When you think of SEO, hiring a video production company may not be the first thing that comes to mind! Is video marketing something that comes to mind at all? As video marketing continues to grow, so does the importance of its incorporation into other digital marketing strategies, including Search Engine Optimization. The end goal for digital marketing strategies is to boost website traffic, increase your overall web presence, and ultimately grow your business. Today our focus lies on the organic growth of website traffic through the means of video marketing.
Content Is King
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, in its simplest form, is the effort done both onsite and offsite to increase organic traffic to your website. If you have heard the phrase “Content Is King,” it is because the content is at the core of SEO. Search engine algorithms change daily, and achieving better rankings continues to evolve, but the core of SEO will remain the same. You cannot rank your content at the end of the day if there is no content to rank! Video is simply another avenue for content creation, so its existence affects the most crucial SEO ranking factor: the more content you can produce, the better. Regardless of where it’s posted, be sure to link back to your site to help boost traffic directly.
Having Video On Website – Google Cares, Do You?
As the demand for video rises, it has become a more important element in ranking factors onsite. Consumers would rather watch video content than read about it; this means that video now plays a key role in user experience. Having a video on your website adds up to 2 minutes to the average time a user spends on your website. Google cares about both the quality of your content and its relevance to a user’s search. Video shows search engines you are utilizing various media and producing content to boost user experience; thus, you are given an SEO boost.
Engagement – let the statistics speak for themselves!
- People watch an average of 16 hours of online video each week
- 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product
- 80% of people would rather watch a video than read a blog post (82% more would instead video over social media posts!)
- Watching a product video convinced 74% of people to download an app or software
Studies have shown that users prefer video content over text and image-based content from brands and retain more information from a video. Engagement levels are naturally much higher with video content. While you may not think that engagement with your video on one platform could affect another, I would challenge that thought! Search engines want to provide information to their customers (Searchers) that are relevant to their search. They scrub other platforms seeking out valuable information to display in search results. This means that if your video has high views and engagement levels on YouTube, your chances of showing up in a google search result for that content automatically increases. Engagement also leads to more shares, which will naturally boost your rankings, website traffic, and overall brand awareness.
Having videos alone on your website will help your SEO as a whole, but you must keep SEO in mind when creating and uploading your video content. Below are some tips to optimizing your videos that will help the videos themselves show up in search results and your website that contains the videos.
1. Upload the video to multiple platforms. Consider what you want that video to rank for, and let your goals dictate the best platform for that content. For example, if your goal is awareness and traffic, Youtube may be the best place to start.
2. Video Transcripts – these are simply written-out audio for the video included with the video itself where it is uploaded. These make your content more accessible to a larger audience. Still, they also add to the content on your page, adding more indexable text – while ultimately makes you more eligible for ranking for more search terms.
3. Use keyword-rich yet relevant titles and descriptions. Think as you would for a blog when coming up with your titles. You want the title to adequately describe the video, catch the attention of the targeted audience, and let search engines know what your content is about. If you can incorporate keywords into your title and descriptions naturally, do so! Be sure to focus on the terms people are searching for.
4. Thumbnail Images – always upload your thumbnail image to control what people will see. This alone will boost engagement and receive more views than a video without a custom thumbnail image. It is a visible call to action for your video. If someone searches for a service you offer, and your thumbnail image is someone doing what they searched for, your video becomes enticing – even before they read the title.
5. Other than Vlog content – stick to a single video per page. If you must have more than one video on a page, be sure the one you deem most important to rank for is listed first. Google typically only indexes one video per page, so having one focus ensures search engines know which is most important to you.
For more tips or help with your video production needs, do not hesitate to contact Klout9. We understand the power of video and have a creative team to stand behind you and help plan and implement your video strategy! View some of our video production work here.