The Video Ranking Factors Creators Shouldn’t Ignore in 2021

Videos are an important part of any digital strategy. They may not go viral in the same way they did years ago, but they’re still a beneficial media asset for any brand. When people can watch how something is done, it’s just as helpful as written instruction. However, before we get into ranking factors there are two important things to remember:

• If your video isn’t quality content, it won’t rank, no matter how SEO-optimized it is. The best description and title in the world, won’t make up for the fact that the video itself is of poor quality.

• If you want to see your videos rank in Google, your platform should be YouTube.

Next, let’s walk through how to determine which of your content is worth creating videos for.

Indicators that video results will be returned in search results

1. Videos are more likely to show up in results for these type of queries:

• How-tos

• Reviews

• Recipes

• Tutorials

• Fitness

• And the obvious one, where the user includes ‘video’ in the search query.

2. Type the topic you want to write about into the Google search bar and see if videos are returned for that query. If there are videos returned for that query, look at the title, the description, the date, shares, and comments. These will give you an idea of the numbers necessary to rank.

Where videos appear in search results

1. Directly in the search results main page:

2. On the video tab within Google search results:

3. In YouTube results:

Top YouTube Ranking Factors

• Watch time

• Abandonment rate

• Recency

• Likes/Shares/Comments

• Embeds

• Freshness

• Subscribers (after watching the video)

• Click-through rates from the video to the brands

• Channel authority

• Keyword targeting on video title and description

When you’re creating your videos, the above list should be your focus. Unlike standard content webpages, video ranking results rely more on a distribution strategy than adding SEO keywords, tags, and an optimized description.

1. Make sure your videos are interesting and unique

Videos are competitive. There are hundreds of videos created covering the exact same topic. If engagement metrics are the goal, then creating ones that stand out against the rest is what will ultimately help you get the comments, shares, and subscribers.

• Create compelling thumbnail images for your videos. Images are the first thing a user’s eyes are drawn towards.

• Create videos that inspire dialogue. In your video description text, end with a question that would lead people to drop their responses into the comments section. Make sure you’re adding your own comments into the comment section as well.

• When your videos share useful information, people are more likely to share them on social media platforms.

• When you’re writing the title, get creative!

• When you’re writing the description, write more than one keyword-stuffed sentence describing what the video is about. Make the effort to write a few paragraphs, include parts of the video in static text, such as the recipe if it’s a recipe video, the supply list if it’s a DIY video, or the step-by-step instructions if it’s a how-to video. This additional content gives great context for the user and Google.

• Interesting and unique videos have a higher chance of subscriptions. Most videos that are ranking at the top for heavily searched for topics, have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. This is such a clear signal to Google that these videos (and the brand creating them) are of value to users.

2. Have a distribution strategy

You can’t just optimize your video on YouTube and expect to get great results. If the number one factor in video rankings is engagement metrics, getting as many eyes as possible on your video is a huge part of that.

• Embed the video in related content on your website. And if you don’t have a blog post that matches your video, write one! If you have both a YouTube channel and a blog, make sure they’re working together to drive both pageview and video views.

• Share them on your social accounts such as Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

• Videos can also be included in newsletters, either directly embedded or by including the content that includes the video.

3. Make sure you’re creating videos frequently

If you want your videos to be in rankings, posting a video once every few months won’t cut it. Brands that post high-quality videos on a regular and consistent basis have a higher chance of building a loyal following that engages with the videos and subscribes to the channel.

If you’re creating a video series, consider creating an extensive video playlist. This will help group videos together that cover a particular topic, which is helpful to users and increases the potential amount of videos the user would consume.

4. Optimize your videos for SEO

Although the basic on-page SEO fields, like title and description, don’t have the ranking impact that they used to, it’s still important to add them.

• Static content is still important. You may not need the full transcribed video text, but adding relevant content about the video will help Google understand it better.

• Just like text articles, longer videos tend to rank better. Make sure you’re thoroughly covering whatever topic your video is on.

• In the actual video, naturally include the target key-phrases that you’re hoping the video ranks for.

• Stay relevant in both the video and also the description box.

• The video key phrase should always be included in the video file name.

• The video key phrase should also always appear in the video headline.

• Include links in your video description area, especially if you have a related article about the same topic on your website.

• Tags aren’t as important as they once were, but it’s still good to include a few.

• YouTube typically uses the first sentence or two of your video description in search results. Craft this sentence wisely since people will read this to determine whether they will click on your video. We recommend incorporating your key-phrase 2-3 times in your video description.

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