More often than not marketers look at YouTube as an excellent channel for video marketing and distribution – but the truth is that it is a lot more than that. More specifically you may be interested to know that YouTube videos can actually be a great way to build up links – getting both SEO value and traffic in the process.
Description Links
The easiest way to build a link using YouTube videos is to insert it in the video description. Some people place a lot of links in the description of their videos, but you should keep in mind that relevance is important and any links that you place should relate to the content of the video as closely as possible.
If you have a link that you feel would benefit from a lot of exposure then place it in the first line of the description. Ideally you should also let viewers know why that link could benefit them – so that they are more inclined to click on it.
Annotations and Cards
In order to use links in annotations or cards you will first have to add your website to your channel as associated content. It may take a while for your website to be approved, so it is best to add it sooner rather than later.
Once your website is added, you can then create annotations or cards to go along with the video. While annotations will pop-up by default (assuming annotations are enabled), they will not appear on mobile devices. Also you should make sure your annotations don’t crowd your video as that will just make users disable them.
On the other hand cards will require users to tap the ‘i’ icon in the corner – but are available on mobile devices. That makes them very useful, especially seeing as more and more people watch YouTube videos on mobile devices with each and every day that passes.
Between both of these methods you should be able to build links on YouTube quite easily. On a video that is able to accumulate lots of views, having a link that points to your website could end up being a huge source of traffic and also give you a nice boost in SEO as well.
Of course to pull all that off the first thing you need to do is start creating video content. Nowadays that is easier than ever, and assuming you have a smartphone as well as a decent movie maker for Mac or Windows you should be able to get the job done. The right content coupled with a few links is all it takes to tap into the potential of building links on YouTube.
