Video SEO

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What It Is

Optimize YouTube videos and on-site video embeds to rank in both Google video results and YouTube search. Video SEO uses transcript-based captions, keyword-optimized titles and descriptions, VideoObject schema, and external link building to the video URL itself — not just the embedding page — to build authority for both the video and the host domain.

How It Works

1. Use the target keyword in the first 25 characters of the YouTube title — YouTube’s algorithm front-weights the title for relevance, just as Google does with page titles
2. Write a 300+ word description with secondary keywords in the first 125 characters (above-fold), chapter timestamps, links to your site, and a CTA — longer descriptions give YouTube more signals for topic classification
3. Upload a manually edited SRT transcript as a closed caption file — do not rely on YouTube’s auto-generated captions, which have high error rates for technical content and are weighted less by the algorithm
4. Add VideoObject schema to the webpage where the video is embedded — include thumbnail URL, upload date, duration, and a transcript excerpt to give Google’s rich results system everything it needs
5. Build links directly to the YouTube video URL (not just the embedding page) from relevant blog posts, partner sites, and outreach — YouTube video authority follows the same link signals as web page authority

Who Recommends It

• Julian Goldie — Unscripted SEOendorses
• Anthony Prichard — Unscripted SEO (Video SEO & WordPress)endorses

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