Optimizing YouTube Videos – Part 1

Almost every church has a video channel. Based on my observations, the two most common video sites are YouTube and Vimeo. This post isn’t a comparison of the two. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all a matter of preference. Most of my clients use both. However, with YouTube being the 2nd most important search engine in the interwebs, I’d like to dedicate the post in how to optimize videos in that little corner of the web. This will be part 1 of 2 posts.

I’ll be the first to admit that there isn’t an exact science to this endeavor. There were many frustrating moments where I did all the right things and the video just won’t budge from its 5th spot. However, these are important factors you have to consider. Treat it more as guidelines than a map and your video will gain traction in no time.

Video information is key to all this. First one is the Title Text. With only a maximum of 99 characters, it should have the following elements: [Church Name] + [Pastor/Speaker Name] + [Sermon Title or Descriptive Text]. Granted that you can arrange it in any order but this is the most logical one I’ve done. Descriptive text can be about the sermon (i.e. series, book in the Bible, etc.) or the name a ministry certain ministry is known by. I’m going to use my home church as an example. “UBC Miami – To The Cor – Playing the Fool”

Second most important part is the Description. This should be a maximum 5,000 characters. Make sure the key terms you used in the title text are mentioned in the description at least once. Maybe a little bit of explanation what series it is or specific verses cited during the sermon. Very important – include the church website and email address at the end. If you can squeeze in the service times, even better. A lot of churches don’t do so and the viewers are left to look for the information by themselves. Do the groundwork for them.

Here’s an example:

University Baptist Church (UBC Miami) is currently running a series “To The Cor”. The series unpacks the most personal letter of the New Testament, 2 Corinthians, revealing Paul’s leadership at its most & vulnerable excellence. This message, by senior pastor Bill White, talks about 2 Corinthians 10-12 when Paul was strong, yet sensitive as he rebuffs the accusations against him by the Corinthian church. Sometimes we need to play the spiritual fool to get through to the people we love who are being led astray with false teachings.

Saturday worship service starts at 6pm. Sunday worship services are 9:30am, 11am and 12:15pm.

www.ubcmiami.org
info@ubcmiami.org

Third component are called Tags. These are key terms you would think your audience would use to search for the video. Remember to include the terms you used in Title and Description. That will include series/message title, sermon description (i.e. Scripture chapter and verse). Remember to include the speaker’s name and church (and location – city, state, etc.). In some case, include common misspellings of the name.

Here’s an example:

“UBC” “UBC Miami” “University Baptist Church Miami” “Bill White UBC” “To The Cor UBC” “UBC To The Cor” “To The Cor Playing the Fool” “Baptist church miami” “2 Corinthians sermon”

That concludes the Video Information portion of the optimization. The 2nd part will be about Broadcast and sharing options and additional bonus tips to remember when you’re posting a video. Hope this helps!