Promotion of an online store on YouTube: 6 tips from practitioners

SEO Team Lead ITECH

We continue our series of articles on the development of ecommerce projects. Today we will tell you how to promote online trading platforms on YouTube and what profit you can get from it.

YouTube is the second most visited search engine in the world after Google and continues to grow rapidly. On average, about 17% of global traffic passes through it every year.

Look, for example, at the most visited sites according to SimilarWeb:

Most visited sites

Most frequent searches on Google:

Top Google Searches

Generation Z cannot imagine life without video content and the most popular platform for watching videos is Youtube. In the future, those who are now 14-16 years old will become the main sponsors of the business. It’s time for online stores to “pull the blanket” of vloggers and reviewers over to themselves.

We know that YouTube dominates other global traffic sources. The main content of the site is entertaining, but in addition to posting funny videos and memes, the channel helps users to choose products. YouTube is becoming an alternative to rich content formats – rich and engaging product descriptions on marketplaces and brand zones.

High-quality promotion and content support are especially acute for mass or technologically complex products – those that cannot be tested, “touched”. For example, cosmetics, covers, appliances. In order not to be mistaken, users read articles and look for life hacks before ordering.

Buyers are attracted by reviews, video instructions, various tops. For example, “The best electronic watch up to 10 thousand rubles” or “Cosmetics as a brand, but at the price of a mass market.” This kind of information helps a lot. People are more likely to buy from a store that gives advice, suggests solutions, and takes into account the purchase budget.

Thousands of people are tormented with a choice:

Example of user requests

Rather than generating useful content and driving traffic, online retailers are losing the top tier of the funnel as videos, how-to pages, and reviews are leading the way.

Examples of reviews in SERP

On YouTube, videos with tips gather thousands, millions of viewers. How can you optimize your video content to bring customers ready to buy from it? Let’s figure it out on the basis of small tips.

Tip 1

Start by analyzing demand and searching for keywords. Understand what questions your product is asking your audience and what information you can give them.

We recommend using the following for demand analysis:

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer (searches for keywords on YouTube);
Google Trends;
YouTube tips.

Where will we use the keywords:

page titles;
product description;
tags;
preview for video.

By these elements, the user can partially find the answer to his question, and the generated list of keys will become the basis for the content plan.

How to increase views?

Work on CTR (click-through rate). The higher it is, the better the videos are ranked for queries. View transitions boost clickbait previews, headlines, and anything else that grabs attention.
Nudge the user into action. You’ve probably seen bloggers begging for likes. They ask people to leave comments and subscribe to channels. This is because any reaction affects the search results.
Post teasers. For example, publish a content plan, announcements of the next issues. This is an effective way to increase audience interest in YouTube videos.

Tip 2

Think about intent, which is the purpose for which a user enters a query into a Google or YouTube search bar. You can find out the needs of your audience by simply viewing the search results.

YouTube SERP

Let’s say without exaggeration: intent is the king, and the entire video needs to be built around it: from script to visualization. Make sure the video thumbnail and title are aligned to cover the consumer’s “main pain”.

Tip 3

Use keywords in hashtags. The closer the hashtags are to the subject of the video and the more relevant to keywords, the more likely you are to get a large number of views.

Tools to help you choose keys for hashtags:

VidIQ service;
Keywords Everywhere is an extension for Chrome and Firefox.

Tip 4

Try to pronounce the keys in the video and emphasize them in timecodes. This technique also increases the relevance of the videos. Keep in mind that users often watch YouTube mute and switch languages - make sure your subtitles have all the keywords you need.

Tip 5

In the video description, include links to the products in question. Use UTM tags to understand what traffic your videos bring to your store.

Tip 6

Start promoting YouTube videos before publishing:

Choose the best time to post your type of video (when the target audience is most active).
Make an announcement on social networks that a useful video will be released soon. This will help you get feedback and comments in the first hours of publishing the video, which will have a positive impact on the promotion.

FAQ

If I don’t have an audience, will posting on YouTube work?

Yes, even without an audience, you can attract customers. For example, run an advertisement in the service itself, or arrange the seeding of information about the release of videos in the comments under other videos.

Do I need to analyze video statistics?

Certainly. Analysis of the viewing depth, audience, “warm zones” of your video will provide valuable information on how to optimize the promotion.

Are there any restrictions on the number of characters in titles?

We recommend that you do not use titles longer than 60 characters. Try to choose a short and catchy title that captures the essence of the video.

Do I need to reply to comments?

Yes, this will increase audience engagement. If there are no discussions under the video, there is a high probability that the user will find it low-quality or uninteresting.

Should the video only contain product information?

Of course not. On the contrary, it is important to make the video as natural as possible. Add stories to your talking points and entertain your viewers.

Conclusion

User habits are gradually changing: if previously good highlighted text with high-quality information grabbed attention, now videos with timecodes and keywords are much more effective in increasing sales. Reason: saving time. The volume of information is growing, the rate of content consumption is growing.

Don’t miss out on YouTube as a valuable platform for product promotion. This is a ticket to the future: video marketing continues to gain momentum and this trend will not only continue, but will intensify in the coming year.

Read also other articles from the cycle on promoting online stores:

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