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Posts from June 2021

7 Tips To Easily Optimize Your YouTube SEO

7 Tips To Easily Optimize Your YouTube SEO

Many Typepad bloggers are also YouTube vloggers. YouTube allows everyone to create videos showcasing their knowledge or talent. You can use our YouTube embed feature to quickly find and embed your videos directly into your blog post to share with your readers. To help your videos get found outside of your blog, you can use these simple SEO tips to optimize your channel. Let us show you how! 

Keyword Search

Before you create your video, search for the keywords you want to use. You want to find keywords that people are searching for around your video idea. What comes up with those keywords? If there are lots of videos about those keywords, try to narrow down your search or focus on a specific issue in your video idea. The point is to find keywords that are not used so your video will stand out in those search results.

The best way to start is to use YouTube’s search feature. Start searching your keywords and see what comes up in the drop-down. Here you can get an idea of what people are searching for concerning your keyword. Click on the keywords and see what shows up. Are there a lot of videos that cover the keywords or will your video stand out?

YouTube Search Results w border

Say Your Keywords

Once you have your keywords selected, USE THEM! You can use these keywords in multiple places so search engines will pick up your video and share it in search results.

The first place to add your keywords is in your video file name. When you upload your video, the name tells YouTube what your video is about.

The title of your video should also have your keywords. Don’t try to stuff your keywords into the title. Make it flow naturally in the title. Put your keywords at the beginning of your video title so it is not cut out when it’s truncated (you can have 100 characters for your title but YouTube truncates it at 70 characters).

YouTube gives you 5,000 characters in your video description, make sure to use it all! Be sure to use your keywords multiple times. You don’t want to shoehorn the keywords in, it should flow naturally within your description. The beginning of your description should include your keywords and exactly what the video is about. YouTube truncates the description at 160 characters. Your first 160 characters should entice your readers to click on Show More. Once they see the whole description, that is your chance to promote your brand with links and a call to action.

YouTube allows you to add subtitles to your video. These subtitles or transcripts need to be reviewed and edited to make sure they are correct. You want to make sure your keywords are clear in the subtitles as well. Subtitles allow Google and YouTube to “read” your video. When they know what is in your video, they can provide the video when someone searches for it.

YouTube Description w border

Call To Action

At the end of your video, you want to include a call to action. What do you want viewers to do after they finish watching your video? The most popular are to comment, subscribe, and share. All of these can lead to increased SEO. The more viewers that interact with your video the more YouTube and Google know that your videos are providing the information needed in searches. If your video is popular it will show higher in search results.

Thumbnail

YouTube is a visual medium. The first thing viewers see when searching is the thumbnail. You want to create a thumbnail that stands out and entices viewers to click on your video. First, your thumbnail needs to accurately represent your video. You want viewers to watch your full video, so they need to know what it’s about beforehand. If the title of your video is long, you can use a shortened version of your title in the thumbnail. Make it short and snappy to draw your viewers’ attention. When designing your thumbnail make sure to use contrasting colors for your text and background. Also, include your brand logo. This should not overtake the title of your video but should be put in the same place for consistency.

The thumbnail needs to be large enough to look good as your thumbnail and as your preview image in an embedded video player. So the thumbnail looks great in both places, YouTube recommends the image be 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall.

Thumbnail w border

Use Playlists

Isn’t it nice when you are searching for something and you find a nice playlist to teach you all you need to know? Playlists are a great way to group videos. Once viewers finish one video, it will go to the next. Your playlist can be about an overarching idea and each video talks about one section under that idea. When creating playlists, it’s good to use the same thumbnail layout so viewers can visually see all the videos are related.

Optimize Your Profile Page

Your profile page is what viewers use to get an idea of what your channel is about. You can show why you're an expert in your area and why they should watch your videos. If they are on your profile page, that means they are very interested in your videos and you can use this to convert them to subscribers. Here are a few tips to help optimize your profile page.

Banner

Your banner is the first thing viewers will see when they go to your profile page. Make sure it has the most impact to encourage subscribers. The image size is your first consideration, the size should be 2560px x 1440px. This will make sure your banner image will display clearly on all different devices. While the image is large, you want to make sure your banner content is placed in the “safe area”. The safe area is the center 1546px x 423px of the banner. Any important text or images need to be put in this area so they can be viewed on all devices.

YouTube image size

Now that you know your size, what do you put in your banner? It should be clean and clearly show everyone what your channel is about. Some things you can include in your banner are:

Your channel name
Your tag line
What kind of videos you make
Your posting schedule (if you have one)
Your social media handles

Once you know what you want in your banner, make sure your design does not obscure the information. You want a simple, clean design. Think about using a solid background and minimal text. Your banner should encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel.

About Section

The About section tells viewers more about your brand and channel. Here is another great place to add your keywords from your different videos. The description area allows you to have 5,000 characters, use them to describe your videos, your brand, and why someone would want to subscribe to your channel. The strongest text should be in the first 100-150 characters because that is will show in search results. The About section also lets you add links. Add links to your blog and your social media pages. Encourage viewers to follow your social media channels to get more information and to be notified when new videos are posted.

YouTube About Section w border

Make Engaging Content

You can do everything right but if your videos are not entertaining and engaging, no one will watch or subscribe (which is your goal!). Think outside the box and look for new ways to educate and entertain your viewers. It should still fit your brand but you want to make sure the content provides the information needed. At the beginning of the video, make sure to tell your viewers about the video and why they should stick around until the end. Your videos should reflect the passion and energy you feel, viewers will pick up on this.

These tips are all designed to help you be found in search results and show your viewers you are a trusted source. What other tips would you suggest for other Typepad vloggers? Share with us your YouTube channel! We would love to see your videos.


Feedburner is being shut down. Let's discuss Follow.It for RSS feeds.

Follow_it_ET(1)

With the announcement of Feedburner being shut down by Google, bloggers have been scrambling with their RSS subscribers.  Many bloggers rely on email notifications to alert subscribers to new blog updates. There are also readers who like to read blog posts directly from their inbox.  In addition to Feedblitz, which gives you great feed enhancement services, like podcasting and statistics, we would like to share another service which allows you to set up an email subscription for your blog: Follow.It

Follow_itFollow.It offers a very easy setup. Simply enter your blog's RSS URL where it says "Add the follow feature to your site". Your blog's RSS is the blog's address followed by atom.xml or rss.xml. For example:

https://everything.typepad.com/blog/atom.xml

or

https://everything.typepad.com/blog/rss.xml

FI_add
After you click "Next", you will be taken to a new page to a design a signup form you can place on your blog. You can change the size, font, and color to match your blog's design.  At the bottom of the page an HTML code is generated with your customization. It will look similar to this:

Html_FICopy the code Follow.it provides and, in a separate browser window opened to your Typepad account, in your blog settings go to Design > Content > Modules > Embed Your Own HTML, paste this code in the pop-up and click OK. 

Content_FI

The module will automatically appear on the top of your sidebar in the Content page. You can click and drag your new module if you want it appear elsewhere in your sidebar. After you save your updates, the new sign up form will appear in your published blog's sidebar. 

 

Going back to the Follow.It page, the "Continue" button will take you to another addition you can use, which will allow you to add a Follow button to the end of your posts. The Follow button is optional but, if you want to add this feature, it's only two steps.

Follow_FIStep one, pick an image to download.

Step two, use the link in this field to link to the image you download.  You can either upload the image to your sidebar or insert it as a signature at the end of each blog post.

Follow.It provides access to your list of followers once you've claimed your feed. The feature is available via their free Basic account option, which is robust enough for a majority of bloggers. They offer additional plans if you wish to obtain more details about your subscribers, statistics, and more.

Do you offer email subscriptions for your blog? Share the link with us in the comments so we can all check it out!


FeedBurner is no longer delivering email subscriptions. What you need to consider.

FeedBurner. Bye bye bye.

On April 14, 2021, Google announced FeedBurner's email subscription feature would no longer be available starting July 2021. We know many Typepad users have relied on FeedBurner to email readers when a new post is published to their blog. Read more about the changes coming to FeedBurner on Google's site.

If you're utilizing FeedBurner, you'll want to take some time over the next few weeks to find a new email subscription service that best meets your needs.  FeedBlitz, an email subscription service we have recommended over the years, has a great article on what to consider when choosing a new email subscription provider here.

Some things to consider when looking for a new email subscription service:

  • Can you import your existing subscribers?
  • Does the service provide support?
  • Is the service focused on email subscriptions?
  • Is there a limit on the number of subscribers?
  • Do you want to monetize your feed?

Before the first of July, you'll want to make sure to back up your subscriber list. FeedBurner has information on downloading your email subscribers here. Make this your last step so you don't miss any recent signups.

We have made FeedBlitz easy to integrate with Typepad. Learn more. However, you can also check out Follow.it, which has a free version, or do an online search for other tools. Most services will work seamlessly with your Typepad blog's feed.

If you need any help with the transition away from FeedBurner, just let us know by opening a help ticket in your Typepad account at Help > New Ticket or emailing us at [email protected].


Share More Links In Instagram With LinkTree

Share more links in Instagram with LinkTree

Lots of Typepad bloggers use Instagram to share images of their crafts or adventures. One downside to Instagram is you can’t add a link to your post. A common practice is to add "Link in bio" in your Instagram post. You can only have one link in your bio, if you add your blog link, readers would have to search your blog to find the post they want. That's not a great experience for your followers. 

LinkTree has a better idea! They provide you with one link to use in your bio that will take your viewers to a list of links you can easily customize. Add links to your blog, to current posts, to previous posts, to your store, and anywhere you want to share. Here's how the link looks on @everything_typepad's Instagram page. 

Everything Typepad Instagram

Create Your LinkTree Account

Go to https://linktr.ee/ and click on Sign Up. Enter in your email address, what you want your LinkTree handle to be, and your password. Next, they will ask for your name and to select 3 categories that will best describe your LinkTree. Last, you will be asked if you want the Free plan or the Pro plan. We recommend you start with the free plan. You can always update later if you feel you need more from LinkTree. With your account set up, you can customize your LinkTree page.

Linktree-reg
The next step is to add your links. From the Link tab, you can add links to your blog, your social media, and your latest posts. We recommend you limit the number of links to posts you have. You'll need to update your LinkTree page as you publish more posts. 

LinkTree Add A Link

Once your links are set, you can click on Appearance. Upload an image your viewers will recognize across all your platforms, like your logo. Next, you'll give your LinkTree a profile name and description. Keep your description short. You want viewers to focus on your links. LinkTree has some customized themes you can choose from. For complete customization, you do need to upgrade to their Pro plan. 

LinkTree Themes

Now that your LinkTree page is complete you are ready to add it to your Instagram profile. On the top right in LinkTree, you will see your page URL (https://linktr.ee/example) copy the link and go to Instagram to update your profile with your new LinkTree link. Now when viewers click on your LinkTree link, they can see a custom page with multiple links. Here's the LinkTree page for @everything_typepad. 

Everything Typepad LinkTree

LinkTree provides analytics for your links as well. In the free plan, you can see how many views and clicks above all your links. Scroll down to specific links to see how many clicks each link has received. If you need more information, you can upgrade to the Pro plan and view their advanced analytics

LinkTree Stats

What other Instagram tips or tricks do you use to stand out. Share them in the comments!