*UPDATES IN PROGRESS
How does SEO on YouTube work?
...
Keyword Research (KWR)
KWR is an essential part of SEO. Keywords represent the words and phrases the audience will mostly likely use when searching for content like yours.
Use Ahrefs for Keyword Research
Use the YouTube search bar to find related search terms in addition to general KWR from Ahrefs.
...
As with any SEO strategy, don’t keyword stuff. YouTube SEO is about making your content easier for your viewers to find, and for YouTube’s algorithm to understand. If you overuse your keywords, you risk confusing your audience. Or worse–getting penalized by YouTube and Google.
File Name
Video Title
Video Description
Tags
Video Chapters/Time Stamps
Video Transcription
Video File Name
Google recommends using the target keyword as close to the beginning of the title, description, and tags as possible. Additionally, try to use a combination of long-tail keywords, synonyms, or related terms when writing descriptions and adding tags.
...
YouTube timestamps let YouTube know where the important parts of your video begin and end. This allows YouTube to understand the content of your video even better–and in turn, gives you a stronger YouTube SEO ranking signal.
In Google search results, timestamps are shown below video search results in a “key moments” section. If a user searches for a particular phrase and Google sees that this phrase is used as a timestamp, Google will direct the user to the exact part of your video where they can find the answer.
...
Resources: