video can increase conversion rates by 144%.
Tip: By placing a call to action at the end of a video, you force people to understand your message. They get excited about the product or service and are more likely to respond to your call to action.
Annotation
You need to be careful if you use annotations. There are some businesses who nearly cover their entire video with annotations that link to other videos or to their website.
This is tempting, especially when users can easily turn annotations off if they don’t like it. However, this is seen as a desperate attempt at advertising from viewers, making them less likely to watch your videos. If you do use annotations:
- Use them sparingly, at most two at a time. Space them out throughout the video.
- Make your points clear with interactive commentary.
- Add background information.
- Highlight calls to action.
- Link from within the video.
Stat: There are 500 Tweets per minute containing a YouTube link.
Tip: Consider using annotations at the end of the video, telling the user to share the video on Twitter with a link.
Video Thumbnail
An excellent thumbnail image can attract people to your video even if they do not have a particular interest in the subject. YouTube automatically generates thumbnails that are screenshots from your video, but you can also create your own thumbnail to insert into the video.
- When creating your own thumbnail, they should be 1280px in height and 740px wide. Make sure the file is under 2MB.
- Thumbnails can be a close up look at the product or service you are talking about in the video. For example, if you are talking about kitchen knives, make the photo a close up of the blade slicing through an onion.
- Entertaining thumbnails pique curiosity about the video for people who do not become interested based on the title and description.
- A representative thumbnail will accurately depict the subject of the video.
Quick Stat: Thumbnails increase clicks from searches by 64% among men and 154% among women.
Tip: Make your thumbnails stand out in order to get more search engine clicks.
For more tips and secrets on how you can optimize to get viral youtube video views, check out Search engine optimization tips to make your videos go viral and Part 3 of our series on the subject.
Patrick Mahinge is a prolific digital marketer and "serial webpreneur". He runs multiple profitable niche websites and blogs monetized through affiliate marketing and advertising. Patrick generously shares his expertise in affiliate marketing, blogging, and online business through his Facebook group of over 5,000 aspiring entrepreneurs.
