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How to Rank on The First Page of YouTube

Nicolette Sapp
Her Campus Valdosta
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Valdosta chapter.

Another day, another post!! Hey, y’all I am back with more #girlboss articles. Let me introduce myself before getting into this article: 

My name is Nicolette and I am a motivational, lifestyle, and plus size fashion YouTuber. I am also getting my degree in Communication with an emphasis in interpersonal and social media! All the tips I am about to share are what I have learned about the business side of YouTube! I would also like to add a disclaimer that this isn’t some “magic” formula to get subscribers or views. This is just to make your content more accessible for people to find it! My video is at 100 views. But, through that video, my channel traffic has increased and so did my watch time, views, etc..​

Here is what I use before I plan/film a video that I want to make and I know can bring me an audience:

 

Tools: 

  • TubeBuddy (this is good to show analytics, how you rank (if you rank in search),  milestones, etc..)

  • Google Keyword (You do have to pay for it if you want to use an AD. There is a way around it to use keywords (aka tags) for free) ! Link: (https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-keyword-planner/) .

  • Google Trends (Find out what is popular in your niche. I.e. I am doing a video for Plus size fashion, what tag/keyword is most popular that I can create a video with my own twist? Something like “fashion nova” or “wish on plus size bodies” would be ranking and not competitive, and attract views)

  • YouTube (Some good YouTubers for business aspects and starting a successful channel). (Links to channel:  ( https://www.youtube.com/user/SunnyLenarduzzi , https://www.youtube.com/user/THiNKmediaTV, https://www.youtube.com/user/seanTHiNKs/videos)

  • Research: “What is a magnet for YOUR audience/niche?” SEO: (Search Engine Optimization)!!

  • Metadata (the name of your file you upload to YouTube helps to name it the video title)

  • Description!!

  • Thumbnails create attention and titles do! (No clickbait, but something eye catching).

  • Remember Quality over quantity! If you can upload QUALITY videos every day then do it! Don’t put up content you are not happy with.

Tips

  • Create content that keeps retention and that you love!

  • RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!!

  • TRIAL AND ERROR! I can not stress this enough!! You have to see what content brings you views and rentions. Look at your video analytics on YouTube studio and see what trends is going on!

  • Have a SHORT introduction (Anything longer than 10 seconds, can cause people to get disinterest).

  • Have some type of format!! You don’t need a script but organization to your videos!

  • Consistency!

  • You don’t need a fancy camera and editing software! You can do it from your phone! Be resourceful! Invest if you can! That’s what I did!

Lastly, Do not do YouTube because you want to go viral, make some money, etc.. Do it because you want to! Everything else will follow! YouTube can become an EXTRA income if you play your cards right and have faith in the content you put up. You can put up 200 videos, but it’ll take that 1 video that you put all that time and effort in to bring the audience you want. Don’t do it for the views, and build a stable audience with high retention.

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This will probably be something I will doing as a series!  But, I do want to wish you all the success and discovery!

 

Nicolette is a junior at Valdosta State University, majoring in Communications with an emphasis in social media and interpersonal. She is also a digital content creator and freelance writer for Thought Catalog. Nicolette is also an avid coffee drinker, animal lover, and anime/marvel fanatic. Nicolette has a passion for catching up with the latest social media trends, writing and networking. Her dream career would be a social media manager or marketing coordinator.
Her Campus at Valdosta State.