Unlocking the Power of YouTube Search

When it comes to search engine marketing, it’s fair to say most SEM’s stick to the Big Three (or Big Two – Google & Bing) when plotting out a search campaign.

Not only is this a small minded view of online marketing – but it also provides your clients with limited reach and and small return-on-investment capabilities.

With this said. lets look at another viable option for expanding your base and increasing traffic.

Welcome to YouTube Search

If you’ve used it before, well, this will help you refine your campaigns and receive maximum exposure. Never thought about it? Keep reading and allow yourself to be amazed:

Thanks to Greg Jarboe at Search Engine Watch and Sage Lewis at Clickz.com for the following tips – now allow me to expound on their wisdom:

• Auto complete is your friend…just like the recommendations you see for a Google querie, auto complete on YouTube will give you a good idea of what people are search for. Even though you think your keyword is the best suggestion and you’ll bet your life savings on it – sometimes working smarter, not harder…is the key. Yes, the five hours you spent on that homegrown keyword generation tactic is a small portion of life you’ll never get back – keep in mind though…sometimes there is a better way.

• Unleash the keyword tool…as in all regular search campaigns – use the keyword tool YouTube supplies. Again, these are FREE suggestions. No reason to ignore them. They use the same format as the Google Adwords Keyword tool and pretty much every other tool out there. There are some additional features such as generating keywords from a video ID or URL – and demographic search functions.

• Use everything you got…this includes everything! If YouTube permits a 100 character title – use 100 characters. In the case of writing a description – using all 5000 characters ensures every keyword comes into play…and increases your chance of getting found. Even if your video displays under a obscure combination, heck, a view is a view. Especially if it falls under the umbrella of free marketing.

• Nothing wrong with paying a little…for all you Pay Per Click (PPC) gurus out there – I’m sure you’ll like this tip. Using Promoted Videos even when you can be found for free, is a good avenue in creating exposure for a minimal fee. I’m sure all of the SEO purists out there will ask – why are you talking about paid search in a post specifically about search optimization? Paid search, is still search, right? The main thing to keep mind is to use keywords you think will trigger your ad. Also, the good news is – Promoted Videos works strictly on a CPC model…so no paying for non-confirmed views. Only clicks baby!

I hope your YouTube search IQ is a little higher after reading this post. If its not, leave a comment and make your case – just be careful not to convince us otherwise.