Question Would you change Keywords if video is already performing fairly well?

[WV Pet Project]

SO, I am finally getting the hang of SEO, and my watch time has increased significantly over the last month. BUT, I have found higher ranking keywords...I am hesitant to change them since the videos are actually in the suggested video rotation, and getting a fair amount of views. I am afraid that if I change the word, it will mess up what I have going...Opinions?

 

[NanoniumTheDude]

Personally speaking, I wouldn't change them, but if the video later down the line does not perform well, I would switch the keywords not ranking well out

 

[Beanie Draws]

Most experts I've heard have warned against changing anything on a well performing video, but then I ask myself... what IS a "good performing" video. A video that is performing "well" but has tags that aren't necessarily ranking, to me theoretically means there's potential for it to rank even better. Just as a good performing thumbnail, could potentially always work even better.

Problem is, changing metadata does reset things for a bit, so you could perform better, or it could halt performance. It's quite the gamble. I have some amazing performing videos with horrible seo from 2015 that I don't dare touch out of fear that they stop performing, but with the addition of chapters, I'm tempted.

That's about all I can say, @Andrew will definitely have better advice on this one.

 

[WV Pet Project]

Most experts I've heard have warned against changing anything on a well performing video, but then I ask myself... what IS a "good performing" video. A video that is performing "well" but has tags that aren't necessarily ranking, to me theoretically means there's potential for it to rank even better. Just as a good performing thumbnail, could potentially always work even better.

Problem is, changing metadata does reset things for a bit, so you could perform better, or it could halt performance. It's quite the gamble. I have some amazing performing videos with horrible seo from 2015 that I don't dare touch out of fear that they stop performing, but with the addition of chapters, I'm tempted.

That's about all I can say, @Andrew will definitely have better advice on this one.

SO, I changed it BEFORE I asked the question (then I started second guessing myself)- views dropped sharply in the next 24 hours. I am putting it back and hoping it goes back where it was.. Just for reference..my watch time went from 9,228 minutes in November to 32,962 in December. Prior to that, October was by far my highest month with just a tad over 10,000 minutes. (I know that is not a ton- but for me, it is a very big deal!) Lesson learned- I won't make that mistake again.-if it is getting suggested, I am not gonna try to build a better mousetrap.....

 

[SILTHW]

SO, I changed it BEFORE I asked the question (then I started second guessing myself)- views dropped sharply in the next 24 hours. I am putting it back and hoping it goes back where it was.. Just for reference..my watch time went from 9,228 minutes in November to 32,962 in December. Prior to that, October was by far my highest month with just a tad over 10,000 minutes. (I know that is not a ton- but for me, it is a very big deal!) Lesson learned- I won't make that mistake again.-if it is getting suggested, I am not gonna try to build a better mousetrap.....

Keywords will have to be re-indexed after you change them. Did you change all of them, or simply change/replace the ones that weren't ranking?

 

[WV Pet Project]

Keywords will have to be re-indexed after you change them. Did you change all of them, or simply change/replace the ones that weren't ranking?

I changed the title of the video- For example- I do animal rescue videos- the most popular are the videos I do of feral cat trappings. I had the keyword, and title of every video start with the same words. (I have had nearly 90,000 impressions with a CTR of a little over 4%- so not ideal on my end, but it is a start). I was playing with SEO and the keyword explorer, and saw that a different phrase rated as "Excellent"- so, my dumbass changed all of the titles, descriptions, and 1st tags to start with that instead- could see a difference quickly. Does that make sense?

 

[SILTHW]

I changed the title of the video- For example- I do animal rescue videos- the most popular are the videos I do of feral cat trappings. I had the keyword, and title of every video start with the same words. (I have had nearly 90,000 impressions with a CTR of a little over 4%- so not ideal on my end, but it is a start). I was playing with SEO and the keyword explorer, and saw that a different phrase rated as "Excellent"- so, my dumbass changed all of the titles, descriptions, and 1st tags to start with that instead- could see a difference quickly. Does that make sense?

It does. While I'm not the expert, the main thing I do is change out the non-ranking tags for other tags that might rank. I have changed titles, but I try to be very judicious about doing that because of the inevitable fall that happens why everything is reindexed.

 

[WV Pet Project]

It does. While I'm not the expert, the main thing I do is change out the non-ranking tags for other tags that might rank. I have changed titles, but I try to be very judicious about doing that because of the inevitable fall that happens why everything is reindexed.

I am glad I learned this now- I was just starting to gain some traction getting my videos seen, and have just been uploading for a little less than a year- So, it is a good time for learning these lessons. Thanks so much for your input!