--- title: "YouTube SEO" description: "YouTube SEO from ShoutRank. Titles, chapters, and descriptions that match a query, plus the page on your site when the answer cites a watch URL." canonical: https://shoutrank.com/youtube-seo markdown: https://shoutrank.com/youtube-seo.md --- # YouTube SEO YouTube SEO from ShoutRank. Titles, chapters, and descriptions that match a query, plus the page on your site when the answer cites a watch URL. YouTube SEO makes a video findable on YouTube and decides when your own site, not the watch page, should be the URL that ranks or gets cited. Answer engines cite YouTube often, because a watch page is a clear object: a title, a transcript, a creator. That helps when the video is the right source. It hurts when a watch page outranks the explanation you host, or when the video promises something the site no longer offers. We treat YouTube as a platform with its own search, and as a source inside [AI SEO](https://shoutrank.com/ai-seo). We do not buy views or subscriptions. ShoutRank does not guarantee a ranking or a citation. ## The problem ### The watch page is the citation. An answer links the video. The site page that should own the query is never mentioned, because the video is clearer than the page. ### Titles chase a trend. The thumbnail and title promise a list. The product is a specific tool. Viewers and answers both get the wrong object. ### Nothing on the site matches the video. There is no transcript, no chapter, and no page that states the same steps. The only indexable version is YouTube’s. ## How ShoutRank approaches it We pick the queries where a video is the right format, and the queries where a page should win instead. Titles and opening lines state the job. A page on your site carries the same steps in text, so a citation is not forced to be a watch URL. Chapters and descriptions are written from the content, not stuffed with tags. ## What the work includes ### Query split Video-led queries versus page-led queries. ### Title and chapter notes What the opening seconds and the description must say. ### Companion page A site URL with the same substance in HTML. ### Citation note Whether answers cite the watch page, the site, or neither. ## Process ### Discovery List videos that are still accurate, and queries they were meant to serve. ### Audit Read the watch page and the site page side by side. ### Strategy Decide which URL should be the source for each query. ### Implementation Retitle and add a companion page where the site is the gap. ### Monitoring Re-check YouTube search and the answer logs that include video citations. ### Optimization Unlist or update videos that contradict the current offer. ### Reporting The split, the companion URLs, and where answers point. ## Why ShoutRank ### The site stays in the running A video strategy that abandons your own URL is incomplete. ### Accurate over viral A misleading title is a brand defect, even if it is clicked. ### No bought views Audience is earned by the video being the right object. ## How success is measured Queries where the intended URL, watch page or site, is the one that appears. Videos whose titles match the current offer. Companion pages published for video-led topics that also need a document. A named client result is published when that client clears the figure. Until then the report is the measurement. ## Questions ### Do you edit videos? We brief titles, chapters, and descriptions. Production and editing stay with your team or your video editor. ### Should every blog post be a video? No. A video earns a place when the format helps the buyer. A transcript pasted under an embed is not a strategy by itself. ### Can you guarantee YouTube rankings? No. We can align the watch page and the site. YouTube and Google decide what to show. ## Related - [AI SEO](https://shoutrank.com/ai-seo): When answers cite a watch URL. - [On-page SEO](https://shoutrank.com/on-page-seo): The companion page on your domain. - [Top cited domains](https://shoutrank.com/data-studies/top-cited-domains): Why video hosts show up in citation rankings.