Youtube SEO Specialist

Role: Youtube SEO Specialist Experience: 3-5 yrs in Youtube SEO /channel growth Team: Marketing Reporting to: SEO Manager Mode: Remote/WFH About 21K School 21K School is India's first online school, offering accredited K–12 education across Cambridge International (Centre ID: IA702), Pearson Edexcel (Centre ID: 94883), and Indian curricula (CBSE, NIOS, NCERT). We operate across 36 country sites and serve thousands of students globally through a fully online schooling model designed around flexibility, quality teaching, and modern pedagogy. Our marketing organization combines content, SEO, web development, and academic operations to reach families across the globe — and our YouTube channel, @21kschool29, is a key brand and demand-generation surface that we are scaling significantly. About The Role We are looking for a YouTube SEO Specialist to take ownership of search and discovery performance for the 21K School YouTube channel (@21kschool29). You will be the dedicated expert driving organic growth — optimizing every video for search, recommendation, and watch-time signals, and working closely with the content, video production, and SEO teams to turn YouTube into a meaningful traffic and brand channel for 21K. This is a hands-on individual contributor role with direct ownership of channel-level metrics. You will define the YouTube SEO playbook for 21K, execute it end-to-end, and report on what's working. Key Responsibilities Channel-Level YouTube SEO Own end-to-end SEO for the @21kschool29 channel — strategy, execution, and reporting Maintain and continually optimize channel-level assets: channel description, channel keywords, sections, playlists, About tab, and channel art Build and manage playlist architecture aligned with topic clusters and viewer journeys (e.g., curriculum, parent guidance, exam prep, student life) Keyword & Topic Research Conduct YouTube-native keyword research to identify high-intent, high-volume topics aligned with K–12 education, online schooling, parents, and students Maintain a YouTube keyword tracker with priority topics, search volume, competition, and ranking status Validate topics using YouTube Search Suggest, YouTube Analytics, TubeBuddy / VidIQ, Google Trends, and competitor channel analysis Video-Level Optimization Optimize titles, descriptions, tags, hashtags, and pinned comments on all new and existing videos Recommend thumbnail concepts that maximize CTR (working with the design / video team on execution) Recommend hooks, intros, and chapter structures to improve average view duration and audience retention Add and refine video chapters, end screens, cards, and pinned comments Ensure accurate, keyword-rich captions and transcripts; coordinate translations where relevant for our international audience YouTube Shorts Optimization Own Shorts SEO and growth strategy for @21kschool29 — frequency, formats, and topic clusters Optimize Shorts titles, descriptions, hashtags, captions, and on-screen text for discovery in the Shorts feed and search Recommend hook patterns, vertical video formats, and pacing structures that maximize swipe-through and completion rate Track Shorts-specific KPIs: views, swipe-away rate, average view duration, follow rate from Shorts, and Shorts → long-form crossover Identify Shorts trends, audio, and formats relevant to 21K's parent and student audience and brief the video team accordingly Content Ideation — Long-Form & Shorts Generate a continuous pipeline of content ideas for both long-form videos and Shorts, grounded in keyword research, trend data, and audience analytics Maintain a content ideation tracker mapping ideas to topic clusters, keywords, search volume, and intended format (long-form vs. Shorts) Brief the content and video production teams with SEO-aligned ideas including suggested titles, hooks, structures, and target keywords Translate emerging topics in K–12 education, exam seasons, parenting concerns, and student life into timely video opportunities Repurpose insights — turning long-form videos into Shorts, identifying Shorts that deserve a long-form deep dive, and surfacing playlist opportunities Performance Analytics & Reporting Track channel-level KPIs: subscribers, views, watch time, average view duration, CTR, traffic source mix, and search-driven views Track video-level KPIs: ranking for target keywords, impressions → CTR → views funnel, audience retention curves Produce weekly and monthly performance reports with clear actions and recommendations Identify underperforming videos and drive a refresh / re-optimization roadmap Competitive & Trend Intelligence Track competitor channels in K–12 / online education / EdTech and identify content and SEO gaps Spot emerging trends (formats, topics, hooks, thumbnail patterns) relevant to the 21K audience Recommend content opportunities to the content and video teams based on data Cross-Functional Collaboration Brief the content and video production teams on SEO-aligned topics, titles, hooks, and structures Work with the website SEO team to coordinate cross-platform discovery (e.g., embeds, video sitemaps, video schema readiness) Coordinate with the design team on thumbnails and end-screen / channel art assets Coordinate with the marketing team on campaign-aligned video releases Required Qualifications 3–5 years of hands-on experience in YouTube SEO and channel growth — ideally on a brand, education, or media channel Demonstrable track record of growing a YouTube channel: subscribers, watch time, search-driven views, and ranking on target keywords Deep expertise with YouTube Studio, YouTube Analytics, and YouTube Search ranking factors (titles, descriptions, tags, retention, CTR, freshness) Strong working knowledge of TubeBuddy, VidIQ, Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, and at least one general SEO tool (Ahrefs / Semrush / Similarweb) Proficiency in YouTube tagging, hashtag strategy, chapter markers, end screens, cards, and playlist structuring Hands-on experience with YouTube Shorts SEO, growth tactics, and Shorts-specific metrics Strong analytical skills — able to read retention curves, traffic source data, and impression/CTR funnels and translate them into actions Excellent written English with the ability to write SEO-optimized titles, descriptions, and hooks for an education audience Understanding of how YouTube SEO interacts with Google search (video carousels, video schema, thumbnails in SERPs) Preferred (Nice-to-Have) Prior experience optimizing channels in education, EdTech, K–12, or parenting verticals Experience with international audiences (multi-country, multi-language metadata and captions) Experience with video schema, video sitemaps, and structured data for video content on websites Familiarity with thumbnail A/B testing and YouTube's experimentation tools Basic comfort with Google Sheets / Looker Studio for reporting dashboards