Whether you’re new to video or have been vlogging a few or several years, it’s always helpful to review tips and suggestions for using Google’s most famous, and the world’s most-searched, platform. Here are Five YouTube tips for bloggers from #VlogMom’s Julie Meyers Pron.

YouTube always gets the juice, so take advantage of your YouTube statistics

A properly keyworded YouTube video is more likely to show up in a google search before the link to your site, and searchers are more likely to click on a YouTube video than a link to your website. Which may make one wonder, why would I provide my own competition? You must because if you don’t, someone else will. Your YouTube statistics can (and should) be included in your Media Kits and About pages on your site. They’re a part of your promotional and influential power.

That’s great, but how do I get more people to my site?

A little known fact that I learned from Joey Fortman of Real Mom Media: You Tube will only provide a hyperlink if the URL is in the beginning of the description. You should always, always, always start your description with a link to your own site. Start with something keyworded and simple like “http://julieverse.com/ <– see more of Julie Meyers Pron’s parenting tips and how to videos at Julieverse at Just Precious.” Then add a heavily keyworded sentence about your video.

What if I want to make money?

There are two prime ways to make money on YouTube: GoogleAds and Affiliate Links.

• Google Ads. After your video channel has achieved a certain amount of accredibility (determined by YouTube and Google’s mysterious algorithm), you’ll be invited to monetize your videos. After you accept the invitation, you’ll be prompted on each video to decide whether or not to monetize. Take care to only monetize videos that do not use copy-written elements (such as songs, TV, quotes from books, movies, etc), do not include paid product placements and do not have graphics that would confuse the eye when an ad is laid over. Google Ads take about one-third of the YouTube screen as an overlay. If you don’t like how the ad is performing or the way it looks, you can always take it off.
• Affiliate Links. Missy Ward of the Affiliate Summit shared this tip with me at SheCon11: Always include affiliate links to any product you discuss or use during your videos. Viewers are watching you to see what you can do, and when they fall in love with your demonstration, they’re going to want the product. So sell it to them! In this case, you’ll want to include the affiliate link at the beginning of the description, and not your site link. Because you want the money before the link juice.

Get more followers

It’s very easy to subscribe to people’s YouTube channels: just find a video you like and click “subscribe” above the video. When you subscribe to a channel, their feeds will be sent to you and will appear on your Channel page. This makes it easier to view those you like and to share with those who like you other videos that you watch. When you follow another vlogger, she’ll be prompted to reciprocate and follow you back. Not only will she then begin following you and receiving your feed on her channel, but others visiting her channel will see you featured on her list of following.

Why are you still sitting here? Practice!

Video blogging is fun, but it’s also nerve-wracking, intimidating and it feels a bit self-centered. Most vloggers wonder what they can do to increase their skills. The easy answer: practice! But practicing is awkward… who wants to just jump on screen and start talking about random things, right? A few other bloggers had the same thought, and decided it would be much more fun to practice their skills together. At #VlogMom, bloggers ask a question of the week and answer it each Thursday, linking up on each other’s sites, watching each other’s YouTube videos and sharing vlogging tips in the comments.

How many videos do you create? Do you like to create videos?

Julie Meyers Pron

A mom, wife, educator, marketer and resource, Julie Meyers Pron writes daily at the Julieverse on Just-Precious.com. A principal partner at Splash Creative Media and owner and founder of the collaborative VlogMom, Julie has been actively blogging since 2004. Her most popular YouTube vlog of all time was her review of the Mia Moda Atmosferra, which she created before she knew anything about YouTube or video. Follow Julie on YouTube, twitter and facebook.