By Chong Wei Ling on Jan 22, 2021 5:47:25 PM
YouTube offers advice on competitive keyword research for videos, and answers a number of other questions about its search and discovery algorithm so that you can optimise your videos.
YouTube Keyword Research
When researching which keywords to use in a video, what is a good way to gauge the likelihood that it will be surfaced in users’ recommendations?
YouTube recommends these three tactics for keyword research:
- Audience Insights
- Google Trends
- Competitive Analysis
Audience Insights
Within YouTube Analytics is an Audience Insights segment that shows creators what other videos their audience is watching.
This can be a useful source for keyword research as you may discover new topics your viewers are interested in that you hadn’t considered before.
Creators should pay close attention to titles and thumbnails of videos surfaced in the Audience Insights card. Analyse the similarities as a way to guide the optimisation of your next videos.
Google Trends
YouTube recommends Google Trends as a way to stay informed about which topics are popular right now.
With Google Trends you can enter multiple topics and compare their popularity over time to see which once is currently generating the most interest.
If you have a few topics in mind and can’t decide which one should be the focus of your next video, Google Trends can help inform your decision.
Competitive Analysis
Using competitive analysis is another tactic used by many SEOs. This involves entering keywords in YouTube’s search bar and seeing what you can learn from the most successful videos.
Analyse aspects such as their titles, thumbnails, descriptions, intros, use of video chapters, ad placement, and so on.
Your goal is to determine not only what encourages users to click on the video, but what keeps their attention to keep watching until the end.
Other Algorithm Questions
YouTube addresses several other questions about its algorithm. Here’s a summary of everything else that’s discussed.
Upload Frequency
Is it better to publish videos regularly? Or is it acceptable to let large gaps of time elapse between video uploads?
Ideal upload frequency depends more on the viewers and how much content they’re willing to watch. There’s audiences who enjoy binge-watching content, and others who would prefer to watch a video every few days.
As it relates to YouTube’s discovery algorithm, there’s no single approach that’s going to work for all channels. The algorithm is designed to surface videos based on how users respond when they see those videos in their recommendations.
If you upload content on a regular basis, but those videos go unwatched by a majority of your audience, then that may impact how the algorithm surfaces your videos in the future.
YouTube recommends experimenting to see what works best for your specific audience. Then cater to their viewing habits based on what you learn.
Monetisation
Is it true that monetised videos have a greater likelihood of being recommended over non-monetised videos?
YouTube’s search and recommendation system is not able to identify which videos are monetised and which ones aren’t. The advertising and discovery systems are separate from each other.
So to answer the question – no, monetisation has no impact on which videos are recommended to users. Channels can even turn off monetisation temporarily without any impact to video performance.
Taking Breaks From Uploading
Is it okay for video creators to take breaks from uploading videos? Will a channel get hurt algorithmically if there’s an extended length of time between new content being published?
It’s okay for creators to take breaks. YouTube actively encourages it and cites data to back this up.
YouTube analysed 40,000 upload breaks that lasted between 8 and 60 days. It found there’s no correlation between upload breaks and a consistent loss of viewership.
Many channels even received increased viewership after taking a break. YouTube’s study found 25% of channels that took a break grew their viewership by 50% after they returned.
There’s no algorithmic penalty for taking a break, and data suggests the longer the break the more positive the change in views. Creators should not feel pressured to upload daily or weekly.
Source: Search Engine Journal
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