Master the SEO Jungle: Advanced Techniques for YouTube Domination

“Content is king, but distribution is queen.” - Jonathan Mildenhall

Table of Contents

• The Power of YouTube

• Long-Tail Keywords

• Optimizing Your Video

• Beyond the Basics

• Case Studies

• Key Takeaways

• Next Steps

The Power of YouTube

YouTube is no longer just a place to watch funny cat videos. As the world's second largest search engine, it's become vital for brands and creators to optimize their YouTube content to stand out.

The opportunity is massive, with over 2 billion monthly logged-in users. The key is learning how to play the YouTube SEO game and get your videos found in search and suggested results organically.

This is where targeted keyword optimization comes in, specifically around long-tail keywords. Let's break down what makes these so powerful.

Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, hyper-specific phrases like "ASMR soap carving tutorial." They pinpoint very precise search intents.

The advantages of targeting long-tail keywords include:

• Increased chance your video ranks highly in search results due to less competition targeting the same phrases.

• Viewers reaching your content have very strong intent so they're primed to fully watch, engage, and convert.

• Ranking for multiple niche long-tail terms expands your visibility and incremental traffic sources.

Uncovering the right long-tail gems takes work. Here are tips for mining keyword gold:

Know Your Audience

Profile your target viewers - their behaviors, pain points, how they talk about your niche. This informs keyword ideas matching their search language. Start by listing your best video topic ideas, then build long-tail spinoffs.

Really get clear on the search intent behind keywords. “How to bake cookies” implies a broad tutorial. Whereas “best chocolate chip cookie recipe chewy” shows they want a very specific result.

Study Competitors

See what keywords help top channels dominate. Use incognito browser mode to see unbiased results.

Pay attention to video titles and descriptions using keywords. Check their tags using VidIQ or TubeBuddy Chrome extensions.

Turn great keyword finds into new video ideas with your unique spin. Give viewers what competitors don’t.

Optimize For Both YouTube and Google

Ideally, focus on longer phrases of 3-5 words that play well on both YouTube and Google search. This amplifies overall visibility.

The exact keyword doesn’t need to be in titles or tags. Related semantics works through Google’s machine learning.

Now let’s get your video fully optimized to convert visitors from keywords into engaged viewers.

Optimizing Your Video

Nailing video optimization signals to YouTube’s algorithm that a video is valuable. Racking up clicks and watch time from search traffic communicates relevance. YouTube then starts suggesting it to more viewers in Up Next and through notifications.

!!! Pro Tip – Optimize uploads right away, then tweak over following days and weeks to maximize impact of changes.

Perfect Your Titles

Your title is the first touchpoint convincing viewers to watch from search and suggested results. Master these best practices:

• Include your prime target keyword towards the front – establishes relevance.

• Keep under 60 characters – gets cut off on mobile otherwise.

• Use natural language – like talking to a real person.

• Have a strong hook – elicit curiosity to click and watch.

• End with a call to action (CTA) – “Watch now”.

Write a Killer Description

Your description appears under the title. Go beyond one generic blurb. Use the full 5000 characters to:

• Open with a hook continuing the title’s storyline – why should viewers care?

• List timestamps linking to sections – help people skim.

• Ask a question – encourages comments and interactions.

• Include a strong CTA with relevant keywords – “Learn exactly how I taught my beagle Lucy tricks.”

Tag Like a Pro

Tags “tag” your content with relevant words and phrases. Aim for very specific, long-tail terms people actually search for. The first tags get priority, so lead with prime keywords.

Transcribe Your Videos

Adding a transcript allows viewers to skim text from Google rather than watching the full video. More will click from search results if they get a preview.

YouTube Studio has a free transcription feature once your channel is enabled for community contributions.

Insert End Screens

End screens popup when a video ends, prominently promoting other relevant uploads. This tactic reduces drop-off after one video by keeping viewers engaged.

Feature a quick 5-10 second teaser preview of your best content, personalized imagery, strong CTAs, and subscribe buttons.

Implementing all these optimization factors trains YouTube’s algorithm to suggest your videos more widely. But you can take manual promotion into your own hands too…

Beyond the Basics

Build Backlinks

Backlinks are like references that amplify your video’s authority – other reputable sites linking back to your content as a citation or recommendation for viewers. Relevant niche websites and online communities represent prime sources.

Make it easy for others to reference your videos through embeds, repurposed insights, and guest posts with author backlinks.

Manually build and track higher domain authority backlinks with a tool like SEMRush.

Promote on Social

YouTube description links to your other social profiles boost brand visibility.

Strategically promoting new uploads across social expands reach beyond YouTube suggested and Google search. Especially leverage communities relevant to your niche for better engagement.

Foster Community

Beyond one-off views, aim for long-term viewership by building a loyal audience. Viewer communities translate into higher repurchase rates for products and services.

Reply to all comments. Ask questions to encourage discussion. Maintain consistent branded personas across videos and channels. Offer special rewards through member programs.

Collaborate

Look for opportunities to create or cross-promote content with others who share your audience but aren’t direct competitors. This expands reach between engaged communities.

Possibilities include co-produced videos, guest appearances, shared interview questions compiled from followers, and influencer partnerships.

Treat YouTube SEO as an always-on process. Continuously drive traffic to new and old content over time through these compounding factors.

Case Studies

Let’s analyze channels executing advanced SEO strategies tailored to their niche for incredible results:

Nas Daily – 23.8M Subscribers

Nas Daily built a mini-empire by relentlessly optimizing daily 1-minute videos on buzzy topics for maximum shareability.

He laser focused on viral trends and newsjacking timely events. This lead to explosive organic growth through YouTube’s suggestion algorithm. He also mastered clickbait-style thumbnails and titles.

Launching an exclusive $10 per month fan club gave his most engaged superfans access to extra content and community.

Markiplier – 32.9M Subscribers

Markiplier has ruled the gaming niche for a decade through expert audience understanding, consistent branding, and weekly uploads keeping fans engaged.

He’s expanded his initial core focus on “Let’s Play” videos with steady experiments into serialized shows, sketch comedy, animations, and podcasting. This widened his audience and increased watch time.

Mark constantly optimized titles and created distinct thumbnail styles for each show. He also embraced fan community building across platforms years before it was common.

Tyler Hoover – 2.83M Subscribers

Through his Hoovie’s Garage channel Tyler Hoover quickly dominated the automotive niche with creative long-form videos detailing quirky project cars.

He mastered YouTube while still working full-time by focusing all titles and thumbs around specific vehicle models. This optimized his content for diehard fans of Ford Broncos, Chevy Corvettes, etc. searching those exact long-tail terms.

Joining a multi-channel network (MCN) opened up access to more sophisticated analytics guiding his experiments to expand the channel’s scope.

Hopefully these case studies provided sparks of inspiration on creative SEO opportunities waiting to be seized!

Key Takeaways

• Keyword research and targeting long-tail search queries maximize your chances of discovery by interested viewers.

• Perfectly optimize all video components like titles, descriptions and tags to signal relevance to YouTube’s algorithm.

• Promote videos outside YouTube to compound traffic. Convert viewers into an engaged community.

• Always refine and iterate – the SEO game never stops!

Next Steps

• Download the free long-tail keyword workbook to uncover optimization opportunities.

• Follow our YouTube channel for regular optimization and growth tips.

• Schedule a free one-on-one strategy session with our in-house experts to start planning your path to YouTube domination.