Entertainment

How YouTube Ranks Videos

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YouTube is the largest video sharing website on the Internet, and it has hundred of millions of users. Despite this, at times it can seem impossible to even get a couple views, let alone subscribers.

The problem for many people is that they don’t understand how YouTube ranks and orders content. YouTube, like Google, is a search engine, and maximizing exposure to the highest amount of people is the only way you can increase the amount of views and subscribers you get.

Here is how YouTube ranks videos:

1. Length

Most people think the biggest factor in bringing your YouTube videos to the top is only pageviews, but in fact, there are many other variables, a significant one being the actual length of your video.

Think about it as if you were a YouTube software designer. You’d want your website to promote quality and well-made content that isn’t just a grab for views. One way to filter out the low effort content is to prioritize longer videos, and that is exactly what YouTube does.

There is no exact time you must reach for a video to become popular, but at least aim for something above two or three minutes.

2. Title

A big topic for software and website owners today is Search Engine Optimization. SEO is simply how optimized your site or video is to be picked up by search engines.

The primary way for many websites to do this is to carefully design their content titles so that they are similar to what people are looking for. Your YouTube video titles should do this.

For example, if your video is about fixing a chair, the title “How To Fix a Chair” is going to be picked up and clicked on much more than something like “Sean Harris’s Tutorial on Furniture.”

Keep it simple and to the point, and always remember what your audience is looking for.

3. Thumbnails

When people are watching videos on YouTube, the only thing they see for recommended videos are the title and the thumbnail, along with views. Usually, people don’t take the time to read every single video title for their recommended videos. They simply glance down the list of thumbnails and see what catches their eye.

When you are marketing your videos, you need to remember this and use it to your advantage. Have simple thumbnails that can be easily seen and understood and that will hook people long enough for them to read your title and hopefully click on your videos.

Consider writing a shorter, mini title for your thumbnail also. For the chair example, you could put “Fixing Chairs” in a clear, readable font.

4. Sharing

Remember that YouTube isn’t an isolated website. Videos are shared on thousands of sites, from Facebook to Reddit to Twitter. How many times have you seen a famous person share a YouTube video on his or her personal Twitter or Instagram, causing a once small YouTube producer to get way more views and subscribers than he or she had before.

This means it is really important to try to share your videos not just on YouTube but on other social media. Creating a Twitter or subreddit just for your channel is a great idea, and if you are lucky, they could even go viral.

5. Content

The most important thing out of all of this, however, is your content. The number one method to increasing the number of views, subscribers, and likes you get is to just make quality content.

If you make vlogs, consider buying a nice camera so that your videos are HD. If you make review videos, take a few hours to write a script so that what you say is succinct and to the point.

YouTube is a video aggregation site, and no matter how good you are at marketing your videos, you’ll never get a following if you don’t consistently put out quality videos.

[Also read related piece on tips for Music Business]

A huge factor in the perceived quality of videos is how clear your voice is. No one wants to hear static and crackling to distract them.

Finally, if you follow these five tips, or even just a few of them, you will be on your way to successfully marketing your videos. With time, determination, and a little luck, your channel can become huge in no time.

Interested in getting your YouTube video discovered by masses of targeted fans? Visit this link: www.promolta.com

Source: Sean Harris; a writer in the midwest US who plans on majoring in computer science or physics at college wrote this piece for Promolta.com. He enjoys listening to music, blogging, and reading.

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