What are the benefits of YouTube Shorts?

What are YouTube Shorts?

YouTube Shorts is a new video feature from YouTube, focused on creating and watching short, engaging videos on mobile devices. The feature is clearly inspired by the rising success of other short-video apps such as TikTok. Let’s take a closer look, from an SEO perspective, at what YouTube Shorts is and what it can mean for content creators and marketers.

Definition of YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts are vertically recorded videos of up to 60 seconds. They can be watched in a dedicated ‘Shorts’ tab in the YouTube mobile app and can be made with a range of creative tools YouTube provides, including a multi-segment camera, speed controls and more.

SEO benefits of YouTube Shorts

1. Greater visibility: YouTube actively promotes the Shorts feature, which means well-made Shorts have a better chance of being noticed, especially in the ‘Shorts’ tab.

2. Reaching mobile users: since Shorts are specifically optimised for mobile viewing, they offer a direct way to reach a mobile audience.

3. Complementing traditional video content: Shorts can be used as ‘teasers’ or supporting content for longer YouTube videos, which can lead to higher engagement and more subscribers for the main channel.

3 strategies for YouTube Shorts

1. Use relevant keywords: just like with traditional YouTube videos, it’s important to use relevant keywords in the title, description and tags of your Shorts for better discoverability.

2. Optimise the thumbnail: although Shorts selects a thumbnail automatically, it’s advisable to use an engaging, relevant thumbnail that represents the video’s content well. Shorts thumbnails can currently be customised by larger accounts.

3. Call to action: encourage viewers to like, share, subscribe or watch your other videos to maximise engagement on your Shorts.

Strengthen your YouTube strategy with Shorts

YouTube Shorts offers content creators and marketers a new channel to reach a mobile audience quickly and effectively. By understanding this feature and optimising it from an SEO perspective, users can unlock its full potential and strengthen their YouTube strategy.