Video SEO Best Practices in 2025: Rank Higher on Google, YouTube & AI Search

If you’ve ever looked up something on Google and saw a short video or YouTube result pop up in the results, that’s Video SEO in action

Video SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about improving your video ranking in search results, whether it’s on Google, YouTube, or even LLMs such as ChatGPT, Gemini etc. It’s how you make sure the right people find and watch your videos.

Back in the day, it was just about ranking videos on Google. Then came YouTube SEO, where optimizing titles, tags, and watch time became the key to getting views. Now, in 2025, we’ve entered a new era, where AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews are changing how people discover videos altogether.

More than 25% of Google search results now include a video snippet, and AI-powered search tools are starting to summarize and reference videos directly in their answers. That means if your video is well-optimized, it doesn’t just appear in search, it’s also being quoted by LLMs.

Here in this blog I’ll explore traditional Video SEO best practices and new strategies for video LLM optimization. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to make your videos visible, clickable, and relevant in both search engines and AI-generated results.

How Video SEO Works Today?

Before diving into tactics, it’s worth understanding how video SEO actually works behind the scenes.

When you upload a video — whether to your website or YouTube — search engines need to find, understand, and rank it. This process happens in three steps:

1. Crawling: Search bots discover your video through sitemaps, schema markup, or embedded pages.
2. Indexing: They analyze details like the title, description, thumbnail, and transcript to figure out what your video is about.
3. Ranking: Based on relevance, engagement, and authority, search engines decide where your video appears in results.

Now, there’s a big difference between YouTube SEO and website video SEO.

• On YouTube, you’re playing within YouTube’s own ecosystem — where watch time, click-through rate, and viewer engagement are major ranking signals.
• On your website, optimization is more about structured data, video placement, loading speed, and how well your video ties into the rest of your page content.

AI tools like Google’s Gemini, Perplexity can now understand video content more deeply. They don’t just look at titles or tags anymore. They can parse transcripts, captions, and even spoken context to know exactly what’s being said. That means your video’s actual content and clarity now matter as much as your metadata.

Enabling your videos to appear in several rich formats on search results, from video snippets and key moments (those clickable timestamps you see on Google) to rich results and chaptered previews.

In short, video SEO today isn’t just about keywords. It’s about making your videos clear, structured, and meaningful enough for both humans and AI systems to understand.

How to do Keyword Research for Video SEO?

Great video content won’t reach its audience if you don’t target the right keywords. This is why you need to focus on video keyword research. You need to find out what people are actually searching for when they look for videos.

Start with YouTube Search itself. Type in a few words related to your topic and look at the auto-suggestions that pop up. Those are real, high-intent search phrases. You can also use tools like TubeBuddy, vidIQ, Ahrefs, or KeywordTool.io to find keywords that specifically show video results in Google.

A good trick is to think about how people speak, not just how they type. For example:

• Typed query: “video SEO guide”
• Spoken query: “how do I rank my videos on Google?”
  AI and voice searches increasingly rely on these conversational “how to” and “what is” phrases, so including them naturally in your video titles or transcripts helps your content match real user intent.

Next, focus on long-tail keywords. Longer, more specific phrases like “best live streaming tools for online courses” instead of just “live streaming.” These not only have less competition but also attract more qualified viewers who know what they’re looking for.

It’s also smart to include entity-based keywords. Specific names, tools, or brands related to your niche. For example, mentioning “VdoCipher,” “DRM protection,” or “YouTube SEO” helps search engines and LLMs understand the full context of your video.

Finally, remember that modern AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity can read and summarize video transcripts. So, if your transcript naturally includes these keywords and phrases, your video has a better chance of being cited or summarized in AI-generated answers.

In short, keyword research for video SEO isn’t just about guessing search terms. It’s about understanding how people talk, what they need, and how AI interprets that language to surface your videos in both search engines and chat-based tools.

Video SEO best practices for Optimizing Video Metadata

Once you’ve found the right keywords, the next step is to make sure your video’s metadata clearly tells both viewers and search engines what it’s about. Metadata includes your title, description, tags, and category. Basically, the first things people (and algorithms) see before deciding whether your video is worth clicking on.

Video Titles

Your video title is your first impression, so make it count.

A great title should be descriptive, emotion-driven, and clear about the value it offers. Combine a natural, human tone with the main keyword you want to rank for.

For example:

• Instead of “Video SEO Tips”, try “10 Video SEO Tips to Help Your Videos Rank Higher in 2025.”
• Or instead of “DRM for Videos”, go with “How DRM Protects Your Online Courses from Piracy.”

Keep it conversational and benefit-focused, people should instantly know what they’ll gain from watching.

Video Descriptions

Your description gives search engines context and gives viewers a reason to stay. Aim for 200–300 words that explain what the video covers, include key phrases naturally, and add a touch of storytelling or structure.

A good description should:

• Summarize what viewers will learn or see.
• Include timestamps if your video covers multiple topics (helps with Google’s “key moments”).
• Add calls-to-action, like “Subscribe for more guides” or “Try our free video SEO checklist.”
• Link to related content (blogs, playlists, or your product page).

Use semantic keywords, variations, or related terms throughout your description. This helps AI systems and search crawlers understand your video’s full meaning, not just its main keyword.

Video Tags & Categories

Tags might not be as powerful as they once were, but they still help algorithms recognize your topic and related themes. Use a mix of:

• Your main keyword,
• Long-tail variations, and
• Supporting terms that reflect the overall topic cluster.

For example, if your main keyword is “video SEO”, your tags could include “YouTube ranking,” “SEO for videos,” “LLM optimization,” “video content marketing,” and “search visibility.”

Finally, pick the most relevant category for your video — it helps YouTube and Google group it with similar content. A well-chosen category boosts your chances of appearing in recommended or related videos.

How to do Video Thumbnail Optimization?

Your video thumbnail is like the cover of a book — it’s what convinces people to click. Even the best videos can get ignored if the thumbnail doesn’t grab attention. That’s why CTR (click-through rate) is such an important ranking signal. 

When more people click your video after seeing it in search results, YouTube and Google see that as proof your video matches user intent, and they reward you with higher visibility.

Design Best Practices

A good thumbnail should instantly communicate what your video is about. Keep these basics in mind:

• Contrast is key: Use bright backgrounds and bold text that stands out, even on small screens.
• Show emotion: Faces with clear expressions perform much better — curiosity, excitement, or surprise work wonders.
• Be consistent: Use a familiar color palette, font, or frame style across your videos to build brand identity.
• Avoid clutter: Too many elements make the image confusing. Keep it simple, focused, and readable.

Think of your thumbnail as a mini-advertisement for your video, it should make viewers curious enough to click.

Test and Improve

Even small design tweaks can make a big difference. Use YouTube Studio’s A/B testing tools (available through TubeBuddy or vidIQ) to compare two thumbnail versions and see which one gets more clicks. Over time, you’ll notice patterns, maybe close-up faces or certain colors work better for your audience.

In short, a great thumbnail doesn’t just look good, it performs. It captures attention, boosts your click-through rate, and tells search engines your video deserves to rank higher.

How to Do On-Page Optimization for Video SEO?

Getting your video to rank isn’t just about what’s inside the video. It’s also about where and how it lives on your webpage. On-page optimization helps search engines (and now, AI models) understand your video’s context, making it easier to index and display in rich results.

Video Placement Matters

If you’re embedding a video on your website, place it near the top of the page, ideally above the fold. This ensures that both visitors and search bots recognize it as the main focus of the page. Avoid stacking multiple videos on the same page; the general rule is one main video per page so Google knows exactly which one to index.

Add Transcripts and Captions

Including transcripts and captions is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to boost video SEO. Transcripts turn your spoken content into readable text — which means search engines can understand every word, topic, and keyword mentioned in your video. Captions also improve accessibility and engagement, which are both indirect ranking factors.

When your transcript is crawlable, even AI-driven systems like ChatGPT or Perplexity can pick up context and reference your video in their summaries.

Use Schema Markup

Add VideoObject schema to your page so Google can properly identify your video. This structured data helps your video appear as a rich snippet with a thumbnail, duration, and even “key moments” (the clickable timestamps you see on Google results).

If your video covers multiple topics, you can use Clip markup to highlight those key sections — it’s a great way to make your video more interactive and AI-friendly.

Provide Context Around the Video

Don’t just embed a video and leave it at that. Add supporting text around it — a short introduction, summary paragraphs, or even an FAQ section. This extra content helps search engines and large language models understand your topic more deeply and connect it with related queries.

What are the Hosting and Indexing Video SEO Best Practices?

Where you host your videos plays a big role in how they’re discovered, indexed, and ranked. The goal is to make it easy for both viewers and search engines to access your content quickly and reliably.

YouTube vs Self-Hosting

If your main goal is reach and visibility, YouTube is the easiest place to start. It’s free, highly discoverable, and already optimized for Google search results. The downside? You don’t fully control how viewers interact with your content — they can easily get distracted by other videos or ads.

Self-hosting (using platforms like VdoCipher, Wistia, or Vimeo Pro) gives you more control over branding, analytics, and user experience. It’s perfect for businesses, e-learning, and paid content. The trade-off is that you’ll need to handle your own SEO setup — things like schema markup, sitemaps, and loading speed.

A good hybrid approach is to use YouTube for top-of-funnel awareness videos and self-hosting for gated or premium content.

Use Video Sitemaps

A video sitemap helps Google find your videos faster and understand what each one is about. It includes details like video title, description, thumbnail URL, and play page. Submitting a video sitemap through Google Search Console improves your chances of getting indexed and appearing in video search results.

If you’re embedding multiple videos across your site, make sure each one is listed properly in your sitemap — it’s like handing Google a direct guide to your content.

Optimize Playback and CDN Performance

Search engines pay attention to user experience metrics — and nothing hurts engagement faster than buffering. Use a reliable CDN (Content Delivery Network) to serve videos quickly across different regions. The faster your video loads and plays smoothly, the longer people stay — and that sends strong engagement signals to search algorithms.

Add Canonical Tags When Embedding

If you’re embedding a video hosted elsewhere (like on YouTube), use a canonical tag on your webpage. This tells search engines which version of the video should be treated as the original. It prevents duplicate content issues and ensures the right source gets credit for the views and ranking.

Engagement & Retention Signals for Video SEO

Once your video starts getting clicks, the next challenge is keeping people watching. Search engines — especially YouTube — care deeply about engagement signals. These metrics help algorithms decide which videos deserve more visibility and which ones fade out.

Key Metrics That Matter

• Watch Time: The total amount of time viewers spend watching your video. Longer watch times tell YouTube your content is valuable.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who click your video after seeing it in search or recommendations. A good thumbnail and title can boost this.
• Audience Retention: How long viewers stay before dropping off. High retention means your video holds attention.
• Engagement (Likes, Comments, Shares): These social actions show that viewers found your video helpful or entertaining — powerful signals for algorithms.

Hook Viewers Early

The first 10 seconds of your video are critical. That’s when most people decide whether to keep watching or scroll away.
Start with a strong hook — something that instantly tells viewers what they’ll get out of the video.
You can try:

• Asking a relatable question
• Showing a quick preview of what’s coming
• Using bold visuals or motion to catch attention

If you can get viewers past the first 30 seconds, your chances of ranking higher go up significantly.

Use Interactive Elements

YouTube gives you built-in tools to keep viewers engaged:

• Cards can link to other videos, playlists, or your website.
• End Screens can promote related videos or encourage subscriptions.

Use these smartly to guide viewers deeper into your content instead of letting them drift away.

Encourage Community Interaction

Ask viewers to comment, share their thoughts, or answer a simple question. This not only builds connection but also drives comment activity, which tells the algorithm your video is sparking real engagement.

A healthy community around your content signals relevance and authority, helping your future videos rank faster.

Promotion and Distribution

Publishing a video is just half the job — the real impact comes from how you promote and distribute it. The more touchpoints your video has across the web, the better its chances of getting discovered and shared.

Repurpose and Share Widely

Don’t limit your video to one platform. Repurpose it across social media, blogs, newsletters, and community platforms.

• Share short clips or highlights on LinkedIn, Instagram, or X (Twitter).
• Embed the full version in a blog post to add context and boost dwell time.
• Include it in your email newsletter to drive consistent traffic.

Each channel helps your video reach a new segment of your audience — and every extra click adds SEO value.

Build Backlinks with Video Embeds

Guest posts or collaborations are a great way to earn backlinks. When other websites embed your video or link to your landing page, search engines view that as a sign of credibility and authority.
Try offering educational videos or tutorials as part of your guest content — it’s an easy, natural way to earn quality backlinks while showcasing your expertise.

Use Playlists and Internal Linking

On YouTube, playlists aren’t just for organization — they’re an SEO tool. Group related videos into thematic playlists to build topical authority and increase watch time.
Inside your videos, use cards and end screens to guide viewers to the next relevant video. This keeps them within your ecosystem longer and helps YouTube understand how your videos connect to each other.

Measuring Success

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Tracking performance helps you understand what’s working — and what needs tweaking.

What to Track

Keep an eye on these core metrics:

• Keyword Rankings: See if your videos are appearing for target search terms on YouTube and Google.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Are your titles and thumbnails attracting clicks?
• Watch Time & Engagement: How long are viewers staying? Are they liking, commenting, or sharing?

These insights tell you which videos resonate most with your audience.

Tools to Use

• YouTube Analytics: Your main dashboard for CTR, watch time, retention, and audience demographics.
• Google Search Console (Video Indexing Report): Shows whether your videos are indexed properly and appearing in Google’s video results.
• GA4 (Google Analytics 4): Set up custom events to track how users interact with videos on your website — such as play rate, completion rate, or scroll depth.

Review these numbers regularly. Small changes — like a new thumbnail, better intro, or improved description — can quickly turn an average video into a top performer.

How to Optimize Your Videos for LLMs and AI Search? 

Search is changing — fast. We’re moving beyond traditional search engines and into the world of AI-powered discovery. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s Gemini no longer just show links or snippets — they summarize, explain, and cite information directly.

For video creators and marketers, that means a new goal: making sure your videos are not just searchable, but also AI-readable.
If search engines ranked by keywords, LLMs rank by understanding. They look for well-structured, semantically rich, and trustworthy content that can be summarized accurately.

Let’s break down how to prepare your videos for this next generation of search.

a. How LLMs “See” and Understand Video Content

Large Language Models (LLMs) don’t watch your videos — they read them. They interpret the surrounding data, metadata, and transcripts to understand what your video is about.

They extract meaning from three main sources:

• Titles, descriptions, and captions: These tell the AI what the video covers and who it’s for.
• Schema metadata: Structured data (like VideoObject and Clip markup) helps AI systems categorize and contextualize your video.
• Transcripts and captions: Especially if they’re crawlable, these allow AI models to analyze the actual spoken words, identify topics, and pull quotes or insights.

In other words, your metadata + transcript + context text form the “language” that LLMs can read. The clearer and more structured that language is, the better chance your video has of being recognized, summarized, or even cited in AI-generated answers.

b. Tactics to Make Videos “AI-Readable”

To make your videos friendly to LLMs, you need to think like a data architect and a storyteller combined. Here’s how:

1. Always include accurate transcripts and captions
   Transcripts aren’t just for accessibility — they’re your biggest AI optimization tool. They let LLMs understand your video’s exact content and tone. Ensure your transcripts are machine-readable (not image-based) and free of filler text like “um” or “uh.”
2. Publish detailed summaries or FAQs below the video
   Add a short summary or a mini-FAQ section right under your embedded video. These text blocks give AI crawlers more context to connect your content with user questions.
3. Use semantic-rich schema markup
   Implement VideoObject, Clip, and Speakable schema tags. These tell AI exactly what your video is, what it covers, and which moments are most relevant.
   • VideoObject: defines your video’s metadata (title, thumbnail, duration, etc.)
   • Clip: highlights specific timestamps or chapters
   • Speakable: marks sections ideal for voice assistants or summaries
4. Add named entities for context
   Include specific people, brands, tools, or locations mentioned in the video. These “entities” help LLMs connect your content with wider knowledge graphs. For example, instead of saying “our platform,” say “VdoCipher — a secure video hosting solution.”
5. Use chapter timestamps
   Break your video into clear segments with titles and timestamps. This helps both Google and AI models “chunk” your video into meaningful sections that can be cited or summarized separately.

c. Optimizing for Generative Answers

Generative AI models often respond to natural-language questions like “How does DRM protect videos from piracy?” or “What’s the best way to optimize video SEO in 2025?”
To show up in those answers, you need to design your videos (and their text data) around answering questions clearly and directly.

Here’s how:

• Create Q&A-style content: Structure your videos to answer common “what,” “how,” and “why” questions in your niche.
• Add descriptive headers around embeds: If your video is on a blog, include contextual headings like “In this video, Rahul explains how DRM prevents piracy.” This signals to LLMs what question the video addresses.
• Make long-form, detailed videos: AI prefers in-depth, well-structured sources it can trust. Ten minutes of clear explanation often ranks better than two minutes of fluff.
• Keep transcripts public: Don’t hide them behind paywalls. AI systems can only cite or summarize content they can access.

The more question-focused and well-documented your videos are, the higher their chances of being referenced in AI-generated summaries or answers.

d. Leverage Multimodal Signals

Modern AI isn’t just text-based — it’s multimodal, meaning it understands and connects text, images, and even video thumbnails.

To strengthen your presence across these modes:

• Use descriptive thumbnails: Include visuals that clearly reflect your topic (e.g., “SEO Tips” overlay text or recognizable objects).
• Add ALT text for images: Describe what’s in your thumbnail or related visuals in plain language.
• Link your video to related blog posts: When AI sees interconnected pages about the same topic, it builds stronger confidence in your expertise.

This cross-linking and consistency help LLMs “see” your video as part of a wider, trustworthy information ecosystem.

e. Measure Your Visibility in LLMs

This is a new area, but you can already start tracking whether your content shows up in AI-powered platforms.

Here’s how:

• Check citations in Perplexity or ChatGPT web mode: Search for your brand or topic and see if your video or website is being referenced.
• Use tools like Glasp or Perplexity citations trackers: These platforms sometimes reveal which sources are used in AI-generated responses.
• Manual prompt testing: Try asking LLMs your target questions — for example, “Summarize best practices for video SEO” — and see if your content is mentioned or paraphrased.

While it’s still early days, keeping track of these signals helps you spot how AI systems interpret and use your videos — and gives you a head start in optimizing for them.

The Bottom Line

LLM optimization is the next evolution of SEO. Instead of just targeting search results, you’re training AI systems to understand, trust, and reference your content.

By combining structured data, detailed transcripts, smart schema, and contextual linking, you’re not just improving your video’s visibility — you’re future-proofing it for an AI-driven internet.

“We just made Wistia videos visible to ChatGPT.

It’s called LLM-Friendly Embed Codes, a new kind of embed that makes your videos readable by AI tools like ChatGPT.

Why does that matter? Because right now, most videos are invisible to them. When AI tools browse the web, they don’t execute JavaScript. In other words: your videos might as well not exist.

Our new embeds fix that.

They include the plain text of your video’s transcript right in the HTML, so the content is fully readable and understandable to AI.

It sounds small, but it changes everything. Your videos can now actually teach the internet what they’re about.

We’ve been testing it on our own webpages and the results are wild. AIs are pulling insights straight from video transcripts that weren’t visible anywhere else.

This is what we’re calling LLM-Optimization. Think of it as LLM SEO, and it’s already reshaping how discoverability works.

I couldn’t be prouder of the team for moving so fast on this. They’re pushing Wistia, and video marketing, into the future.”