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SEO Checklist

YouTube SEO Checklist: Rank Your Videos [2026]

Rank your videos with a 36-step YouTube SEO checklist: titles, thumbnails, tags, chapters, transcripts, end screens, and channel optimization.

What's included

  • Video Optimization — Title, thumbnail, description, tags, chapters, transcript.
  • Channel Optimization — Branding, playlists, end screens, and channel description.
  • CTR & Retention — Title + thumbnail testing, intro pacing, chapter strategy.
  • Video Schema — VideoObject schema for embeds + Google video carousels.
  • YouTube → Google — Embedding videos on pages that rank in Google search.
  • Analytics — YouTube Studio metrics that matter for ranking decisions.