How to Use Video to Boost SEO
It’s hardly breaking news that online video is big. Already accounting for 64% of all internet traffic – a figure that’s predicted to rise to 80% by 2019 – video is dominating the online marketplace. And in response, search engines are churning up more and more video content in search results. Google algorithms are already honing into video, generating results that place relevant video content at the top of the ranks.
Video should therefore play a huge role in your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) strategy. No matter how well your website’s text is written for SEO and how many keywords it features, video is an essential boost to your search engine rankings.
Why? Simply, because Google searches for quality content that offers good user experience and valuable information for the audience. Video provides that. Having a multimedia mix on your site is a sign of a quality webpage with the breadth of content users want.
Added to that is the ‘sticky’ factor video creates. On average, viewers spend less than eight seconds on a webpage. That means your content has less than eight seconds to grab users’ attention and provoke a response before they move on.
But videos are different. They have the power to engage an audience and maintain their concentration for longer, enabling quality information to be shared in a way that will be communicated more effectively.
Google incentivises pages with a good ‘dwell time’ as it indicates valuable content that is engaging users. Video is a simple way to encourage people to stay on your page for longer, lowering bounce rate and boosting your search engine results.
And if that wasn’t enough, did you know YouTube is now the second most used search engine? Next to Google, it racks up more daily searches than Yahoo and Bing making it an essential platform to get your video out there and boost rankings.
So, that’s the potential for your video’s SEO-boosting power. But how can you make the most of it? Follow our seven simple tips to enhance your video’s SEO and improve your search engine rankings.
7 Tips for Boosting Your Video’s SEO
Title and Keywords
One of the most important things for your video’s SEO is its title and keywords. Choose a title that’s specific to the content to give it the best chance of being found. Publishing a video on baking? Avoid titles like ‘Cupcakes’ and go for something like ‘How to Add Frosting to Homemade Cupcakes’. And fill in all the SEO fields on YouTube and your CMS system with relevant keywords that are likely to be used by viewers when they’re trying to find your content.
Embed It
By embedding your video in a landing page of its own it’ll have better chances of being found by search engines. Keep user experience as strong as possible by embedding it above the ‘fold’ (the top section of the page) where it’ll be visible without the viewer having to scroll. If you’ve got a lot of videos on your site, create galleries or category features to help viewers find what they want easily. Pages with a wall of video thumbnails are overwhelming and viewers will quickly move on if they can’t see the video they want.
Include a Transcription
Pasting a transcription of your video on its webpage is a great way to boost SEO. Google can’t read audio, so if your video’s script has some important keywords that are likely to come up in searches, include a transcription on the webpage where your video is embedded. The combination of the video file and keywords relevant to those in the video title will place it right at the top of search rankings.
Upload It to YouTube
While hosting your video on your website is important, don’t forget to upload it to YouTube too. As the second largest search engine, there’s a big chance viewers will go there first to look for the content they need. Just make sure your video contains links to the webpage to direct viewers back to your site.
Keep It Specific
The kinds of videos that get shared are the ones that are specific. So, fine-tune your ideas to make sure content covers just one specific topic – even if it means publishing a series of short films to cover a range of ideas. Keep each video less than four minutes in length, as short videos are more likely to be watched.
Get Sharing
The best way to boost is your video’s SEO is to share it. As well as major social media channels, post it on sites like Reddit where viewers can share it with a wider audience. Include a YouTube widget on your website so visitors can see your latest video posts. And encourage people to embed the video on their website with a link to your webpage.
Make Sure It’s Working
It’s important to review your SEO strategy and establish how things can be improved. Use tools like Google Analytics and YouTube Analytics to see how well your video is performing. It’ll help you figure out what’s working and what’s not to make sure your video is boosting SEO and generating good search engine results.
If you want to find out more about using video to boost your SEO please contact us.
