How to Grow Your YouTube Channel Organically

YouTube is not just another social media tool. It’s the second most used search engine and Google’s “Favorite Son” of sorts. Google in fact prioritizes YouTube videos and gives them prime real estate on top of a video search page. 

If you want your content to show in front of your audience and rank high on search pages, optimizing your video content for YouTube search is an obvious must. Here’s how you can get it right and how you can grow your YouTube channel organically.

First, A Rule of Thumb 

Investing in content and growing your audience on a platform that you do not own and operate is risky business. YouTube and Google often change their algorithm, driving some content to the top and banishing other content to page 3 and below. Not to mention that YouTube can be blocked and is subject to many standing national bans. 

The better alternative is to grow your audience and create a followership on your own website, then share that content on YouTube for enhanced exposure and SEO results. The benefits of this approach are numerous, from better ranking to owning your database – which will allow you to reach your audience through email newsletters – and even monetizing your website through Google AdSense, assuming of course that you are providing quality content that draws traffic to your website. 

How to Rank on YouTube 

That’s not to say that you should not be on YouTube at all. Even if YouTube is not your primary channel, you can and you should use the video platform to amplify your reach, and you can achieve that by following these steps. 

Use Keywords in your Description. Just like Google, YouTube uses keywords for search. Your keywords must be relevant to your content and the subject of your video in order to provide the best user experience. 

Create Quality Content. Content is king, we will never tire of saying that. You need to give your audience a reason to hit that subscribe button. As long as you continue to add value and share quality videos, consistently, you will find your way to the top of the search page, even if it takes you a while to get there. 

Share Your Videos. Use websites with high authority like Reddit and Quora to distribute your content. Make sure you only include the link to your videos if they answer your audience’s questions. Otherwise you’re risking the links being considered a spamming link. 

Be Patient. A video could become an overnight sensation and go viral. Most don’t. Just consider the number of videos posted online per minute – 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube alone every minute! – the chances of virality are really slim. You will need patience and consistency for your audience to find you and to grow your subscriber base. 

Go Niche. The more specific your content is the better your results are. If you can provide answers to your audience’s questions where Google cannot, then you’ve owned your space and become the go-to-expert on the topic. Define your audience, speak to them. Build it and they will come.

Do you need help?

If you need help setting up your YouTube strategy, website and newsletter, we are ready to support your business. Reach out to us.