Analyze your video's title, description, tags, and thumbnail for SEO optimization. Get an overall score out of 100 with category grades and actionable improvements.
💡 Note: For the most accurate analysis, use Manual Input mode to enter your video details directly. URL analysis provides estimates based on publicly available data.
Each factor is weighted based on its impact on YouTube rankings.
What each score range means for your video's discoverability.
Actionable strategies for each SEO category.
These errors hurt your search rankings and discoverability.
Paste your YouTube URL or manually enter your title, description, tags, and other metadata.
We analyze each element against YouTube SEO best practices and calculate your overall score.
Follow the personalized checklist to fix issues and boost your video's search ranking potential.
YouTube SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your videos to rank higher in YouTube search results and suggested videos. It involves optimizing your title, description, tags, thumbnail, and other metadata to help YouTube understand your content and show it to the right audience. Good SEO increases organic discoverability without paid promotion.
YouTube considers many factors: 1) Metadata: Title, description, and tags help YouTube understand content. 2) Engagement: Watch time, likes, comments, and shares signal quality. 3) Click-through rate: How often people click your thumbnail. 4) Relevance: How well your content matches search queries. 5) Channel authority: Established channels may rank easier. 6) Freshness: New content often gets initial boosts.
The title is extremely important - it's arguably the most critical SEO element. It's the first thing YouTube's algorithm reads and the first thing viewers see. Your main keyword should appear in the first 60 characters. Keep titles 50-70 characters for full display on all devices. Make them compelling for humans while including relevant keywords naturally.
Tags have minimal direct impact on rankings compared to titles and descriptions. YouTube has stated that tags are mainly used for helping with common misspellings. However, they don't hurt and can provide small benefits, so it's worth adding 5-15 relevant tags. Don't spend excessive time on tags - focus more on title and description optimization.
Aim for 200-500 words minimum. YouTube allows up to 5,000 characters. The first 150-200 characters are most important as they appear in search results before "Show More." Longer descriptions give YouTube more context to understand your content. Include your target keyword naturally multiple times, add timestamps, relevant links, and 3-5 hashtags.
Thumbnails indirectly affect SEO through click-through rate (CTR). A compelling thumbnail gets more clicks, which signals to YouTube that your content is attractive. Higher CTR leads to more impressions and better rankings. Always use custom thumbnails - they can increase CTR by 30%+ compared to auto-generated ones. Think of thumbnails as your video's advertisement.
Keyword research methods: 1) YouTube search autocomplete - start typing and see suggestions. 2) Competitor analysis - see what keywords successful videos use. 3) Google Trends - compare keyword popularity. 4) VidIQ/TubeBuddy - tools with keyword data. 5) YouTube Studio traffic sources - see what searches bring viewers. Focus on keywords with search volume but manageable competition.
Yes! Updating old videos' metadata can revive them. Change thumbnails, improve titles with better keywords, expand descriptions, and add timestamps. YouTube sometimes re-tests updated content with new audiences. Focus on videos with good watch time but low views - they have potential. Some creators see significant view increases from metadata updates alone.
Initial results can appear in 24-72 hours as YouTube indexes your content. However, full ranking potential develops over weeks to months. YouTube's algorithm observes how viewers interact with your video over time. Strong early engagement accelerates ranking. Older evergreen content can rank better over time as it accumulates views and engagement signals.
There's no magic length - content quality matters more. However, longer videos (10+ minutes) can accumulate more watch time, which YouTube values. For SEO specifically: make videos as long as needed to fully cover the topic without padding. A focused 5-minute video often outranks a padded 20-minute one. Match length to viewer expectations in your niche.
Yes! Playlists help in several ways: 1) Playlists rank in search results themselves. 2) They increase total watch time by auto-playing related videos. 3) They help YouTube understand content relationships. Optimize playlist titles and descriptions with keywords. Group related videos together. A viewer watching multiple videos signals high satisfaction to the algorithm.
This tool analyzes your metadata against known YouTube SEO best practices. It checks title length, keyword placement, description quality, tags, and other on-page factors. However, SEO is just one part of YouTube success - engagement metrics like watch time and CTR also matter significantly. Use this score as a guideline for optimization, not an absolute ranking predictor.
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