With the increasing volume of videos on YouTube, the demands for quality have also increased. Therefore, the production of YouTube videos can now be compared to professional film productions: Viewers expect good sound quality, good lighting, and good camera work. Appropriate editing and varied perspectives, as well as appealing backgrounds and overlaid graphics such as lower thirds and infographics, are no longer unusual.
However, there is one crucial difference between YouTube videos and traditional films: the viewers' attention span. YouTube videos should therefore answer the question of what's on offer right at the beginning. This can be achieved, for example, in the form of a teaser containing a controversial statement or an intriguing detail, thus piqueing the viewers' curiosity. To avoid boring the audience and straining their patience, quick cuts are often used, and sometimes even pauses are cut out.
Furthermore, it can be observed that most videos with good rankings are in the three to five minute range. Especially with longer content, timestamps that divide videos into content sections can help with navigation malaysia mobile phone number data and increase user-friendliness. If these markers are also included in the video description, viewers can jump directly to the part that interests them most without having to search for a long time themselves. In addition, it is also possible to start videos with timestamps directly at a specific point from Google search. Google then shows exactly the point that was identified as the "important moment" for the respective search term. These time markers are particularly helpful for tutorials and instructions that include several steps.
Figure 5: Timestamps help users navigate more quickly to specific content sections in videos.
Figure 6: Timestamps appear as “important moments” in Google search results.
Further options for video optimization
Those who take advantage of the opportunity to optimize accompanying content for a video also improve the chances of good rankings and good click-through rates (CTR = Click Through Rate).
The following content can be optimized:
Title of the video
Description text
Thumbnail, the miniature preview that appears in search results
Tags that describe the content
Subtitles
File name
Hashtags, i.e. descriptive keywords that help classify content on YouTube
Figure 7: Which factors are ranking-relevant and/or CTR-relevant?
Title: Attracting attention
Since the title is the first thing users see, besides the preview image, it should pique their interest and briefly describe what the video is about. Generally, the title should include the main keyword—preferably first—but not be too long. For better clarity, it can be helpful to use visual markers, such as brackets like [] and () or hyphens.
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