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The 2nd Largest Search Engine on the Internet

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A mobile phone on a laptop with Apple Air buds and text "The Second Largest Search Engine on the Internet"

Posted on 01/28/2020 at 01:30 PM

The 2nd Largest Search Engine on the Internet

Everyone knows that Google is the “Queen of the Internet”.

(Note: I say Queen because the Google Assistant has a female voice, so now Google is a ‘She’.)

So how does Google know what you are looking for?

Suggestions that land on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is determined by a multitude of factors, including your search history and geographical location. The Google crawlers search anything and everything online that ties back to a website. They hunt through the depths of the internet in search of everything from accurate and relevant keywords to crosslinks that help with a website’s credibility. Google even looks for activity on social media platforms and how people are engaging with various content.

Did you know there is a social media platform that is also the 2nd largest search engine on the planet?

If Google is the Queen, YouTube is the Princess

YouTube is a vast library of free knowledge. If you want to learn how to do anything from how to tie a fancy tie to the fundamentals of macroeconomics, YouTube is the place to go. It also provides unlimited entertainment, music, and a platform for anyone to get their voice out there.

Heck, even Global Reach has a YouTube full of valuable marketing tips and tricks [/end shameless plug]!

The bottom line is that “YouTube processes more than 3 billion searches a month. 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute. It’s bigger than Bing, Yahoo!, Ask and AOL combined,” according to Mushroom Networks.

It makes sense that in 2006 Google bought YouTube for $1.6 Billion. All that data helps Google understand people’s search intentions.

Optimizing YouTube for Search

Getting found in the sea of internet traffic is often the biggest issue that any entity online faces. If you’re not on the first page of recommendations, you might as well be on the last. The good news is that getting found is easier than you think!

Free 4 Step Guide to YouTube Optimization

  1. Optimize Your Settings

Use the settings on your channel to pre-fill common content such as links to your website, relevant tags, and thumbnail banding (to name a few). All these settings are often ignored by most YouTubers but can provide a time-saving edge on getting found more quickly and consistently in the search results!

Pro Tip: Make sure your channel is set up with links to your website and other social platforms and that you have created playlists to group relevant content. Also, make sure all your contact information is up to date in the “about” section. This can be the difference between getting a call from a potential lead and getting passed over!

  1. Research and understand what people are searching for

Understanding keywords is just the beginning. Use both YouTube and Google to search for the topic of your video and see what other people are using for titles. Pay close attention to those viewer counts and the age of the video. Make note of commonalities and keep this in mind when you move on to step 2!

Free tip: Google (and YouTube) like to promote fresh content!

  1. Take Full Advantage of Character Limits

Unfortunately, most people who upload content to YouTube will add a relevant title, brief description, throw on some tags and maybe a relevant thumbnail and be done with it. That’s not enough.

As with any search engine optimization, optimizing your YouTube starts with using all the space provided! Fill those text boxes with keyword-rich, relevant content, and watch your video climb the search results!

Here are a few grossly underutilized areas for opportunity:

  • Title

    • Character limit: 100

    • Tip: Mimic the titles of other successful videos and don’t be afraid to include your company name!

  • Description

    • Character limit: 5,000

    • Tip: You literally could write a blog post here (or simply copy and paste one from your website)! The Description isn’t really for the viewers. It’s for the Queen’s soldiers- the Google crawlers. Here is a great place to put your research into practice!

    • Other Important Things to include:

      • Relevant links back to your website

      • Hashtags (#)

  • Tags

    • Character limit: 500

    • Tip: Get creative but keep it relevant. Tags can be duplicated in the hashtags you’ll use in your description and may be one of the biggest factors to landing you in the coveted Top 5 spot

  • Playlist Descriptions

    • Character limit: 5,000

    • Tip: People never think about filling out the descriptions of their playlists, but those who use YouTube often binge-watched videos on playlists before binge-watching on Netflix was cool. This is another great opportunity to tie keywords back to your overall content and channel!

  1. Cohesive Branding

Your channel should align with your overall brand. This includes a creative logo and banner with the latter unique to YouTube. This helps with image searchability and tying your YouTube to your website and various social platforms!

Now what?

Feeling overwhelmed? Still not sure what to do next? Never fear, Global Reach’s digital marketing experts are here!

Contact us and we can show you the way!

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