How to Grow Your YouTube Channel...

Today I’m going to show you how to grow your YouTube channel in 2021.

And in this guide you’re going to learn exactly how to get more views and subscribers.

Let’s dive right in.

• Step #1: Find Untapped Video Keywords
• Step #2: Create Videos Optimized For “Watch Time”
• Step #3: Optimize Your YouTube Videos
• Step #4: Use Thumbnails That Stand Out
• Step #5: Create (and Promote) Optimized Playlists
• Step #6: Promote Videos To Your Audience
• Step #7: Turn Viewers Into Subscribers
• Bonus Step: Rank Videos in Google Search

Step #1: Find Untapped Video Keywords

When it comes to YouTube, video keyword research is SUPER important.

Choose the RIGHT keywords?

Your videos rocket to the top of YouTube.

Choose the WRONG keywords?

Your videos get buried in the search results.

here’s how to find keywords for YouTube.

1. First, create a list of “Seed Keywords”

Seed Keywords are terms that describe super broad topics.

For example, if you were in the digital marketing space, your Seed Keywords would be things like:

• Social Media
• LinkedIn Marketing
• Facebook Page
• Content Marketing

And if you ran a fitness site, your Seed Keyword list would look like this:

• Fat Loss
• Kettlebell Workout
• Paleo Diet
• Cardio Workout

See how that works? These are broad topics that you can create videos about.

Now, to be clear:

You’re not going to optimize your videos around any of these terms (they’re too competitive).

But a list of Seed Keywords is SUPER helpful for the next step.

2. Next, Pop Your Seed Keywords Into YouTube Search

Now it’s time to turn a seed keyword into dozens of long tail keywords.

How?

YouTube Suggest.

This works just like Google.

Pop a Seed Keyword into YouTube…

…and check out the keywords that YouTube suggests.

If you want to scale this process, head over to KeywordTool.io.

When you enter a seed keyword into this tool, it’ll spit out hundreds of terms from YouTube Suggest.

At this point, you should have a bunch of long tail keywords.

Question is: which keywords should you pick?

That’s what step #3 is all about…

3. Finally, It’s Time For YouTube Competition Analysis

Just like with Google, you want to optimize your videos around keywords that:

a) Get lots of searches

and

b) Aren’t super competitive

How do you find these magical keywords?

An awesome Chrome extension called TubeBuddy.

(VidIQ also works well)

This tool shows you stats for each keyword right in the search results:

That way, you know whether or not a keyword is too competitive…

…BEFORE you make your video.

Pretty cool.

OK, so you found a keyword. Nice!

Now it’s time for the fun stuff: creating your video.

Step #2: Create Videos Optimized For “Watch Time”

YouTube’s #1 goal is to keep people on YouTube.

(After all, the more time people spend on YouTube, the more money they make from ads)

And that’s why YouTube’s algorithm puts so much emphasis on Watch Time.

Simple.

And here’s what that report looks like in YouTube Analytics:

As you might expect, YouTube LOVES videos that rack up lots of Watch Time.

In fact, YouTube has gone on the record saying that:

“Watch time is measured in cumulative minutes watched, and each video uploaded – as well as every channel on YouTube – is “ranked” by watch time. Channels and videos with higher watch times are likely to show up higher in search results and recommendations.”

– YouTube Creator Academy

In short: the more time people spend watching your video, the higher it will rank.

The question is:

HOW do you create videos that keep people watching?

Let’s find out…

1. Publish LONG videos

I don’t care what the “experts” say.

Long videos perform better than short videos.

2. Cut out the fluff from your intros

According to YouTube, the first 15 seconds of your video is KEY.

In other words, your intro needs to grab your viewer by the eyeballs.

(And you have 15 seconds to do it)

3. Incorporate “Pattern Interrupts” into your videos.

Want people to watch your video all the way to the end?

Use Pattern Interrupts.

Seriously. They work insanely well.

In fact, Pattern Interrupts are one of the main reasons that my Audience Retention tends to be so high:

So: what are Pattern Interrupts?PI

Pattern Interrupts

noun

Pattern Interrupts are elements in your video that are different than the rest of your video (they literally “interrupt” the “pattern”).Pattern Interrupts can be things like:

• On-screen graphics
• Animations
• New background or setting
• B rolls
• Different camera angles
• Sound effects
• Bulleted List
• And more

4. Script Every Line

This is a biggie.

Unless you’re one of those people that drops the mic at the end of every conversation, you need to script out your videos.

(Or at least follow a detailed outline)

Step #3: Optimize Your YouTube Videos

You already know that YouTube SEO is important.

So let’s dive right into the steps.

1. Keyword-optimized your video title

Here’s the deal:

Keyword-optimized video titles aren’t as important as they used to be.

In fact, our YouTube ranking factors study found a weak relationship between keyword-rich titles and rankings:

That said, using a keyword in your title DOES help (a little). So I recommend doing it.

For example, one of my videos is targeting the keyword “SEO tips”.

2. Write titles designed to maximize CTR

Unlike Google, YouTube has confirmed that they use click-through-rate as a ranking signal.

In fact, a YouTube research paper states that, when it comes to recommending videos to users:

“To evaluate recommendation quality we use a combination of different metrics. The primary metrics we consider include click through rate (CTR), long CTR (only counting clicks that led to watches of a substantial fraction of the video)…”

– The YouTube video recommendation system,
Research Gate

Put another way:

The more people click on your video, the more YouTube will promote it.

The question is: HOW do you do it?

You want to write titles that have a clear benefit…

…without resorting to clickbait.

3. Write keyword-rich, SEO-friendly video descriptions

Most video descriptions on YouTube are REALLY short:

According to YouTube, short descriptions like this really hurt your video SEO.

In fact, they officially recommend long descriptions:

“Write full descriptions: up to one to two paragraphs.

Some creators only put their social media links in the description, potentially missing out on a lot of extra views.”

– YouTube Creator Academy

4. Optimize your video tags

It’s no secret that YouTube tags are HUGE for SEO.

But how do you optimize them, exactly?

• Use 2-3 tags that include your target keyword… and close variations.
• Add 2 tags that describe your video’s topic using words that aren’t in your main keyword.
• Add 1-2 tags that represent your high-level industry or vertical.

For example, check out this video from my channel that’s optimized around the keyword “link building”.

A handful of my keywords are either my actual keyword or long tail versions of that term.

Others are other ways of describing my video’s topic.

And three of them give YouTube context about my video’s broad, overall category.

Step #4: Use Thumbnails That Stand Out

YouTube reports that “90% of the best performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails.” That’s LEGIT.)

How do you create eye-catching Youtube thumbnails?

Here are two quick tips that are working really well right now.

First, use lots of contrast.

You want the colors in your thumbnail to clash as much as possible.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

See how all of the different colors in the thumbnail stand out?

In fact, they even add tiny borders between text and objects to increase this contrast.

Second, use colors that stand out on YouTube.

As you know, the YouTube platform is mostly red, white and black.

So to stand out, you want to use colors that aren’t red, white and black in your thumbnails.

Little tip:

You can use Canva free or pro to create your blog templates, thumbnails and designs

Step #5: Create (and Promote) Optimized Playlists

Playlists are an underrated way to get more views (and subscribers).

Why?

Playlists dramatically increase your “Session Time”.

Session Time is the amount of time someone spends on YouTube after they start watching your video.

And Session Time is a ranking factor that YouTube cares about… A LOT.

In fact, YouTube says this about Session Time:

“Your channel also gets a boost when people watch anything anywhere in YouTube after watching your content.

…and when you make content that makes people watch more from your channel, then you’re helping us out.”

– YouTube Creator Academy

For example, let’s say someone starts watching a video from your channel.

And right after they’re done, they close their browser.

Your video is causing people to LEAVE YouTube. So they’re going to demote that video.

On the other hand:

Let’s say someone starts watching your video. And after they’re done, they watch another video.

This time, your video is KEEPING people on YouTube. So they’re going to promote it.

And that’s where playlists come in…

When someone’s done watching a video in a playlist, it automatically plays another video.

In other words, playlists automatically improve your Session Time.

You already know that YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine.

But that doesn’t mean you can just upload a bunch of optimized videos and expect to rank.

Just like with blog content, you need to give your YouTube videos a little “push” to get going.

That push can include sharing clips of your video on social media.

If your video is optimized for Watch Time, that initial push is all you need to get going. YouTube will pretty much take care of the rest.

That said:

No amount of promotion can make up for a bad video.

Step #7: Turn Viewers Into Subscribers

The steps that I outlined so far should help you get more views.

But views is only one part of growing your YouTube channel.

The other part? Getting more subscribers.

One of the best ways to get more subscribers is to add a subscribe button to your End Screen.

Bonus Step: Rank Videos in Google Search

Ranking your YouTube videos in Google is a GREAT way to get more views.

In fact, 34.6% of my “External” views come from Google search.

And the best way to rank your videos in Google?

Target keywords that already have a video section in the SERPs.

As an example, the keyword “video SEO” has a video section.

When you see a video section, you know that Google wants to show people video results for that term.

And if your video performs well enough on YouTube, Google may start to show your video in the SERPs.

What Did You Think?

I hope this new post showed you how to grow your YouTube channel.

Now I’d like to hear from you:

What’s your #1 takeaway from today’s post?

Or maybe you have a question.

Either way, let me know by leaving a quick comment below.

I’ll be around to personally reply to comments and questions that come in.