Have you ever wondered what YouTube actually takes into account to determine which video should rank higher in its search results? Are these the same factors that Google looks for while determining the rank of a page in the search results page? We have categorized the YouTube ranking factors into two parts – onsite and offsite factors. Have a look at both of them:

Onsite Factors:

• Relevant Keywords:Just as a Web page with relevant keyword terms and phrases always ranks better in search results, videos with the relevant keywords will appear at the top of YouTube search results. These include “how-to” keywords, reviews, tutorials, funny videos, and videos related to sports and fitness.

• Video Tags:Tags are not very important, but they obviously do help. Including a few keywords in the tag helps YouTube to know what your video is about.

• Title:The video title is also an important factor in determining your YouTube video ranking. Tip: Put your keyword at the beginning of the title to give a slight SEO boost to your video.

• Description:Description is very important because that’s what YouTube depends on to determine what your video is all about.

• Thumbnails:The thumbnail creates the first impression of your video. Custom thumbnails, rather than YouTube’s auto-generated snapshots taken from anywhere in the video, are always preferred.

• Channel Authority:Channel authority can be established with more views and engagement of your audience. You can give a link to your YouTube channel from your website to build channel authority.

Offsite Factors:

• Views and Video Retention:Views improve your video’s YouTube SEO. How many people have watched your video? Even if they have, did they watch it till the end?

• Comments:More comments on your video also give an authority signal to YouTube for your video. But remember, YouTube is quite smart at finding out which comments are spam. If viewers have commented on your video, it means they have enjoyed watching your video or at least they have watched the video until the end.

• Subscribes:If people have subscribed to your channel after watching your video, this means they have loved it. This indicates to YouTube as well as to Google that your video is authoritative.

• Shares:Are people sharing your video on social media sites? If they are, it shows that they like your video.

• Favorites:Yet another factor is the number of people who favorite your video or add it to their “Watch Later” list.

• Thumbs Up/Down:The number of thumbs up and thumbs down counts your video gets also determines your video’s ranking in search results.

• Backlinks: Just like Google uses inbound links to rank your page, YouTube also uses these links as a ranking factor.

Credit: clickz.com