Well, you set up a YouTube channel, make a few videos, and then the number of views coincidentally subtracts (of course) the number of newborns and babies from the total number of people in your family. What could be the problem?
Well, nothing can go wrong with videos, in fact they can be downright amazing. The answer could totally be, you haven’t done any “YTO” (I just made it up 🙂 which means “YouTube Optimization”. You must have heard about SEO; “Search Engine Optimization”, well, YouTube is the third largest search engine on the Internet. As a result, we have to adapt everything we do with our videos.
When I first joined YouTube in 2006, I didn’t know what keywords were. If you’re not sure what a keyword is, do a Google search and become familiar with them. Anyway, my channel name consists of my first name and my last name. With a first name like Kim, I wanted people to know I was a man and that was all I cared about at the time. I didn’t think YouTube would ever be used in advertising, it was just a fun place to watch videos and post videos.
So, let’s get back to YTO. These days, everything is different. When people need to know how something is made, what the product does or looks like, many will turn to YouTube and search for the item or service. If you sell what they’re looking for and you have a channel name similar to “Enter your name”, they won’t be able to find you. Who’s Going to Look for “My Name”? Not even my mother!
Hence, even your channel name should be YTO’d for the niche you are involved in. Ok, let us say your niche is “online video marketing”, this is a great longtail keyword, however it is taken. What do you do? If you are in the United States, you can visit the U.S.A. can add. Obviously if you are in England you can add UK.
Now here’s a little extra food for thought: When search engine spiders do their job, they pick up “usernames” as well. You can select a username like “Video Marketer USA” in the example above. I’m probably leaving something out here, but you get the concept, right!?
Amazingly, YouTube’s technology can also pick out relevant words in your videos. I find this incredible, although I suppose that if people can run computers with voice recognition software, YouTube can certainly use comparable technology.
Bottom line…a little planning goes a long way. Before creating a video, customize your YouTube channel name, your username, the title of your video, and all relevant information for your niche within the video itself. Granted, it’s a little extra work, but when done right you’ll be slamming the doors on this YouTube thing.