How to Rank Your Videos on YouTube

Short answer

Include your target keyword in the video title, first 2 lines of description, and tags. Get viewers to watch as much of the video as possible (watch time is the #1 ranking factor). Ask for likes and comments in the first 30 seconds.

How YouTube decides what to rank

YouTube ranks videos based on two main signals:

Relevance — does the video match what was searched? (title, description, tags, transcript)
Engagement — do viewers watch it, like it, comment, and come back for more? (watch time, click-through rate, retention)

Engagement outweighs relevance. A video with average optimisation but high watch time will rank above a perfectly optimised video that people click away from immediately.

Keyword research for YouTube

Search your topic in YouTube and look at what autocomplete suggests — those are high-volume searches. Also look at the "Related searches" section below results.

Free tools: TubeBuddy (tubebuddy.com, free tier) shows search volume and competition score for any keyword. VidIQ (vidiq.com, free tier) does the same.

Target keywords with decent search volume and lower competition — "small business bookkeeping mistakes" ranks easier than "bookkeeping."

Title optimisation

Put the keyword near the beginning of the title
Keep under 60 characters so it shows fully in search
Add a benefit or curiosity element: "How to X (Without Y)" or "X Things You Didn't Know About Y"
Don't write clickbait — if the title doesn't match the video, viewers leave fast and that tanks your ranking

Description optimisation

First 2 sentences show in search results — include your keyword naturally
Write a full description (300+ words) covering what the video is about
Link to related videos and your website
Include timestamps for longer videos

Thumbnail and CTR

Click-through rate (what percentage of people who see your video click on it) affects ranking directly. A strong thumbnail lifts CTR, which tells YouTube more people want to watch your content. How to make a good thumbnail.

Watch time and retention

Keep the intro under 30 seconds — get to the value fast. Viewer retention dropping in the first 30 seconds is the most common reason for poor YouTube ranking.