How to Make Money on YouTube, According to 3 People Who Do Every day, over one billion YouTube videos are watched around the world. And they're not just being watched -- they're being devoured. In fact, the average YouTube mobile viewing session by any one viewer is roughly 40 minutes. If only there was a way to make money off of a website people spend so much time on ... As a matter of fact, there is! A few ways, actually, and the proof is in the people (and businesses) who've cashed in on their video strategy. Who's making content worthy of a nearly hour-long visit to YouTube? Well, YouTube isn't just for amateur filmmakers and people videotaping their zainy housepets anymore. Musicians, TV networks, small businesses, and the self-employed all find monetary value in posting their own amazing content on a YouTube channel. An active, entertaining YouTube channel -- which is free to make through a Google+ account (also free) -- strengthens these users' brands and extends their reach to new audiences. It can also build a base of subscribers that other companies using YouTube will actually pay to advertise their products to. Before launching a YouTube channel for the purposes of making money, you need to decide what kind of profit you're interested in. Are you looking to use YouTube as a promotional outlet for your own products and services? Or, do you want your video content to generate ad revenue right from YouTube? Here, we'll dive...

What Are YouTube Tags & Why Are They Important? YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, so keyword-optimizing your videos on the platform is just as important as keyword-optimizing your blog posts for Google. Even if you’ve just created the next “Charlie bit my finger” video, you must remember that an algorithm dictates which videos YouTube will serve to its audience -- and which ones it won’t. One of the best ways to keyword-optimize your videos for YouTube is leveraging tags. Below, we’ve put together a guide that will explain exactly what YouTube tags are, why they’re important, and some best practices to follow.  What are tags for YouTube? YouTube Tags are words and phrases you can include in your YouTube videos’ description. They let your viewers, and YouTube, know what your videos are about and can help them rank higher in the platform’s search results. Why are YouTube tags important? YouTube tags function to help YouTube grasp your video’s content and context. This way, YouTube can understand your video’s topic and category, and associate it with similar content, which can amplify your video’s reach. The rise of semantic search has made YouTube tags less important over time, but they're still a strategic element you can use to your advantage. Even though YouTube sites the title, thumbnail, and description as being more important for video SEO on their platform, studies do indicate that there's a slight positive relationship between keyword-optimized tags and...