YouTube is one of the best education lead generation platform. YouTube videos are low-cost advertising assets for colleges and universities. They will be efficient if they can be found easily, and bring traffic to your site. YouTube ranks videos according to the video title, video description, number of views and video ratings (likes and dislikes).
How do you increase those numbers and become more visible on YouTube and therefore on Google? Here are 4 quick tips to increase traffic to your YouTube videos.
1. Optimize your video content for mobile
Before even shooting the video, be aware that about 20% of all your viewers are browsing on their mobile, and the numbers are growing. Check your channel Analytics section to see how many mobile viewers your channel has.
- If your video will include text, avoid using small fonts to make sure it is easily readable.
- Use very clear audio.
- Provide close-up shots. for enhanced visibility.
- Test your video on your own mobile before making it live.
- Keep your videos short, less than 2 minutes is ideal.
2. End all your videos with a clear call to action
Do not be afraid to clearly ask for what you want prospects to do. The Annotations feature allows you to layer text or links over your video. It is often overlooked, but it is a great way to ask viewers to
- Like a video
- Subscribe to your channel
- Visit your website
- You can also use it to add a link to the video you want your viewers to watch next.
3. Keep your YouTube channel and videos optimized
Remember to align your YouTube channel branding with other platforms. Keep in mind that the left-hand sidebar of the profile will be shrunk on a mobile device, so make sure you only include secondary information, such as a list of programs.
Focus on your college’s keywords:
Start by looking for your college’s keywords: keyword research is similar to the one you do for the website search engine optimization. YouTube Keyword Tool reveals the search volume of keywords and also provides suggestions for other relevant and related keywords.
Be sure that all the videos on your YouTube channel include your target keywords in the following text-rich fields:
- File name: Make sure you change the file name to include your keywords instead of the usual number nomenclature.
- Video title: Include at least one relevant keyword within the 70 characters space.
- Video tags: YouTube will use these tags to determine whether certain content is relevant, so be sure to use applicable keywords as primary tags.
- Channel tags: Under “Channel Settings,” you can insert more general tags, like “business university” or “Toronto career college” properly tag your channel using your keywords.
YouTube has recently made it possible to do search through tags. Keywords are more important than ever. See what Kansas State University does.
- Video description: These are another way to help YouTube know what is going on. Put links in the video’s description so they just have to tap and access the other video.
Read other excellent tips on YouTube channel optimization here.
4. Create a clear video sharing path
Once your channel is updated, make sure you promote it on all your profiles. For best results, have a clear sharing pattern after posting them on YouTube:
- Start by posting them on YouTube.
- Embed them on FB to view videos without having to visit your YT channel.
- After about a week, embed videos on your website to boost views and engagement.
- Add a YouTube widget to your blog to ask readers who have access to videos on your blog to subscribe.
- Share videos through Twitter account(s) and across any other social media feeds that you feel would be relevant.
- Submit to crowdsourcing sites such as Tumblr, StumbleUpon or Redddit.
Please share your tips to promote your videos on YouTube!
