5 Tips To Help You Climb Up The YouTube Rankings

Before you even press 'record', it's important to have a good sense of your target audience and what your channel is all about. Consideration of what topics and demographics you plan to target with your videos is of utmost importance for success not only to understand your target viewers, but to create content that will draw them in as well. Pick one primary subject and stick to it, while allowing yourself flexibility in the focus of your videos. This can help you avoid burn out, while still keeping with an overall theme.

Your niche should also inform your video titles and description text. Make sure your titles and descriptions are clear, concise, and use relevant keywords that will help YouTube find and rank your video. Think of these descriptors as an extension of your brand allowing viewers to quickly judge whether they're interested in what they see.

Views are often considered the most important factor in YouTube's ranking algorithm. Videos that gain more views in a shorter period of time will often rank higher than static videos that have been online for months but have low view counts. To do this, leverage influencers in your field or look for popular channels with a similar focus. You can also utilize controversial or popular topics and optimize metadata such as titles, descriptions, and tags to increase your chances of being found via organic searches.

It is also important to upload and promote your new videos consistently to your subscriber base, as YouTube's algorithm takes into account video recency as well.

Though views are very important, YouTube also looks at how viewers interact with a video. Likes, comments, and shares are all engagement signals that will add weight to your video and help bump it up in the rankings, particularly with newer videos. Reach out to individuals in your niche who have a strong social following and ask them to share your video and help promote it.

It's also important to interact with your own viewers in the comments of your videos to get their feedback and build trust with them over time. This can significantly help with viewership and engagement of future videos.

YouTube has several tools and features that you can use to help increase your video rankings. For example, YouTube's Video Editor and Creator Studio are great tools for editing and organizing your videos, respectively, as well as the many other YouTube Tools that can help make your videos more discoverable. Additionally, use features like annotations, playlists, and cards to boost on-page engagement.

Increasing video views, optimizing metadata, utilizing engagement signals, and using YouTube's tools and features can all give your videos a boost in the rankings. These are simple, yet effective, strategies that can help you gain more views and eventually grow your channel.

However, all of these strategies are dependent on creating quality content that your viewers will engage with. Quality is always the foundation of a successful YouTube channel. Take the time to identify your target demographics and create content that is relevant to them for the best and longest lasting results.