Youtube descriptionAside from unique content creation on a daily basis, my job also consists of loads and loads of research. This includes stalking social media profiles, too. Creepy, I know, but necessary. And since I’ve been on the YouTube optimization vibe lately, I figured I can share some more insights on how to craft a good video description, if that is at all possible.

Bad Partnerships

 

I’ve grown really tired of seeing amazing videos “partnered” with poorly made descriptions that a) don’t do them justice, and b) don’t help them in any SEO or any other way. Think of your YouTube video and its description as a power duo, such as peanut butter and jelly, Tom and Jerry, Han Solo and Chewbacca. They need to work well together, one must complete the other and vice versa.

Use The Language of Keywords

For Your Title

If we dissect a good title, we will find two things: your keyword and an enticing headline. Bear in mind that Google normally displays the first 50-60 characters, so it’s good to stay within that range.

For Your YouTube Description

You have a limit of 1000 characters, but that does not mean you should use all of them. It doesn’t mean you should use just 50 or so. It is best to keep it to the point, even if that sometimes means going with more than 500 characters. However, 300 is sometimes all you need, and it is more than enough to add your keyword, timestamps, an overall summary, tags, and useful links (if any).

Include Keyword In The First Sentence — YouTube, much like Google, uses the first 160 characters as a meta description to display in search results. Craft this sentence wisely since it’s the initial description people will read to determine whether they click on your video or not. A rule of thumb is to use your chosen keyword about 2-3 times in total in your video description, given you can incorporate it naturally into the text.

Timestamps — This allows viewers to jump to specific sections of the video. Adding such stamps will show care on your part, and it will spark engagement with the viewers. If you have a long video, this will come in handy.

Examples:
  • :27 (27 seconds)
  • 1:27 (1 minute and twenty-seven seconds)
  • 1:30:27 (1 hour, 30 minutes and 27 seconds)

Links — Much like internal links on your website, Google follows links in your description to determine the relevancy of the video. Add a few helpful links but, again, don’t go overboard!

Tags — Use them in moderation only. Stuffing tags in your descriptions can get you penalized by Google!

Don’t Forget The Language of Users, Either

 

Before anything else, however, don’t forget “Your Audience” for that description and video. If you only focus on keywords with no connective tissue, so to speak, you lose interest and engagement right from the get-go!

I hope this helps. Even if you don’t write your YouTube description yourself and have a content creation agency that does it for you, it still doesn’t hurt to check if you are investing in the right professionals. Let me know what you think about the importance of writing a good video description in the comments below!