ISIS Mocks Anonymous' War Declaration

ISIS has rebuffed the declaration of cyberwar Anonymous issued on Sunday.

"The #Anonymous hackers threatened in new video release that they will carry out a major hack operation on the Islamic state (idiots)," reads a message posted Monday in a Telegram channel believed to be affiliated with ISIS hackers.

"What they gonna hack," it continues. "All what they can do is hacking Alansar twitter accounts, emails etc."

The message includes a list of tips to counteract Anonymous' hacking attempts.

Anonymous issued its declaration of war following last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, in which 129 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.

"The war has been declared," a person with a hood and a Guy Fawkes mask says in the Anonymous video. "Prepare yourselves. These attacks cannot remain unpunished. This is why Anonymous from all over the world will hunt you down. Expect many cyberattacks."

Dangerous Doxing

Anonymous on Wednesday tweeted that it has taken down 5,500 Twitter accounts affiliated with the militants since beginning Operation ISIS.

Anonymous also posted the details, including a physical address, of a person it claimed was an ISIS recruiter in Europe, according to the Independent.

However, Anonymous' track record of identifying extremists is spotty, the paper cautioned.

"The ultimate thing Anonymous could do that would be effective would be to ID people with an affinity to ISIS, but that could have bad consequences" said Richard Stiennon, chief research analyst at IT Harvest.

"They could ID the wrong people," he told TechNewsWorld. "Hackers do that all the time."

Disrupt Recruiting

Sabotaging ISIS websites could be another effective tactic, noted Scott Borg, CEO and chief economist at theU.S. Cyber Consequences Unit.

Anonymous could have an impact on recruitment efforts, since a large measure of ISIS recruiting is done through websites.

"Anonymous could block those websites. It could deface them. It could interfere with the servers being used to host those websites. So they could do quite a bit harm to the recruitment efforts of ISIS," Borg told TechNewsWorld.

"Anonymous, unlike government agencies, isn't going to be shy about causing a certain amount of collateral damage to achieve what they want, so they can be more effective than anyone official," he added.

Weak Weapon

However, there are those who discount the impact of any war Anonymous could wage on ISIS.

"It isn't like Anonymous is going to be able to launch missiles at ISIS, so the true amount of damage they're going to be able to inflict is going to be somewhat limited," Jeremy Gillula, a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told TechNewsWorld.

"Anonymous is an organization of Internet trolls," observed Jeffrey Carr, CEO of Taia Global.

"They've never had much in the way of technical skill when it comes to hacking," he told TechNewsWorld.

One of the group's weapons -- taking down Twitter accounts -- is a weak one, he noted. "If someone takes down a Twitter account, how long does it take to get one back up? It's an inconvenience at best."

More Harm Than Good?

Anonymous' war on ISIS could do more harm than good for the people for whom they're seeking retribution.

"There are counterterrorism operations around the world monitoring much of the communication of terrorists, and Anonymous could disrupt those activities and at the worst, damage them," said IT Harvest's Stiennon.

However, any damage Anonymous could do might be worth the risk, maintained the Cybersecurity Consequences Unit's Borg.

"They might interfere with some of the government monitoring of ISIS, but the government has other options and other ways of tracking ISIS," he pointed out. "I think that if Anonymous is clever, they might interfere with ISIS' activities enough so it would be worth the small damage they might do to the government's ability to monitor ISIS."

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2 Best Email Subscribe Widget for Blogger

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Grameenphone Inactive - Bondho sim Reactivation offer with special tariff on 29 tk recharge

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Smartphone can be your fitness tracker

Uncomfortable with your wristband fitness tracker? Now you can bury it somewhere in your closet as your smartphone would be your new fitness tracker, say researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
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A new system called BioPhone, developed by researchers at MIT, can take your heart rate, breathing and other physiological measurements while it sits in your bag or pocket - without even touching your body, MIT Technology Review reported.

The BioPhone derives biological signals from your phone’s accelerometer and it can capture the small movements of your body that result from the beating of your heart and rising and falling of your chest, researchers said.

Lead author of the study, Javier Hernandez, said it is meant to capture this data during moments when you are not moving much and the data could be used to help figure out when you are stressed out and then help you cope with it.

For example, your smartphone might suggest you try some breathing exercises or ask a loved one to give you a call.

To measure the utility of BioPhone, researchers asked participants to stand, sit and lie down with a smartphone in their pocket.

The data gathered from the smartphones were extremely similar and in many instances the same as FDA-approved heart and breathing-rate sensors.

However, researchers still have to figure out how to measure heart and breathing rates reliably when the smartphone is in different spots like your back pants’ pocket, which can change how the biological signals are picked up.

In other words, the farther you get from the heart, the harder it is to get a good reading.

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Post ‘likes’ on Facebook to ward off depression

If you are young and love Facebook, keep it to just “liking” and minimise your virtual circle of friends to cut the upcoming depression risk. According to researchers, the social networking site can have positive and negative effects on the levels of a common stress hormone in teenagers.

The team found that having more than 300 Facebook friends increased teenagers’ levels of cortisol while those who only posted “likes” on their Facebook friends to encourage them actually decreased their cortisol levels. 
“We were able to show that beyond 300 Facebook friends, adolescents showed higher cortisol levels. We can imagine that those who have 1,000 or 2,000 friends on Facebook may be subjected to even greater stress,” explained Professor Sonia Lupien from University of Montreal.
“While other important external factors are also responsible, we estimated that the isolated effect of Facebook on cortisol was around eight percent,” Lupien noted. 
Lupien and her colleagues recruited 88 participants aged 12-17 years who were asked about their Facebook use, number of friends, self-promoting behaviour, and the supporting behaviour they displayed toward their friends. 
Along with these four measures, the team collected cortisol samples of the participating adolescents. 
Other studies have shown that high morning cortisol levels at 13 years increase the risk of suffering from depression at 16 years by 37 percent. 
While none of the adolescents suffered from depression at the time of the study, Lupien could not conclude that they were free from an increased risk of developing it. 
“We did not observe depression in our participants. However, adolescents who present high stress hormone levels do not become depressed immediately; it can occur later on,” Lupien emphasised. 
Some studies have shown that it may take 11 years before the onset of severe depression in children who consistently had high cortisol levels
The study is one of the first in the emerging field of cyberpsychology to focus on the effects of Facebook on well-being. 
“Developmental analysis could also reveal whether virtual stress is indeed ‘getting over the screen and under the skin’ to modulate neurobiological processes related to adaptation,” the authors noted in a paper published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

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Limit your ex on Facebook

Not inclined to see your ex-flame's newfound joy thrown in your face every time you log on to your Facebook account? Well, Facebook now has a solution that spares you the dilemma of taking the drastic "unfriend" step.

Facebook said it will begin to experiment with new tools designed to give users the option to digitally distance themselves from their former loved ones without having to take drastic measures.

Users can try the new tools when they change their relationship status on the social network, TechCrunch reported.

You would be shown the option to "see less" from that person, as well as limit what that person sees from you. Besides, you would also be able to make changes to past posts and photos.

With the new tools, you will be able to see less of the person in question -- meaning you won't see the person's posts in your News Feed, and you won't be prompted through auto-suggestions to message them or tag them in photos.

Your ex will never be notified you are making these changes.

In addition to slowly cutting out an ex's name and posts from your News Feed, you can also limit what your ex can see from you, according to Facebook.

The idea is to give the two parties some space in their online lives after their break-up.

In short, your ex would only see the posts you have explicitly tagged them in, those you have shared publicly, or those shared on mutual friends' Timelines.

The tools are currently rolling out in the US on mobile only and are optional. The company may make further adjustments before launching them to its wider user base.

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Apple fading out Beats streaming music brand

Apple is ending the Beats streaming music service on November 30 as it seeks to bring users to its newly launched Apple Music.
The move, which had been widely expected, comes a little more than a year after Apple completed its $3 billion acquisition of Beats, known for its high-end headphones and other audio equipment in addition to its streaming service.
Apple's biggest-ever acquisition also brought onboard the talents of Beats brains Dr. Dre, a rap musician and entrepreneur, and Jimmy Iovine, a music producer seen by some as a visionary for recognizing the trend toward online streaming.
A statement posted late Thursday said that "Beats Music ends on November 30" and that all subscriptions will be canceled.
The statement added that users can migrate their profiles and preferences to Apple Music, which began on June 30 as a subscription rival to services such as Spotify and Pandora.
"All the pros that curated music for you are still crafting more amazing experiences," the statement said.
"Plus, on Apple Music, you'll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist and more."
The centerpiece of Apple Music is Beats 1, which bills itself as the first global radio station, and will include guest hosts such as pop legend Elton John and Dr. Dre.
The radio station will remain free, even for users who do not pay the $9.99 a month to stream artists, and Apple has made the service integral to its latest operating system on iPhones.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in October that its new music service had some 6.5 million subscribers, as it ended free trials.

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Facebook tests vanishing messages

Facebook users in France were able to send vanishing missives with its smartphone Messenger application on Thursday, ramping up the challenge to Snapchat.

"We're conducting a small test in France of a feature that allows people to send messages that disappear an hour after they're sent," Facebook told AFP.

"Disappearing messages gives people another fun option to choose from when they communicate on Messenger."

Tapping an hourglass icon on the top right of the screen in Messenger will allow users to send messages designed to vanish an hour after they are sent.

The feature is being tested on versions of the Messenger application for mobile devices powered by Apple or Android software. If it proves successful, the feature would likely be made available in other countries.

Making ephemeral messages an option in Messenger is a direct challenge to smartphone-messaging rival Snapchat.

Snapchat's appeal has been the premise that messages disappear shortly after being viewed, providing users a sense of being able to keep pictures or videos private and ephemeral.

Los Angeles-based Snapchat rocketed to popularity in the United States, especially among teenagers, after the initial app was released in September 2011.

Snapchat rejected a $3 billion takeover offer from Facebook in 2013.

Facebook earlier this year began testing a Messenger app virtual assistant that the leading social network said goes beyond artificial intelligence programs already on the market.

The personal digital assistant -- dubbed "M" -- completes tasks along with seeking out information at the behest of users.

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8 Essential Ways to Keep Your Video Content Relevant

t's not enough simply create a video for your business; you need a strategy in place that will ensure you're getting the most value as possible from your videos. Video marketing can be a costly investment, and it can be disappointing to watch your video views slowly decline.

So what can you do when your videos are no longer producing desired results and a favorable return on investment? Thankfully, there are actions you can take. Here's how to give your marketing videos a boost and prolong their value.

If you have videos sitting on YouTube and no longer generating desirable results, it's time to make sure they are properly optimized. There are advanced video optimization techniques you can do to ensure your videos are easily discoverable on both YouTube and Google search. Here are 8 suggestions:

#1 Review and Update the Titles of Your Videos

Are the titles still relevant? Would you say they are catchy and engaging? Do they reflect your current messaging strategy or target keywords? If not, it's time to change them. The title of your video is one of the most critical factors for search engines to determine what your video is all about. 55% of Google universal search results include video, so don’t miss out on this huge opportunity in search.You also want your video titles to be appealing to searchers, so avoid keyword stuffing and instead try using exciting, funny or descriptive words that will entice your target audience to click.

Here are some popular words you can include in your video titles to boost interest. Can you rewrite any of your titles to include these?:

#2 Review and Update Your Video Descriptions

YouTube allows up to 5,000 characters, or roughly 800 words, for a video description, so make sure you are using that space to your advantage. Keep important keywords towards the beginning of the description and always include a link back to your website or blog. YouTube does allow hyperlinks in descriptions, so this can also increase referral traffic back to your website.

#3 Review and Refresh Your YouTube Video Tags

Are there any misleading tags that might be working against you in the search algorithm? Updating your video tags are a good way to refresh your video and increase its visibility in search. Generally, there are 4 types of video tags that you need to be aware of:

Specific Tags: These are one-word keywords that cover the topic. If YouTube gives you pre-filled suggestions that are essentially what you want, then use those, but also use the same words in a generic way.

Compound Tags: These are multiple-word tags. Try copying the video title and using it as a tag, leaving out conjunctions and prepositions (such as "of," "in," "and," etc.), because YouTube ignores these words.

Generic Tags: These are words like how-to, tutorial, and vlog. YouTube offers suggestions, so use them.

Misspellings: If your keywords include commonly misspelled words, include these in your tags on purpose to capture searchers typing this in the search bar.

Learn More about Optimizing YouTube Meta Data:

The Optimal YouTube Video Description: A Reel How-To Guide

7 Tricks to Optimize Your Video's Title for Search and Social

How-to Add Tags to Multiple YouTube Videos at Once [Tutorial]

How to Optimize YouTube Tags and Descriptions

How to Hack YouTube Video Titles to Get More Views

How to Create YouTube Thumbnails that Attract Viewers

#4 Optimize Your Posting Times

Another way to boost declining video views is to take a deep dive into your social media metrics and analyze which days and times you are posting your videos. You might be missing the optimal times that your audience is actually online. Try to identify patterns in the time of day and day of the week when most of your audience appears to be online and interacting with your content — these are the times you need to be resharing your videos.

CoSchedule recently did the admirable job of compiling research from 6+ of the top marketing blogs on the best times to post on social media and broke it up into more palatable advice. Here are few of the most noteworthy conclusions on when to post on each social network.

• Facebook: 1–4 p.m. late into the week and on weekends
• Twitter: 12–3 p.m., with a peak best time at 5 p.m. During the workweek is best
• LinkedIn: midweek from 5–6 p.m
• Google+: The beginning of the workday morning is optimal
• Pinterest: Saturdays are your best bet — and later at night
• Instagram: Mondays get more attention, but audiences are engaged throughout the week

#5 Understand Where Your Audience Is (and Follow Them)

The "If you build it, they will come" approach may work for some, but for most, video content can quickly fade into the sea of online video. If this is happening to you, it may be time to reevaluate where your target audience is and how you can get your videos discovered more easily.

A good first step is to identify how viewers are currently finding your videos. Take a look at your video's referral traffic numbers. Which sources are driving the most views? Which are driving longer watch times? Below are three strategies for narrowing down exactly where your target audience is, and how to reach them.

#6 Keep a Close Eye on Your Competitors

On which social networks or communities does your competition see the most interaction with their video content? Where are their largest followings? Researching what works best for your competitors is a good way to reevaluate where you should be placing your videos.

#7 Reach Out to Your Current Customers or Users

Instead of guessing or placing your video content on every social network possible, ask the people who are currently using your product or service where they like to spend their time online. Brainstorm how you can get your videos in front of your audience there.

#8 Join Industry-related Groups

Be where your customers can see you. Search out groups related to your brand and monitor these communities to see how they interact and the type of information they like, share and value. You can then use this information to decide whether or not a promotional video would be appropriate to share, or if there is a way to edit your videos to create helpful clips or industry-related advice.

Conclusion

There are 400+ hours of video posted every minute on YouTube, so the videos you post once a week or once a month can get buried and lost in the noise. Combat your declining video views with these strategies and achieve a long-term return on your investment.

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6 Killer Tips to Make Your Custom Thumbnails Pop

great custom thumbnail can make all the difference when it comes to a viewer clicking through to your video, or deciding to watch another. The thumbnail is often the first introduction to your content, but so many creators fail to take full advantage of this optimization feature.

YouTube itself has been hard at work on behalf of creators, and just announced a new thumbnail algorithm which should soon help you to pick out the best image to choose from. Based on deep neural network technology, the new model can compare the quality of each frame of a video, and select which still images best represents the footage. This is a fantastic development but nothing quite beats a custom thumbnail image that ties back in with your channel message and brand. Let's take a look at how the most successful video creators follow best practice when it comes to producing these vital images.

Custom Thumbnails: Best Practices from the Pros

Apart from making content that viewers and fans want to watch, video creators should follow some guiding principles when it comes to making great thumbnails, such as:

• Conveying the subject of the video content
• Compelling the viewer to click-through to the video
• Differentiating their brand
• Making sure they are optimized for any device

#1 Custom Thumbnail Tip: Make the Best Use of Color

The brighter the colors, the more chance the thumbnail will stand out from the rest of the competition, but don't go too overboard as it will make the thumbnail look gaudy and cheap. Rather than offending the eyes, do just enough to differentiate your video from others. Don’t settle for the default colors in your image. Pop the file into your favorite graphics editor and turn up the saturation just enough to make the colors stand out vs. other thumbnails. Just play with the colors filters a bit, as even small changes to the hue/saturation can draw eyes directly to your thumbnail instead of everyone else. Consider applying a subtle filter to your thumbnails. Even something as simple as sharpening the edges can have a subliminal effect on your thumbnail.

YouTube channel My Cupcake Addiction really makes the best use of color to make its videos stand out against really stiff competition. Don't they make you want to click right through on these images to see the videos behind them?

#2 Connect with the Viewer: Include an Image of  Face

Ensure that your thumbnail has a human face whenever possible, and if you can use a close-up shot, even better. This will help the image stand out, whatever device it is being viewed on. e on any device, no matter the size. If eyes are the window to the soul, including emotive eyes can lead viewers into the heart and soul of your video. The added emotion will pique the curiosity of viewers and make them want to see what caused the emotion in the video.

Buzzfeed Video is the master of this - just take a look at its video archive page on YouTube, it's a sea of faces:

#3 Go For the Action Shot!

If your video content lends itself to it, use an action shot as the thumbnail. The added sense of motion will encourage viewers to clink on your video to see what’s going on. The more action you can pack into a single thumbnail, the better. It will speak volumes to the viewer. The Slow Mo Guys are well-known for their crazy experiments, and along with very precise titles, they almost always include the main action shot from their video on their thumbnails. Especially if it involves an explosion or a big ball of fire.

#4 Include Text to Give Context

If you plan to insert words into your thumbnail, take a look at channels like Rhett and Link’s Good Mythical Morning, who will often overlay some narrative when it's not immediately obvious what the content is all about.

Including the title or a few key words can help draw in viewers as well. Just be careful to not overshadow the content with your text and yet keep it large enough to read on any device.

#5 Create Custom Branding for Your Thumbnails

Giving your custom thumbnails some consistency is an excellent way to build awareness for your content, especially if you are in a very competitive vertical like DIY.

Lowes are a good example of a brand using a thumbnail feature - in this case its signature blue - to differentiate itself from the crowd. Although there is definitely more it could be doing, the chain has started to use a the blue as a background, or as text color and its working well.

Lowes could optimize even further by using different types of branding depending on the content they are publishing. If you have different types of content, use a different color to help viewers know exactly what they are getting into. Techsmith did this with its custom thumbnails to help guide the viewer around its YouTube channel, grouping different themes around different products or tutorials.

#6 Test! Test! Test!

One last tip is to A/B test those thumbnails. YouTube still doesn’t have a native feature (yet), so you’ll need to rely on tools like TubeBuddy. A well-planned A/B testing strategy can improve the performance of your channel almost immediately, so don't overlook this valuable strategy. Also, don't be afraid to replace a thumbnail if you feel it isn't working for you.

It used to be that misleading thumbnails could build you an audience on YouTube. It doesn’t work nearly the same as it did years ago. Savvy viewers are painfully away of the tactic and misleading thumbnails could even drive viewers away. Be honest with the content behind the thumbnail and make sure it matches to keep your audience engaged. Now that the site is much more focused on watch time than on simply driving clicks and views, you have to make sure that whatever is on your thumbnail, engaging content lives behind it.  If you can nail down the main premise behind each of these tips, you'll create a thumbnail that not only tells a story, but gets viewers to click on it to see more.

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BUZZFEED VIDEO TITLES DEEP-DIVE: FACEBOOK VS. YOUTUBE

f you want to really grab viewers’ attention, you’re going to need the right title for your video. A compelling title can entice a viewer to click on your video, and also invite them to click on others on your page or channel. We already know the importance of using the right keywords, and crafting them into a phrase that snappily sums up your content, but did you know that the length of your title can also impact search results and views and engagements?

We took a deep-dive into the way BuzzFeed crafts its video titles, and the impact that word and character length has on its uploads to both YouTube, and to Facebook. We studied over 9.7K videos from BuzzFeed, an inventory that has generated over 18 billion views. The strategy it employs regarding titles may help you to make your own the right length to keep them buzz worthy.

BuzzFeed Video Title Length: Facebook vs YouTube

BuzzFeed produces video content optimized for clicks and views, but one thing that jumps out immediately is the length of titles on Facebook vs. YouTube.  The titles on Facebook are noticeably longer, although this may be due to the fact that you can create long titles for your video content to begin with on Facebook.

	Avg Words per Title	Avg Characters per Title
Facebook	10.2	64.8
YouTube	6.7	37.5

YouTube titles are locked down at 100 characters with best practice recommendations suggesting that titles end before 70 characters as more than that may be truncated in search, BuzzFeed’s data would support this claim. Videos over 70 characters performed more than 37% worse in views compared to BuzzFeed’s YouTube average.

Facebook	Avg Views
<40	3,223,032
41-70	1,984,810
71-100	2,359,395
100+	411,269
Youtube	Avg Views
<40	1,785,472
41-70	1,874,130
71-100	1,142,936

On Facebook it seems there is certainly a benefit to keeping the titles short and sweet.  This may be due to the fleeting nature of the Facebook feed and the necessity to get your point across as quickly as possible.

On YouTube, however, it seemed that the video would perform roughly the same so long as the title was under 70 characters.  If you are posting your video to both Facebook and YouTube, I’d consider coming up with a 70 character or less title for YouTube and then making an alternate title under 40 characters to be used on Facebook.  Just because a title works on one platform doesn’t necessarily mean it will work on another.

ALSO ►  How Buzzfeed is Taking Over the World - One Video at a Time

Titles That Include a Question Don't Perform As Well

About 13% of the titles we looked at from BuzzFeed began with a question word.  On average, Facebook videos performed 22% worse when they began with a question word with YouTube videos doing 24% worse.

When you’re talking about somebody like BuzzFeed, that’s more than 500k views lost based on the first word of the video alone.  Don’t think that simply slapping a question word on the front of your title will build intrigue and mystery, it has to compliment the content that follows.

Video Titles: Shorter is Better

Whether you are trying to get views or make engaging content the trend remains the same for the length of titles: shorter is better.  What’s more, according to BuzzFeed’s videos, engagement per view on Facebook is at about 2.35% whereas YouTube is at 1.57%.  If you’re trying to spread the word about something, Facebook is looking pretty good right about now.

Like the data on length of title vs. views, YouTube videos seem to get average engagement regardless of title length, so long as you stay under the magic 70 character limit.  On Facebook, BuzzFeed actually got below average engagement with every title length except for those under 40 characters.  Once the video went below 40 characters, the engagement was around 44% higher than their average engagement.

Platform	Avg Engagements
Facebook	53,508
<40	76,853
41-70	45,448
71-100	52,490
100+	10,548
Youtube	28,520
<40	28,319
41-70	28,939
71-100	21,494

Title length is just one component of writing a great title and getting the exposure you want for your video content. There is certainly a sweet spot for YouTube around 41-70 characters and a significant benefit on Facebook for staying under 40. Keep that in mind the next time you consider trying to break the world record for longest video title.

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5 Ways to Hack the YouTube Description Box for Better Rankings

he YouTube description box might be the most undervalued player on your video marketing team. Many brands, vloggers, business channels, and other less-formally produced channels will skip the description box as unnecessary or simply not worth the energy to optimize for every video. This could be killing your channel, Larry.

Truth is, the description box is a crucial player in your YouTube marketing strategy because its contents (along with your titles, tags, and captions) help YouTube to determine if and where your videos rank on search or as related videos. The html-ready box can also include clickable links which appear in search engine results. This is where you will optimize your video for maximum effectiveness and post links that will connect your viewers to your website, offers, and other online sources.

YouTube Description = Marketer's Best ToolBox

There is a ton of lead generation that can take place in a good description. Unlike annotations, the links in your description box work across mobile and desktop platforms and while annotations only link to an associated website (and a few other limited options), a link in the description box can connect your viewers to bitly links, external websites, Amazon affiliate links, or all of the above. This ensures your viewers are able to connect with your products pages, optins and other content.

But dropping links in your description like a spammer in a gaming forum is not going to cut the mustard on the worlds largest video platform. You’ve got to add structure to the copy so your viewer can easily navigate the content. So let's take a look at the 5 ways you can add value to your YouTube descriptions today.

5 Ways to Craft a Killer YouTube Description

For starters, the copy (or text) found inside your YouTube description box is indexed by search engines and is used by the search engines to rank your video accordingly. While it’s possible to rank on YouTube without a big description box, you would also be missing out on valuable watch time as many YouTubers scroll through a description box while the video is playing. You see how key that is, right? A smart YouTube plan will include a keyword optimized, structured description box with every video. At Videospot, we follow these general guidelines for creating exceptional description copy:

#1 Make the First 5 Lines Count:

On the upload page, you’ll have your first opportunity to add a description box to a new video. You can always add this later but ideally, your description should be written before the video is made public. The first 5 lines are essential for two reasons:

1. The first two lines of the description box are displayed next to your video in search and when posted on social media.
2. The first 5 lines of the description are included beneath your video but above the “read more” tab.

Your should first and foremost have a link to your free offer or lead magnet and then a keyword optimized description of what your video is about. We tend to include related keywords (also called LSI keywords) to provide more context around the keywords. This is ideal for videos where specificity is need to assist the video in ranking for the right terms.

#2 Always Include HTML Links

Always include a link to your optin or website in the first two lines. Beyond that, the description box should be an index to related content- not a museum for every web link where you’ve ever had an affiliate account. Be judicious in how many links you post.

Where you put these links may vary based on your preference or personal testing but your description box should always include links to connect with you on related social media sites. You must use a full URL in order for the link to be clickable (in other words, use http://). See the example below:

I’ve seen great description boxes from YouTubers which include Amazon affiliate links to products mentioned in the video but also links to the gear used in producing the video. While one could argue that such a description might include “too many links,” it’s done so in a way that is consistent with the channel and helpful to the viewer.

#3 You Have 5000 Characters to Play With - Use Them

A video page on YouTube is no different than most any other website page and has the same ability to rank on Google or YouTube. Leveraging your description box as a blog where a search engine can read it and a reader can enjoy it, will provide better results than a list of links. Many Creators will write a short blog that outlines the video and its keypoints using lots of targeted phrases, related terms, and timecode. This is especially helpful for video tutorials and videos where viewers may just need to skim the description box.

Write 100- 200 words in addition to your first 5 lines and your social media & related links. That will easily bring your word count up to 300 and show Google that you have a meaty product. Descriptions should be optimized for search so be sure to place your main keywords in the description box at 1-2% saturation. You can also use related keywords in the description to try and rank for more terms.

Sometimes we’ll even use transcriptions of the videos in the description box (we often transcribe our videos for use in captions).

A transcription can be ordered from a web- service (like Ciela24 or 3play) or freelancer/Fiverr gig. Services like this like are helpful for ranking but using them will increase your costs. Additionally, I wouldn’t just copy-pasta the whole document inside your description box. Instead, take segments of the transcription a re-write them to be read (because we don’t read the same way we speak). You can add time code to the transcription as well and YouTube will convert that number into a clickable link that goes right to that section in the video. It’s pretty cool.

#4 Create Profiles in TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is a browser extension (although it's not available for Chrome right now) that can be added to any browser for free. Filled with tons of advanced options. Tubebuddy also has a profile feature for YouTube that allows Creators to set up different upload defaults for different profiles. This is perfect for Creators who are making different types of shows or series’ with different optimization needs. Once installed, choose the free or the paid option and navigate to your Upload Defaults section on the left hand side of the Creator Studio.

From here, you can begin to type in your profile-specific defaults one profile at a time. Be sure to think through this process since you don’t want to create more work than what is necessary to be successful. Once completed simply click NEW on the TubeBuddy extension in the upper right corner of the page and you’re done! Just rinse and repeat for more profiles. At Videospot, we have a new profile for each series that we produce.

#5 Create Templates in Upload Defaults.

Now that your profiles are set up you can create upload defaults for each new video. With an upload default, the optimization fields in the upload section will auto-fill with pre-written content. This makes optimization a breeze! Both Creator Studio & TubeBuddy allow you to input a template description box, title, and tags (Tubebuddy allows for multiple profiles and therefore multiple upload defaults- it’s seriously a must-have tool for Creators). While it’s never recommended to use an identical description for every video, you should have a consistent branded effort behind every description.

Create a template with your format, links, and other copy that you will use in every video to save time. In YouTube, you would simply navigate to Creator Studio > Channel > Upload Defaults.

Best Practice for Creating YouTube Descriptions

I often have clients tell me that their videos are “different” or that their audience “doesn’t read” description boxes and so forth. It’s also common for these videos to have relatively small view counts and low subscriber rates. Generally speaking, we follow this template for writing description boxes:

• First 5 lines
• Include link to optin
• Brief teaser for video content*
• Contact and Social Links
• Longer Description*
• References mentioned in video*
• Link to blog

*These items will change for every video.

The fact is that every Creator needs to be using the description box every time. Don’t skip this pivotal step because of the work involved. If you’re pre-planning your video production it helps to write out your description text before you shoot so you’ve got a shooting guideline and text to input when you’re ready to upload. YouTube is all about mastering little workflows. Add a description box workflow to your video production and you’ll start to see increased results across all your channels.

Further Resources for YouTube Best Practice

The Optimal YouTube Video Description: A Reel How-To Guide

Watch Time: A Guide to YouTube's TOP Search Ranking Factor

How to Hack YouTube Video Titles to Get More Views

Tutorial: How-to Create a Custom YouTube End Slate / Card [Creators Tip #64]

How to Optimize YouTube Tags and Descriptions

How to Find the Meta Tags for Any YouTube Video

Read More