How to Get the Most Traffic (and Money) From Your YouTube Videos
By
Craig Ballantyne
In 2006, Google spent a lot of money ($1.4 billion) to buy YouTube. Fortunately
for you, Google is a smart company and isn’t going to waste that investment.
Google now gives YouTube videos a search engine ranking advantage. That means
YouTube videos often come up on the front page of Google’s search results, even
if the videos are much newer additions to the internet than established web
pages featuring written content. Thanks to Google’s self-interest in YouTube,
here’s how your business can benefit by using videos as a promotional tool.
- Your videos will get a high ranking in Google’s search results and,
therefore, more views.
- By placing your website link in the right places on Youtube, you will
get more traffic to your site.
- You will build more trust with your audience.
- You will add more people to your email list.
- You will make more sales.
- You can even hit number one for “personal trainer” in your city. This
could mean dozens of clients and thousands of dollars per year, and you can
accomplish this in about 48 hours.
In December 2006, I started putting workout videos on YouTube. They’ve been
watched over 2.5 million times collectively, getting an average of over 9,000
views every day. If you type any of the following phrases into Google’s search
box, a link to one of my videos comes up on page one in one of the top five
spots:
- 300 workout
- interval training
- fat burning
You can get your videos up on YouTube and start getting traffic and sales
from those videos immediately. I’ve recently stumbled upon a few techniques that
can help you get even more out of your YouTube videos. So here’s how to dominate
Google via YouTube:
1. Film your video: Create a content rich video on a single
topic. Once your video is complete, upload it to YouTube. Just follow the
instructions that you get when you create your free account. If I can do it,
anyone can do it. (I use a cheap little flip camera to film some of my
videos.)
2. Name the video with appropriate keywords: This is very
important. You must name your video based on the keywords that you expect people
to type in when looking for the information in your video. For example, when I
wanted to get “found” for the search term “300 workout,” I simply named my video
“300 workout.” (Note: Stick to words in your title that are relevant. Don’t
include the date or location of the video unless they have something to do with
the keywords that you expect people to search with.) Doing this can put your
video on page one of Google’s search results in as little as 24 hours, even if
you are competing with popular articles that have been posted on the internet
for years. Remember, Google heavily favors the content on YouTube. After all, it
didn’t pay $1.4 billion for nothing.
For trainers, simply film a video of you showing your facility or sharing a
client success story. Name it “Personal Trainer ____” (replacing the ____ with
your city or area). It should be on the first page of Youtube within a couple of
days.
Okay, so now you’ve filmed a short, content rich video, uploaded it to YouTube,
and named it with the right keywords. This alone should get you a good ranking
on Google. But there are ways to supercharge your search engine position.
3. Get incoming links to your video with appropriate anchor text:
Anchor text is simply the visible text on a hyperlink. So, if you see a link
that says, “EFS Bench Press Manual,” the words “EFS Bench Press Manual” are
known as the anchor text. On your website and/or blog, link back to your video
using the keyword in your anchor text. Get other people with related blogs and
websites to do the same.
For example, I posted a link to the 300 workout video on my blog and used “300
workout” as the anchor text. This is a clean alternative to displaying the long
and messy YouTube link (which is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggiYjRelWgc). By doing this and having other
sites do the same, it “tells” Google that your video is relevant to that keyword
phrase. And if you weren’t already right at the top of the Google rankings, this
will remind Google to put you in the right spot right away.
Here’s a real world example of how I tested this technique in the summer of
2007. On a Wednesday afternoon, I filmed a short walk through of a friend’s gym
in downtown Toronto. By Thursday, my assistant had edited the video and uploaded
it to YouTube, naming it “Toronto Personal Trainer.” On Friday, I linked to it
on my blog using the anchor text “Toronto Personal Trainer.” By Saturday
afternoon, it was in the fourth position on page one of Google’s organic search
listings for the highly competitive term “Toronto Personal Trainer.” So, now
you’ve got yourself a top position on page one of Google for your search term.
But how does this actually help you sell more products?
4. Get people from YouTube to your website: If you get a lot of
people to find your video through a Google search, you can get them to visit
your website. You’re simply using YouTube as another form of lead generation.
Here’s how you maximize the number of people that visit your site after they
watch your video:
a. Make sure to mention your website name (or business location) during
the video.
b. Put up a screenshot at the start and end of your video encouraging
viewers to visit your site. (You may want to offer
them something in exchange for visiting your site.
For instance, I tell viewers of my videos to visit my website to get a free
report.)
c. You can use a watermark (stamping the video with your website name)
that appears throughout the entire video. Until
recently, I thought I was limited to the three options above.
But then I stumbled on a way to get a direct link to my website without the
video. And this method turned out to be a real
success secret. In fact, it was so obvious
that I’m a little embarrassed to say I wasted months not having a live link to
my site. After all, people are lazy, and in most
cases, aren’t going to bother typing your
website name into their browser. But if you give them a live hyperlink to your
site, they’ll click on it. To do this, in the “About This
Video” section, post your website name (being sure to
include http:// at the beginning of it).
By doing this, you get a live link that allows viewers
of your video to simply click a button on their
mouse and get transferred to your website. Once they’re there, your sales copy
will persuade them to opt in to your newsletter or
purchase your product. And it will be easier than
it ever was before because you will already have made a personal
connection with them through your video.
That’s how to use Youtube to make more money online!
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry.For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
