{"id":34220,"date":"2026-09-23T16:36:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T16:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/optimizing-youtube-video\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T16:36:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T16:36:27","slug":"optimizing-youtube-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/optimizing-youtube-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimizing your YouTube video: 7 practical tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Optimizing your YouTube video starts with what your viewer wants to know or see. Choose one clear topic and align your title, thumbnail and opening footage with it. Put useful information at the top of your description and make your video easy to follow. Start with one existing video. Change one element at a time so you can better compare what happens after your adjustment.<\/p>\n<p>Below, you will read how to approach this, from choosing your topic to comparing your results.<\/p>\n<nav aria-label=\"Table of contents\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#onderwerp\">1. Choose one clear topic for your YouTube video<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#titel\">2. Say in your YouTube title what you are showing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#thumbnail\">3. Create a YouTube thumbnail that matches your title<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#beschrijving\">4. Put the key information at the top of your YouTube description<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#tags\">5. Choose YouTube tags and hashtags that suit your video<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#wegwijzers\">6. Use chapters and playlists with your YouTube video<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#testen\">7. Compare your YouTube title and thumbnail step by step<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<h2 id=\"onderwerp\">1. Choose one clear topic for your YouTube video<\/h2>\n<p>Complete this sentence for yourself: \u201cAfter this video, the viewer can or knows\u2026\u201d Can\u2019t you? Then first choose which part of your topic you want to show. Caring for plants, for example, is broad. A video about a drooping peace lily makes it clearer what the viewer can expect.<\/p>\n<p>Suppose you are making a video about repairing a bicycle tire. The viewer mainly wants to know how to find and seal the puncture. Start with that problem, not with a long explanation about your bicycle. We use the fictional video below as an example.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Write down the question your video answers.<\/li>\n<li>Check whether your footage and explanation really provide the answer.<\/li>\n<li>Briefly show at the beginning what the viewer will learn or see.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Do you want to remove unnecessary sections from your footage first? Then read how to <a href=\"https:\/\/volgers-kopen.io\/youtube-video-monteren\/\">edit a YouTube video<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t know where to start? In the <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/youtube\/answer\/11908409?hl=nl\">basic YouTube guide to optimizing videos<\/a> the advice is to focus first on titles, descriptions and thumbnails.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"titel\">2. Say in your YouTube title what you are showing<\/h2>\n<p>A good title tells people what they will get from your video. Choose words your viewer would use themselves. Put the main topic first if that reads well. You do not need to repeat the same search term.<\/p>\n<p>For the fictional video about a bicycle tire, you can compare these titles:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"col\">Title<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">What the viewer knows<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>You really need to see this!<\/td>\n<td>Nothing about the topic.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Repairing a bicycle tire: from finding the puncture to inflating it<\/td>\n<td>Which problem you solve and which steps you show.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Repairing a bicycle tire without tire levers<\/td>\n<td>Which specific approach you show. This title only fits if you actually show that approach.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Make your title precise, but do not promise more than your video shows. For example, do not write that something can be done within two minutes if that is not evident from your video. A question in your title can spark curiosity, as long as your video provides the answer.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"thumbnail\">3. Create a YouTube thumbnail that matches your title<\/h2>\n<p>A thumbnail is the small preview image for your video. Choose an image that quickly shows what the video is about. For the bicycle tire, for example, show hands beside the puncture. That is clearer than an entire shed full of things.<\/p>\n<p>Let your title and image complement each other. The title tells the topic, while the image shows something concrete. So the entire title does not need to appear on the image again.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Choose one clear subject in the image.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure it stands out clearly against the background.<\/li>\n<li>View your design at a small size, such as on a phone.<\/li>\n<li>Add text only if it explains something and remains easy to read.<\/li>\n<li>Do not show a result that does not appear in the video.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Want to view your image and title together? Also use the <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/youtube\/answer\/12340300?hl=en\">official YouTube tips for thumbnails and titles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"beschrijving\">4. Put the key information at the top of your YouTube description<\/h2>\n<p>Start your description with what you are showing and who it is useful for. Information about yourself can go underneath. Do not make the viewer search through a list of links first to find out what the video is about.<\/p>\n<p>For the fictional bicycle tire video, you could write:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I show you how to find and patch a puncture in your bicycle tire. You will see how to prepare the area, apply the patch and check the tire again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Below that, add information related to this video:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The items you use, such as a pump and a patch kit.<\/li>\n<li>An addition or correction to your explanation.<\/li>\n<li>Links to something you mention in the video.<\/li>\n<li>A chapter structure if your video has clear sections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Include your topic in an ordinary sentence. A string of words such as \u201cbicycle tire repair, tire repair, flat tire repair\u201d does not provide any extra explanation. With YouTube SEO too, meaning making your video easier to find through search, the goal here is to clearly describe what you are showing.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"tags\">5. Choose YouTube tags and hashtags that suit your video<\/h2>\n<p>Tags are individual keywords for your video. Hashtags are words with a hash sign, such as #fietsreparatie. Spend less time on these than on your title, image and description. Tags and hashtags are not the main solution for low view counts.<\/p>\n<p>For each word, ask yourself: does someone searching for this get what they expect? If not, leave it out. A popular name or trend unrelated to your video creates the wrong expectation.<\/p>\n<p>For the example video, words about bicycle tires and repairs are suitable. A hashtag such as #viral says nothing about the content. A long string of almost identical hashtags also adds little.<\/p>\n<p>So choose only words that genuinely relate to your video. This helps you avoid unnecessary repetition and misleading keywords. It is not a guarantee of a higher position in search results.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"wegwijzers\">6. Use chapters and playlists with your YouTube video<\/h2>\n<p>Make it easy to find a section again or choose a suitable next video. Chapters, playlists and end screens can help with this.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chapters:<\/strong> divide a longer explanation into recognizable sections, such as \u201cFind the puncture\u201d, \u201cPatch the tire\u201d and \u201cCheck the tire\u201d. Watch your video again and note where each section begins.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Playlists, also called playlists:<\/strong> group videos about the same topic together. A list about basic bicycle maintenance is clearer than a list containing all your uploads mixed together.<\/li>\n<li><strong>End screens:<\/strong> offer a suitable next step at the end of your video, if this option is available. For the bicycle tire video, for example, you could refer to a video about checking your bicycle brakes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Does your short video have only one topic? Then you do not need to create an additional structure. Can\u2019t you use an option? Mention a suitable next video in your explanation and put the link in your description.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"testen\">7. Compare your YouTube title and thumbnail step by step<\/h2>\n<p>First change either your title or your thumbnail. If you change both at once, you cannot see which adjustment may have helped. Save your old version and note your new version with the date of the change.<\/p>\n<p>After that, do not look only at the number of views. The click through rate shows what portion of measured impressions led to a view. An impression is one time your thumbnail was shown within that measurement. The number of impressions is therefore not the same as the number of different people.<\/p>\n<p>In this fictional calculation example, we count only views that came from the measured impressions. Divide that number of views by the number of impressions and multiply the result by 100.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"col\">Period<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Impressions<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Views from those impressions<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\">Click through rate<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Before the change<\/td>\n<td>1.000<\/td>\n<td>40<\/td>\n<td>40 \u00f7 1.000 \u00d7 100 = 4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>After the change<\/td>\n<td>1.000<\/td>\n<td>50<\/td>\n<td>50 \u00f7 1.000 \u00d7 100 = 5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The click through rate goes from 4% to 5%. That is an increase of 1 percentage point. This may indicate that your adjustment helps, but it does not prove that the new version always works better. Different people may have watched your video during the second period.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, preferably compare periods that are the same length. Also look at how people found your video. A period with many viewers from search cannot simply be compared with a period when mostly returning viewers watched.<\/p>\n<p>Also check how long people keep watching and where they stop. Are you getting more clicks, but are people watching for much less time? Then investigate whether your title or image promises more than your video offers. With few impressions, a few clicks can already change the percentage significantly.<\/p>\n<p>You do not need to delete your video to try a different title or thumbnail. Want to remove it for another reason? First read the explanation about <a href=\"https:\/\/volgers-kopen.io\/youtube-video-verwijderen\/\">deleting a YouTube video<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Now choose one video whose title or image does not yet clearly show what it is about. Adjust that element and note what you want to compare afterwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Improve your YouTube video with 7 practical tips for your title, thumbnail, description and more. Also learn how to compare changes meaningfully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/folnova.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}