Most of us know that YouTube is the second most-used search site, second only to Google. Which means it provides a fantastic avenue to get your video content seen by a lot of potential customers.

But it also offers a huge, and perhaps lesser-known, marketing opportunity: to drive traffic to your website.

The secret? Adding elements to your video and YouTube channel that entice viewers to click.

It all starts with optimization. You want to get as many users as possible to your videos, which means executing your SEO strategy like a pro. Do your keyword research and keep optimization top of mind, from creating video titles and descriptions to adding videos to playlists and tagging them. The goal: Rank higher in YouTube search and attract more viewers to your videos.

Read our blog: 8 SEO tips to improve your video search rankings

And with more visitors to your videos and channel, there’s more opportunity to entice them to visit your site, blog or social media. That means you can take that attention off YouTube and drive it to your owned channels to help increase conversions. 

Here are six ways you can leverage the power of YouTube to generate significant traffic back to your website.

1. A clear call to action

   Great, you have a captive audience on your YouTube channel. Now you want to motivate them to do something, and in this case, that means directing them right to your product or service.

   Be sure to add a clear call to action (CTA) in your video — in the text, subtitles and verbally. Always give the audience a reason to visit your website. Some examples:

   • Sign-up for your newsletter. This is great for collecting emails for future marketing
   • View exclusive content. Offer a free chapter of your new book, whitepaper or a video or content not available elsewhere
   • Offer a discount. Everyone likes a bargain — give viewers 10% off your product

   Whatever the action is, there should be a compelling reason for the viewer to visit your website. When they arrive, it should be extremely easy to perform the CTA. Don’t make them try to find the page you’re asking them to visit — you’ll risk losing that captive audience. Lead users directly to the specific page for them to fulfill the action.

   Tip: Include your CTA at the beginning of the video. Most viewers don’t watch videos until the end.

   Read our blog post: How to create a killer local SEO strategy for your business

2. Use the About section to promote your website

   The About section of your YouTube channel is where you tell the audience (in text form) who you are, what you do and what to expect from your videos. Be succinct and use engaging copy — readers have a short attention span — but also be accurate and genuine about why they should care about your business.

   This is also a great place to add links to your website(s), social media channels and specific landing pages. You have two opportunities: the description text and in the “Links” section below.

3. Add links to your website in the video description

   The video description is where you tell the audience what that specific video is about: What they’re about to watch, what they will learn, how they will be entertained. It’s also the perfect place to give a shoutout to those that helped create the video, provide credit for music used and to provide any additional information.

   Even better, it provides linking opportunities. Use this space to mention stores that carry your products and direct visitors to your special offer pages, social media and other content.

4. Add links to your channel banner art

   You can add URLs to the banner at the top of your YouTube channel. They’re called link overlays. Click to edit your channel banner art and add up to five custom links to your website, e-store, social accounts, and even to iTunes/Spotify, etc.

5. Engage users in video comments

   YouTube is more than just a place to watch videos. It’s also a great place to build a community, where like-minded people can share reactions, provide extra context to videos or ask questions about your video.

   It’s an excellent opportunity to interact with your potential customers! Commenters will notice and appreciate your responsiveness, which is good for your brand. Get involved: Answer questions and provide valuable, helpful and insightful responses. Your comments can contain links too, so use this space to direct viewers to more videos or related content on your YouTube channel, social media accounts or your website.

   Tip: Engagement with your audience helps to build trust and establish your expertise

   Read our blog post: How to leverage customer reviews to boost your SEO performance

6. Use cards to provide clickable links in your video

   Cards are embeddable graphical and interactive elements that appear while your video is playing. Use these cards to promote your other videos and playlists, offer interactive elements like polls and to link to your websites and social media. 

   Start by reviewing the analytics from your existing YouTube videos to determine the optimum timing for when to place the CTAs and links back to your site. 

   Tip: In the video, be sure to verbalize — and even point towards — the card while it’s being displayed. It’s a nice extra nudge to direct the viewer’s attention.

   These simple SEO tricks with your YouTube videos and channel are a great way to direct more visitors to your other channels and drive conversions on your website. 

   Take your business’ marketing to the next level

   If you need more support leveraging the power of search marketing for your video content, we can help. Creative Guild has a team of video and search marketing experts with years of experience creating high-ranking video content for our clients. Get in touch with us today to find out more.