It is not that hard to get targeted traffic from YouTube. In fact it is really easy. Just think about it, the person has watched your video and gone to the effort of visiting your website, so they are definitely interested in your topic. I guess you can now call them targeted and this is exactly why traffic from YouTube is like gold.
It is because when the visitors get to your site they are ready for action, warmed up and wanting more information, most probably ready to buy.
But how do you get the actual Youtube viewer to visit your website?
Well some people say this is easy and there is no doubt it can be, especially if your video goes viral. But at other times we have to work a bit harder to get a piece of the Youtube traffic action.
#1. Do keyword research on Youtube!
Many people just upload a video to YouTube without researching the video title, the keywords, tags, or the description. I always do YouTube search engine optimization as it really works. I have been able to get to the first page of YouTube search results for absolutely any keyword I choose to optimize. This is because everyone else neglects to do any SEO for YouTube at all!!
You should, in a perfect world, do keyword research before making a video. That way you will know what subject is best. It is ok to do this after you have made a video but obviously you have to work around the video topic you already have.
#2. Stop the Excuses
If you do not upload a video, you cannot possibly experience the fantastic traffic it can provide. Ms. Ileane previously wrote an article about promoting your content on YouTube and in the article she lists some excuses that people might make about why they haven’t made any YouTube videos yet.
I laughed when I saw this because it reminded me of the struggle I went through to make my first video. I am not joking; it took me hours to make. One take after another and in the end it was still absolutely terrible. But the difference was, I did not make excuses, I uploaded the video to YouTube and prepared myself for the onslaught of criticism. And guess what? I actually got a few compliments and serious questions.
Now do not laugh! Here is the video I am talking about.
I realized from the comments that people needed help and that they were very interested in the video. Most did not care that the video was very embarrassing for me.
My newer videos are somewhat better, but not great, even though it is now 5 years later. But if I sat back and waited until my videos were perfect, I still would not have even one uploaded onto YouTube.
#3. Create an Interesting Video
So you have seen my most embarrassing video and now you are embarrassed to keep using those excuses too. Or maybe you have a video already? If not, you can always get someone to make one for you on the usual outsourcing places. For example, if you know your readers are interested in blogging, start creating WordPress video tutorials for them like Ms. Ileane does.
The main features are interesting content, a temptation or gift for the viewers, and a call to action.
So firstly you need to capture the viewers attention, then you need to give them a good reason to continue to watch your video. Don't give out all the juicy info all at the start. Tell your viewer, once you have captured their attention, that there is something more to come. Then towards the end of the video make your call to action.
#4. Editing Your YouTube Video
When editing my videos I like to brand the video with the name of my website. But make sure your video captures your audiences' attention first, because if they leave, no amount of branding is going to work. I have branding at the beginning of the video on a title page and at the end of the video. I also bought a video intro from fiverr.com for $5 that brands all my videos that includes catchy music and flying words. Uploading a custom thumbnail is another way to brand your videos.
Another tip is not to have too many fancy transitions. You know the ones when the video disappears into a checkerboard and the next section of the video starts.. I like a simple fading out transition. Do not add loud music to how to videos hoping to hide your voice. This is really annoying.
#5. Call Them Out
I don't mean you have to pick a fight or start an argument.
As I mentioned above, you need to make a call to action in your video. Entice your viewers to click on the link below the video and visit your website or anything else you wish them to do. The best results come when people are directed what to do.
Tell them to click on the link below the video and actually point downwards in the direction of the link..If not, use an arrow to do that.
Please note: I never over do a call to action as people have had their Youtube accounts disabled for too much blatant advertising and promotion. I just would not risk my account by having too many sales pitches.
#6. Link under it
We all know YouTube allows us to place a nofollow link under our videos in the description section. But nofollow or not, this link is highly effective.
Be targeted with your link. I find that the best way to keep your targeted visitor interested is to send them to a page that matches the topic of your video. Sending the visitor to a homepage is not a good idea if you have a large website. They might be impatient when looking for related content, or they might just get lost and leave your website.
I personally like to create an article on my website about the same subject but maybe in more detail, then I link to that. You do not want to have a video about building a website and then link to a post about baking chocolate cakes. It just doesn’t make sense, yet people do it?
Another quick tip is to double check your link as one mistake with the structure will render it useless. You do not want your targeted visitors from YouTube landing on a 404 error page!
#7. Where Are Your Viewers Landing?
Like I said earlier, it is not a great idea to let your newly found targeted visitor land on any old page. You want the landing page to be exactly related to the content of the video but with more to offer. Also, just like in the video, we need a goal for your landing page.
What do you want your visitor to do?
Sign up, buy something, follow you on Twitter or like you on Facebook. What ever your goal is, it is always handy to make it obvious. Don't let your visitor get confused as to what they are meant to be doing.
Just remember that YouTube traffic is gold, but moving your traffic to the wrong location can turn them into useless junk. If you find that traffic from YouTube is not valuable to you then maybe you should rethink where they are landing.
#8. Force Popularity on Your Video
The more popular you can make your video, the more likely it is to become a featured video, and that means it gains even more exposure.
- Get views for your video: A great way to get views on your YouTube video is to embed it on any site you can. This could be your site or even a site you guest post on.
- Send your video out to other YouTubers: I do not like to send messages to other members, but I do like to do video replies and comments. That means if it is accepted your video shows up on their video page in the comments section.
- Link Back to your video: Link to your video from Yahoo answers, forums, and even guest posts. This is like doing SEO on your video to get it to rank higher in Google, which in turn gets more views.
Let’s Sum up the Steps
If you haven't experienced traffic from YouTube then you should definitely take the plunge like I did 5 years ago! If you follow my steps you will get the right traffic from YouTube that really is like gold. Here is a quick summary of what I do.
- Find out what people are searching for and want.
- Create an amazing video with incentives.
- Brand it all over.
- Make a call to action.
- Add a related link under the video.
- Make sure the landing page is setup with a goal.
YouTube traffic will give your website a boost in every way so go and get your slice of the YouTube traffic pie! The traffic is gold if you take them to the right places.
Hi Mitz,
Some golden tips here. There is definitely an art to maximising your traffic and conversions from videos, and most people are missing at least one of these steps.
I think the biggest challenge though is to produce an interesting video. There are millions of videos on YouTube and other video sharing sites, so it’s not easy to stand out if your video is anything less than outstanding.
I think the first tip is the best, with finding out what people are searching for, because without doing that you don’t stand much or either getting your video found or watched.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Scott
Sometimes your videos get more interesting when you get a bit of experience under your belt. I personally make how to videos (mostly) and people always want to know how to do stuff. As long as you can give them the answer they will think it is interesting.
Hi Mitz,
Awesome post fulled with some goody info for everyone.
It sound quite interesting what you wrote about feeds. This determine you have outstanding knowledge about blogging. Something that bloggers need to realize is that before you start earning an income from your blog you have to first deliver and you have done this very well.
Thanks
Bhushan.
Thanks for nice words Bhushan! I do like to analyse everything I do. 🙂
Thanks for letting us know.
You raise good point.
I think sometimes people think they have so much catching up to do that they must join everything they see when really they don’t.
It is far better to start slowly, find your feet, and get to know programs you join before moving onto something new.
Thanks again.
Hey, like that
But i want to know the exact meaning of seo optimization of youtube videos ?
The keywords are asked by youtube itself during upload and you cannot do anything about appearing on first page, whatever video i upload appears on first page itself bcause of youtubes policy to show latest and most relevant one first.
Please through a bit light on seo optimization …………
There is a link in the article that explains YouTube SEO in detail. it is all about getting your video shown on the first page of Youtube search results. it all depends on what keyword you are trying to show up for. Of course if there is a lot of competition for a keyword it gets harder to show up at the top.
Hi Mitz,
Nice points for generating traffic from YouTube, However one also try to keep the length of the video as small as possible. Sometimes long videos lacks interest and people tends to close it in middle.
Yes you are very right here…but I guess it depends on what the topic is…Sometimes I cannot show what I need to in a short video..:)
I could get some traffic from YouTube and I think I should.
I would agree to do very good optimization in order to rank that video up high enough to get that traffic.
Excellent article Mitz 🙂
Samuel, the tutorial was awesome and the answer of your question is:
Yes, you can get traffic from Youtube not just a little but on high porch you can get a good traffic. All you need do is to make an interested video, give a suitable title to it and place a link just below the video. The more views will your video have and the viewers will pass through the description of the video, they’ll see the link to your website and kindly will click and what about traffic.
Anyways, all I’ll say about the post, it’s was great! Mind Blowing. 👿
As Mitz mentioned in the post, You must not forget to include call to action into your videos and the link must not be homepage, Instead it must be related to the topic of the video.
BTW, Dilawar do you have a Youtube channel yet?
Nice tips, Mitz. I understand youtube is really great resource to drive traffic from. Actually i tried. But the most difficult for me is to creat interesting vedio. I don’t know how to find interesting things to creat vedio. Do you have any suggestion? Thanks.
Ok Just say you sold paintings??? Take a video of the painting being done. People will appreciate it, some will paint it themselves, but others will admire the video and buy a painting that is already done.
This is basically a how to video..People love education.
I’ve found that posting your video on Google+ and linking back to your site can also have a great effect on Google Search Traffic for that YouTube video…
Good post Mitz… Appreciate the tips!
Ryan H.
Great tip…I haven’t actually posted the video on there, I have only linked to the article. This is especially good for the blogging niche as I have a lot of blogging friends on there.. thanks Ryan. 🙂
Hey Mitz,
I’ve been producing some YouTube videos, but having read through your article, I realise that I don’t have enough CTA within the video and this is going to be something I focus on and correct for my future ones.
With the ones I do have, I know these videos are like GOLD as you say, nice to see the you are advocating this as a viable source of traffic.
Yes I do love YouTube traffic and just look at the video I started with… ?? Now I am a YouTube partner.. I got better with experience..but I in no way a pro video producer…and that does not matter anyway. 🙂
I have can not figure out how to use YouTube right yet. I have tried and tried. It is something that I have to do because I know it is a better way for me to get traffic and at the same time the videos can make me more of an authority when it comes to San Diego Mobile Auto Detailing.
Thanks for the post.
Well here is an idea…show how dirty a car is when it comes to you… Video the whole process of detailing the car…
Then when editing the video, speed up the person cleaning the car and add some speedy music to it…then show the car after it is finished and make a call to action.
You could also make a video about the worst cars that come in..
Hi Mitz. You offer some really valuable tips here for Youtube marketing. The one that really stands out to me is “Stop the Excuses”. Like you said, you will never know the true power of Youtube traffic if you don;t actually make and upload any videos! Sure, you need all the elements such as good information and call to action, but if you don’t have a video to begin with, you’re not in the game.
Yes this is true..Just get some videos done and learn by your experience. That’s what I did and it paid off. Even the most awful videos did well if they had the information the person wanted.
Really good tips! I’ve actually never heard or thought of the Youtube Video Title Search function before. Going to implement these tips on my next Youtube video.
Creating interesting content with proper voice and editing grab more attention to viewer.
Yes very true! They are all great tips.
These are some great tips to get youtube traffic.
Which one worked for you best and maybe have worked better than the other ones?
thanks for sharing Mitz
Giving a solution to a problem works best for me and then having a highly related link underneath.
Totally agree with you on all points but particularly the second. People certainly need to stop making excuses and get their first videos up online, even if it takes hours to get the first one out of the way.
The first video is the hardest to make, and it can be scary thinking about the way in which other people might perceive us. After the first hurdle though, I would say things become much easier, and we learn that others actually like to see us on camera.
I’ve now been creating Youtube videos for over a year, but I feel as if I’ve been doing them for much longer.
Yes things do get easier with experience and I guess this applies to everything we do….:)
Wow, great information. At least I didn’t know Youtube can play such a mighty role in SEO. I hope following your instructions will bring real gold to the jokes blog I’m currently working on.
Thank you!
Youtube would be great for a joke site…You can make funny videos and link back to more jokes and videos…
I have never made a video for Youtube although I have just been watching a webinar recently about video curation. Even that looks technical to me.
Go and download the free camstudio screen recording software and try to make a video with that…Or just take a video with your phone and upload it directly to YouTube.. Once you have done this you will realise it is not hard at all..
It sounds so easy when you say it like that!
Really want to try this out, but currently i dont have the legal rights of the videos i would like to start uploading. However, good tip and will have to try and implement this some time in my website in the future.
You could even make a picture slideshow and do a voice over. There are so many ways to get something done! 🙂
Hi Mittz!
Great tips and certainly get few great points from your above post and especially regarding researching keyword on youtube and its been a great worthy reading it.
Certainly making video and than editing it is a big challenge but for me if you confidence about your topic and have made an effort in a right way than have a go with it.
Thanks for sharing great tips!
Ha ha did you see my terrible video I posted on youtube?? There was no editing there…It is just terrible! I say just don’t worry how you do it, but just do it…Thats all.
Hi Mitz,
You’ve mentioned a couple of “golden” point when it comes to using videos in your marketing strategy. And yes – Videos is definitely good for driving traffic to a website, with the second largest search engine being YouTube, it’s a goldmine waiting to be explored if not previously done so in your marketing efforts.
Youtube is really Godlike. Video marketing brings traffic so rapidly and continuously.
YouTube is really useful from the SEO perspective and the users who dug in YouTube, are the ones looking for a solution to their problems or wanting to watch some entertainment videos. If you could grab their attention to your website, you probably can provide them product/service they were looking for at some good dollars.
Thanks for a nice post over here !
yes Youtube traffic is very hungry if they have watched your video and then clicked the link to your site.
Hey Mitz,
It’s really nice information on getting traffic from Youtube. I have a Youtube account with 5 videos till now, but one of my videos went viral and it got more than 50K views.
I know the topic which people are searching, but the problem is that I’m not an expert in creating a good videos for Youtube. Your tips motivated me to start again and I will do it.
Thanks for the tips,
Ehsan U.
You must do it again…Who cares if you are not an expert now…because you will be soon, with more experience… Look at my terrible video!! 🙂
Thanks For Remembering All These Tips.
I Already Experience Traffic From YouTube 🙂
Youtube is a great way to drive traffic to any blog, especially that its so easy to rank a video. With the right amount of keyword research, everything is easier.
yes it really does pay to do the keyword research! 🙂
Hi Mitz,
I used it one time by using a software, it just a slideshow. Yes there are few people who do keyword research during uploading any video. We can take advantage of it……..
Hi,
I am glad I read this. I’m working on getting a YouTube video out for my site. I know I need to make a plan to get this done, and you have inspired me to do so. Thanks. Sally
Yay! go for it sally!
Hello,
Thanks a lot for this awesome method to teach us to get some quality traffic from youtube. I would suggest that you must try to make videos using Ezvid , Ezvid is a free movie maker , video maker and screen recorder. Ezvid helps you to upload the video directly from your youtube account.
Thanks
Mitz, I have a question. Where really do you get your youtube video views from? From your blog where you put up the videos (without the description) or directly from searches in youtube?
PS – Please share the latest giveaway I have on my blog! I’m giving away 5 Blog Engage accounts! Thanks!
Hey good question!!!
Most of my views come from Youtube search or if I do embed my video then I can get many more views if the post gets to the top of the search engines.
The real views come from getting featured on Youtube though.
Yes very true…All of these sites are great for traffic…but youtube converts better for me… It is very targeted traffic! 🙂
Hi Mitz,
I think everyone knows they should be doing video, but I do think fear paralyzes people from getting started. But the only way to get better at videos is to do more of them. Once you’ve done 5 or 10 it becomes a lot easier. And don’t worry about making the perfect video. Even something simple and boring like black text on a white background in a Powerpoint type format can make a great video if the content is good, especially if that content relates to something people are searching for.
Hi derek
Yes you are right…Any old video will do and I did not realize this until I put that video up. 🙂
Its really amazing how Youtube can be used to drive traffic to your site. The tips you have given is gold in itself. All marketers must look into this. I am going to make a video and try exactly as you have explained. Thanks for these brilliant tips.
YouTube videos are ranking well in Google search engine. I think Google has started considering videos in Google ranking more than ever. I think it is very useful to post an article integrating a YouTube video. It works like charm; you can also get backlink from your YouTube Video.
Mitz, your article is long, descripted and very well written. I have a little question for you, would you like to suggest me any software for video editing. Though I know many but I think you may know a good one 😉
This is really silly..But I purchased Camtasia studio thinking that I would be recording with it and editing but I only edit with it.
I still record with Camstudio, a free program as I just like it.
I have used nero, pinacle, and more and they are all very close. I have even used Windows Movie maker and that does the job too!
Mitz, I am so impressed by your article that I took the liberty of posting it to my Google + account. (David Sneen) I pasted the 6 item summary there, and I will paste the summary in my personal notebook.
Video marketing is an area that I wish to enter in a serious way. And….I have heard that it is not so much seeing the person creating the video as it is seeing something on the screen. So, a powerpoint demonstration is a whole lot more effective than a “talking head” giving a speech. Although I like to give speeches (I am somewhat crazy, I know), I can create a lot more videos if I do not have to be concerned with straightening my tie and fighting with my stubborn wayward lock of hair.
Therefore, your tips spoke to me in a huge way. Thank you, Mitz!
Ha ha One day I was helping a friend create a video and he kept adjusting his shirt and it really distracted me. He was really interesting with what he had to say but when he did that I forgot what I was interested in. 🙂
Hi Mitz
A great post shared by you as usual.This post is too much helpful for the internet marketers to make people switch from youtube to websites.No doubt,youtube is the biggest site which provides videos of all types…..
Thanks
SAiF
you right . but now youtube has change it’s links to nofollow and important impact for th0se who have made a links on it for years ! thanks for great article .
Videos can help in generating traffic. I heard it many times but don’t have much knowledge about it. Now I know how keywords are effective in it. Thanks for post.
I think youtube is one of the best way to get traffic woth high CPC. I am also doing video blogging and the amazing thing is i am getting daily approx 1K visits from Youtube. Every Blogger should consuder youtube as a traffic generator source.
So true. I find posts with visual content, particularly youtube videos, very appealing.. You can spend long periods of time reading articles on the internet so it can be a nice change yet still as engaging and interesting to watch a video.
Traffic that we get from video’s looks be most rewarding to me. I really love video’s that are created around certain type of manuals. I have seen some affiliate marketers making great money through video blogging.
Thanks Mitz for this great article. Your points of the optimization of video is wonderful. Many people like video, so when they see their interesting one they linked them. It will help your traffic. Thanks again.
Thanks a lot for such useful tips! I’ve never thought about Youtube keywords research, maybe that’s why I still don’t have a lot of views. I’m going to try your tips!
Youtube is the biggest platform for getting massive traffic.I upoaded my first and got 25K viewers in just one month.
Thanks Mitz! I didn’t think YouTube of being so much of a traffic source and the YouTube SEO idea was a unique thing.
WOW Some awesome golden nuggets, you are so absolutely right about the traffic from YouTube. Nothing like the targeted traffic you can get from there plus self branding just plain works when you use video marketing.
Thanks for the great tips Mitz
Thanks for your very informative tips, I haven’t really explored the possibility of uploading videos on youtube with a good combination of key words.
WOW! GREAT GREAT GREAT tips here!! I had to literally read this over twice! Just when I thought I was doing my videos correctly, actuality I wasn’t! I also was not aware of the YouTube search engine optimization now that I am, I will be doing this for my next video post (prior to) from now on.. I do enjoy doing video response. But just didn’t have the time. So I guess I was lazy and just did the comments instead… What videos (or titles to those videos) do you recommend I do a video responses to?
Thanks again for sharing this I surely learned something new today yes I sure did!!!
Janelle M.
really awesome tips! I’m already working on videos for my new free binaural beats blog
I agree that massive online traffic will be well on its way when you are on Youtube! I guess more and more people enjoy watching videos better than reading lengthy posts not that its a good thing. Thanks!
I read somewhere that the YouTube is helpful in generating traffic. But I never gave a thought to it as I used to believe, how can YouTube act as an ally in this arena. But after reading the eight pointers, I got the enlightenment on how much helpful is YouTube. Thanks Mitz for sharing this comprehensive information.
I’ve found that posting your video on Google+ and linking back to your site can also have a great effect on Google Search Traffic for that YouTube video…
Good post Mitz… Appreciate the tips!
Driving traffic through YouTube is really a very easy task. It’s all about the video as it needs to be interesting and should impress the viewers. But at the same time, keyword research on YouTube is something that I often find it difficult. Call to action normally works out well with videos and it is also pretty easy to impress the targeted audience. Anyways, thanks for the informative share.
Hey Mitz!
I agree to your points which you mentioned here. Indeed, Traffic from youtube is gold. People search for so many videos on youtube hence they also come to our blog and this is a great way to introduce our blog to them.
I’m very glad of this post of Traffic from Youtube. Its really help full or effective post of to know how to get traffic from youtube ! I’m going to get traffic from youtube to follow your these amazing tips.
Really a great tutorial. Since now i have been using youtube in a slightly different way. Building backlinks for my youtube channel to boost its pagerank on Google and then link back with anchor text from my Youtube channel to my blogposts in order to create high quality backlinks.
However, what you revealed is even more interesting.
Keep up the good work.
Great post! to get traffic to your website video,you tube post is very important it creates more traffic to your website and it is easy also .But video must be creative and attractive , the traffic is gold if you take to them to the right place.
Thanks.
Also comment on other people’s videos and make it stand out. Try getting thumbs ups but don’t ask for it. Thumbs up = featured comment = some people will click on your channel and if your content is good, they’ll subscribe.