You’re not optimizing it.
You might be surprised that this is the main reason why no one is watching your YouTube videos. As important as it is, giving your video an accurate, clear, and concise title is just one part of optimizing it.
Here’s where YouTube becomes a major player again — it provides one of the most detailed levels of optimization of most video sharing platforms.
Let’s take a look at some of the useful optimization options in your toolkit. Use them all, lest you want to be buried deep under your competition’s videos.
Description
This should be limited to 1,000 characters. Don’t let your creativity overshadow the goal of practicality.
After all, your viewer came here to watch a video, not to read a lot of text, right?
Plus, YouTube only displays the first two or three lines of text, which comes to about 100 characters, so front-load the description with the most important information.
To fully leverage the description, I usually include CTAs, social media links, and anything else I want to drive traffic to. Something along the lines of:
Source
Tags
Using tags doesn’t just let viewers know what your video is about — they inform YouTube, too, which uses tags to understand the content and context of your video, according to Backlinko.
That way, YouTube can associate your video with similar videos, which can broaden your content’s reach. But approach with caution — just as with your title, don’t use misleading tags because they might get you more views — in fact, Google might penalize you for that, too.
Category
Choosing a category is another way to group your video with similar content on YouTube — but that might not be as simple as it sounds.
YouTube’s Creator Academy suggests that marketers “think about what is working well for each category” you’re considering by answering questions like:
- Who are the top creators within the category? What are they known for, and what do they do well?
- Are there any patterns between the audiences of similar channels within a given category?
- Do the videos within a similar category share qualities like production value, length, or format?
How to Fix
Want your videos to shine? Use every optimization tool at your disposal. Start with your descriptions — keep them short, packed with keywords, and useful right from the start. Don’t forget to include a clear CTA, whether it’s sending people to your website or another piece of content.
Tags? They’re not just an afterthought. Use specific ones that match your video’s topic to help it show up in the right searches. Pick a category that fits your content, and take a peek at similar videos to see what’s working for them.
Thumbnails are your secret weapon — make them custom and eye-catching, something that tells the story of your video in one glance. Adding captions and transcripts? That’s a win for accessibility and SEO.
Once your video is out there, keep an belgium telegram data eye on your analytics. If something’s not clicking — like your tags or description — tweak it until it does. Optimization isn’t a one-and-done deal; it’s all about fine-tuning to get the best results.
7) It doesn’t make the viewer feel anything.
After I’ve watched a video, I want to feel something — whether it’s smart, sad, amused, or generally better off, I don’t want to feel like I’ve just completely wasted my time.
And while some might label the aforementioned puppy videos as “non-productive,” the fact that they likely improved my mood means that it wasn’t the worst use of a few minutes.
And remember what we said before about people being short on both time and attention? There’s nothing that will keep viewers from coming back more than leaving them feeling like they didn’t gain anything from watching your video content.
Oftentimes, emotions can influence buying decisions, especially when there’s a story involved. So when you create video content, it can help to have an impartial audience preview it before you make it public, like a friend or a colleague from a different department.
Remember what the intention was behind the video — was it meant to be helpful, moving, or entertaining? Then, after your friend watches it, ask if it made her feel the way you hoped it would.
If it didn’t, ask how or what the video did make her feel. If her response lacks enthusiasm, that’s a good indication that it might be time to start over.
And remember: Emotions are what make people want to share something. It’s what makes watching a video more of an experience than an occurrence, and what will make the viewer want to share it with others.
So doing what you can to make sure who came up with the vid logo? your viewer feels something in response to your video doesn’t just provide her with value — it makes her more likely to share it.
A word of caution, however: Don’t make video content that is deliberately offensive or meant to cause highly negative emotions just for the sake of having a reaction.
Remember, one of the main purposes text services behind all of your content, including video, is to associate your brand with something helpful and positively remarkable — not as someone who makes people feel angry or hurt.
How to Fix
Storytelling is where the magic happens, and trust me, it’s all about making that connection. Start with a strong hook — something that grabs attention and sets up a problem or scenario your audience can relate to. I always think about how I’d feel watching it — does it pull me in? Does it make me care?
