Gourmet Guides: Leading Food Vloggers Online

Top Food YouTubers You Should Follow

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Coming up with new recipes that will impress everyone you know is a simple mission. You just have to go to YouTube and find the dish you’d like to prepare, but there are thousands of food YouTubers which makes it a bit difficult to decide which ones you should follow.

Naturally, you shouldn’t expect anything but the best from the chefs offering advice on how to prepare a certain dish. To help you narrow down the search we’ve compiled a top ten list of food YouTubers, that will hopefully help you discover your new favorite meals. Let’s take a peek at the most influential food channels on YouTube.

Top Food YouTubers

Eating healthy, delicious meals improves the quality of our lives. These YouTube channels may assist you in improving your diet while learning how to prepare dishes that are tasty and nourishing at the same time. Want to know more about the channels or the YouTubers? Try InflueNex YouTube Influencer Marketing Platform to get the details.

1. Rosanna Pansino

This 33-year-old actress and YouTube personality is best known for her baking show titled Nerdy Nummies that has featured celebrities such as Michelle Phan or Bethany Mota. In 2015 Rosanna published a book under the same title, which included recipes and step by step tutorials on how to prepare them.

Her YouTube channel has over 10 million subscribers and 2.395 million total views and yet her popularity is expected to continue to grow. Besides being a great cook, Pansino is also an aspiring actress who appeared in a number of TV shows.

2. Cooking With Dog

After more than a decade and nearly 300 episodes, this unorthodox cooking show is still one of YouTube’s best sources of Japanese dishes. The show is hosted by an anonymous Chef and a dog named Francis. If you are interested in Japanese cuisine you can also check out the website Cooking With Dog the offers meal planners and a list of recipes that include more than 300 dishes.

With 1.4 million subscribers and 185 million views this unusual YouTube food channel now has a cult following, especially because Francis died in 2016.

3. Binging With Babish

Andrew Rea is a young New York-based filmmaker who had a brilliant idea to recreate dishes featured in movies and TV shows, back in 2006. Even the channel’s name is based on a fictional character Oliver Babish from the TV series The West Wing. The viewers of Rea’s food videos can only see his torso and some parts of the kitchen, which adds a touch of mystery to this remarkable channel.

The Binging With Babish YouTube channel has 2.7 million subscribers and it is easily one of the best sources of unusual recipes on YouTube. Andrew Rea has also published a book in October 2017, titled Eat What You Watch: A Cookbook for Movie Lovers, that contains forty recipes from some of the best movies ever made.

4. You Suck at Cooking

The perfect blend of cooking tips and humor have made this YouTube channel famous. Don’t expect to find the secret recipes for the most brilliant dishes ever invented because most videos are aimed at inexperienced cooks who are bored of eating at restaurants.

The channel has been online since 2014, and in such a short period of time it has attracted over 100 million views and it currently has 1.2 million subscribers. The motto ‘No Bullshit, Just Cooking’ sums up perfectly the first-person videos featured on this channel.

5. Tasty

If you would like to find out where do fortune cookies come from or how to make a four flavor cheesecake, you should start following this channel. Tasty is actually run by BuzzFeed’s division that produces all content related to food and beverages. All recipes on this channel are divided into four categories, Tasty Junior, Tasty Happy Hour, Tasty Story, and Mom Vs Chef.

Tasty is present on all major social networks, including Facebook and Instagram. The YouTube channel has 8.2 million subscribers and their most viewed video ‘7 Easy Chicken Diners’ currently has over 10 million views.

6. Jamie Oliver

You probably already know Jamie from his TV show ‘The Naked Chef’ or you’ve read one of his books, but a lot of people don’t know that he has been a YouTuber since 2006. Oliver’s channel was created in 2006, and during the last twelve years, it has amassed over 3.7 million subscribers.

The British chef and restaurateur is a great source of delicious recipes from all around the world but just be prepared that most of the meals Jamie cooks require an advanced culinary skill set.

7. Laura in the Kitchen

The Laura Vitale’s YouTube channel is unquestionably the best place on the Internet to find out more about Italian food. Besides being a YouTuber that has 3.1 million subscribers, Laura is also a host of several TV shows. Laura in the Kitchen show started on YouTube in 2010, and in the last eight years, it has attracted millions of viewers.

Besides preparing dishes from Italian cuisine, Laura is also famous for preparing delicious desserts, milkshakes, and smoothies.

8. SORTEDfood

This channel was started in May 2010 by a group of school friends. Ben Ebbrell, Mike Huttlestone, Jamie Spafford, and Barry Taylor realized that they all have dietary problems, and they decided to do something about it. Today their company has fourteen employees who help them produce and advertise their food videos.

SORTEDfood channel has a worldwide following with over 1.8 million subscribers and their videos are more focused on food tips than on the process of preparing the dishes. Even so, this team of British food enthusiasts is still worth following.

9. Epic Meal Time

You may not want to eat everything you see on this channel, because Harley Morenstein, the show’s host, has built his reputation by preparing high-calorie meals. This Canadian and a group of his friends have started the Epic Meal Time channel in 2010, and in the last eight years, celebrities like Kevin Smith and Arnold Schwarzenegger have made guest appearances.

The show has won a number of awards, which clearly shows that Epic Meal Time combines entertainment with food in a most captivating way.

10. Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay’s career has been so successful that it is hardly surprising that his YouTube channel has 6.6 million subscribers. Over the last twenty years, Ramsy had his own TV shows, made guest appearances on a number of shows hosted by other celebrities and he managed to acquire restaurants all over the world.

His YouTube channel was created in 2006 and it has more than a billion total views. He is also quite famous for his no-nonsense approach to aspiring cooks that often shatters their illusions of becoming great culinary masters.

Conclusion

If you’re feeling a bit fed up with your diet and you want to shake things up a bit, then YouTube is a great place to start. You can find great recipes and step by step tutorials that will show you how to prepare them. The YouTube channels we featured in this article are among the very best you can find, but there still hundreds of channels you should check out if you’re looking for a particular cuisine. Make sure to let us know who is your favorite food YouTuber in the comments below.

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

If you prefer American cuisine, Tasty is gorgeous because of its abundant recipes for making burgers, pizza, and steak. If you are crazy about Sushi or Udon noodle, Cooking with Dog is an amazing channel on YouTube. If you are a cakeholic, you must not miss Rosanna Pansino, who can even bake a Tiger King.

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

Here are some ideas of naming your YouTube cooking channel. You can start with “Cook with XXX (your name),” “XXX (your name) in the Kitchen,” or other funny names like Devilish Baker.

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Before starting a cooking vlog, you need to define your brand and get enough equipment. Learn more recipes and practice cooking before shooting.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Top Food YouTubers

1. Rosanna Pansino

2. Cooking With Dog

With 1.4 million subscribers and 185 million views this unusual YouTube food channel now has a cult following, especially because Francis died in 2016.

3. Binging With Babish

4. You Suck at Cooking

5. Tasty

6. Jamie Oliver

The British chef and restaurateur is a great source of delicious recipes from all around the world but just be prepared that most of the meals Jamie cooks require an advanced culinary skill set.

7. Laura in the Kitchen

Besides preparing dishes from Italian cuisine, Laura is also famous for preparing delicious desserts, milkshakes, and smoothies.

8. SORTEDfood

9. Epic Meal Time

The show has won a number of awards, which clearly shows that Epic Meal Time combines entertainment with food in a most captivating way.

10. Gordon Ramsay

Conclusion

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

Here are some ideas of naming your YouTube cooking channel. You can start with “Cook with XXX (your name),” “XXX (your name) in the Kitchen,” or other funny names like Devilish Baker.

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Before starting a cooking vlog, you need to define your brand and get enough equipment. Learn more recipes and practice cooking before shooting.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Top Food YouTubers

1. Rosanna Pansino

2. Cooking With Dog

With 1.4 million subscribers and 185 million views this unusual YouTube food channel now has a cult following, especially because Francis died in 2016.

3. Binging With Babish

4. You Suck at Cooking

5. Tasty

6. Jamie Oliver

The British chef and restaurateur is a great source of delicious recipes from all around the world but just be prepared that most of the meals Jamie cooks require an advanced culinary skill set.

7. Laura in the Kitchen

Besides preparing dishes from Italian cuisine, Laura is also famous for preparing delicious desserts, milkshakes, and smoothies.

8. SORTEDfood

9. Epic Meal Time

The show has won a number of awards, which clearly shows that Epic Meal Time combines entertainment with food in a most captivating way.

10. Gordon Ramsay

Conclusion

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

Here are some ideas of naming your YouTube cooking channel. You can start with “Cook with XXX (your name),” “XXX (your name) in the Kitchen,” or other funny names like Devilish Baker.

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Before starting a cooking vlog, you need to define your brand and get enough equipment. Learn more recipes and practice cooking before shooting.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Top Food YouTubers

1. Rosanna Pansino

2. Cooking With Dog

With 1.4 million subscribers and 185 million views this unusual YouTube food channel now has a cult following, especially because Francis died in 2016.

3. Binging With Babish

4. You Suck at Cooking

5. Tasty

6. Jamie Oliver

The British chef and restaurateur is a great source of delicious recipes from all around the world but just be prepared that most of the meals Jamie cooks require an advanced culinary skill set.

7. Laura in the Kitchen

Besides preparing dishes from Italian cuisine, Laura is also famous for preparing delicious desserts, milkshakes, and smoothies.

8. SORTEDfood

9. Epic Meal Time

The show has won a number of awards, which clearly shows that Epic Meal Time combines entertainment with food in a most captivating way.

10. Gordon Ramsay

Conclusion

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

Here are some ideas of naming your YouTube cooking channel. You can start with “Cook with XXX (your name),” “XXX (your name) in the Kitchen,” or other funny names like Devilish Baker.

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Before starting a cooking vlog, you need to define your brand and get enough equipment. Learn more recipes and practice cooking before shooting.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Maximize Video Reach in YouTube’s SEO Arena

The 12-step YouTube SEO Guide for Beginners Who Want More Views

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

Step 3: Write Title

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

Step 11: Add Transcripts

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

Step 3: Write Title

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

Step 11: Add Transcripts

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

Step 3: Write Title

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

Step 11: Add Transcripts

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Youtube Help

"In 2024, Gourmet Guides Leading Food Vloggers Online"

Gourmet Guides: Leading Food Vloggers Online

Top Food YouTubers You Should Follow

Richard Bennett

Top Food YouTubers

1. Rosanna Pansino

2. Cooking With Dog

3. Binging With Babish

4. You Suck at Cooking

5. Tasty

6. Jamie Oliver

7. Laura in the Kitchen

8. SORTEDfood

9. Epic Meal Time

10. Gordon Ramsay

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Richard Bennett

Top Food YouTubers

1. Rosanna Pansino

2. Cooking With Dog

3. Binging With Babish

4. You Suck at Cooking

5. Tasty

6. Jamie Oliver

7. Laura in the Kitchen

8. SORTEDfood

9. Epic Meal Time

10. Gordon Ramsay

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Richard Bennett

Top Food YouTubers

1. Rosanna Pansino

2. Cooking With Dog

3. Binging With Babish

4. You Suck at Cooking

5. Tasty

6. Jamie Oliver

7. Laura in the Kitchen

8. SORTEDfood

9. Epic Meal Time

10. Gordon Ramsay

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Richard Bennett

Top Food YouTubers

1. Rosanna Pansino

2. Cooking With Dog

3. Binging With Babish

4. You Suck at Cooking

5. Tasty

6. Jamie Oliver

7. Laura in the Kitchen

8. SORTEDfood

9. Epic Meal Time

10. Gordon Ramsay

FAQ: Learn More about Food YouTubers

1. What is the best cooking channel on YouTube?

2. What should I name my YouTube cooking channel?

3. How do I start a cooking vlog?

Maximize Video Reach in YouTube’s SEO Arena

The 12-step YouTube SEO Guide for Beginners Who Want More Views

Shanoon Cox

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Step 2: Find Keywords

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Step 3: Write Title

Step 4: Write Description

Step 5: Write Tags

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook