One question I’ve seen over and over on places like Yahoo Answers is “How do I get more hits on YouTube?” YouTube as you probably know is the largest video sharing site online and the second biggest when it comes to searched content. (Just behind Google who owns YouTube) So if you’re new to YouTube how do you get your videos noticed, here’s a list of 6 things you can do to get more views.
1. Be active
To get views you have to give views. Find other channels related to what your video is about and look for others who might be interested in what you have to offer. Subscribe to them, send a friend request, post a video response, and leave comments. The more you put yourself out there the more people will notice you.
2. Make your videos embeddable
Having the embed feature enabled means that you video can be shared on other websites, blogs, or forums. Any views from these sites count towards your total view count. They also help bring your content to people who might not have normally looked for it on YouTube, or even go to that site.
3. Use your tags and description
Make sure your description is detailed and uses keywords related to your video. This will help by giving the search engines something to crawl and index, helping your video show up in search results.
Tags are basically another word for keyword and work exactly the same way. They help get your video to show up on search results. They also help your videos on YouTube when people are searching for your content.
4. Social networking
Another way to get your videos lots of traffic is to post their links on social networking sites and social book marking sites. Places like Digg, Stumbleupon, and Reddit are crawled all the time and can have your video indexed very quickly. For social networking sites, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter are excellent places to start.
5. Post on a schedule
When making new videos it’s important to post your videos on a regular schedule. This way your subscribers know when to expect new content and will keep their interest.
6. Don’t make crap
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked to check out a video that turns out to be 3 or more minutes of garbage. Regardless of the topic, make the best video that you can. The audio and video needs to be clear and easy to understand. If you’re doing a vlog (video blog) rehearse and practice before you start to film. And don’t be afraid to ask other more established people on YouTube for opinions or tips to make your videos better.
