Let’s face it, consumers love video. In fact, video content has now taken over as the most engaging way to capture viewers online. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that an astounding 68% of marketers feel that video content has a better ROI than PPC ads.
So using video can boost your engagement – great! But did you know using video can actually boost your SEO too? Believe it or not, video and SEO go hand in hand when it comes to building an undeniable online presence.
Wondering how video integration could enhance your SEO strategy? Follow along to unlock the secrets behind the video and SEO connection and how to improve your video content for ranking potential.
Video and SEO
When it comes to SEO, we’ve all gotten to know this strategy as a text-based approach. Since Google uses artificial intelligence to crawl and index your content, it has to be ‘readable’ in order to make it to the SERPs.
With that in mind, businesses and marketers alike have been under the impression that non-text content such as images and video simply doesn’t contribute to your on-page SEO. While this statement has some truth to it, crawling and indexing isn’t the only factor that influences your SEO.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the other ways video is used to boost your rank:
Video Improves Engagement
First things first, video is an engagement magnet. In fact, using video increases your chances of traffic generation and keeps consumers on your website for longer.
The reason this is so important is that Google uses behaviors such as time spent on a page to gather information about that URL’s value. If your customers are sticking around on your content rather than bouncing away, Google takes that as a signal of relevance and authority.
Because Google’s main objective is to provide users with the best possible answer to their query, they will place a lot of value on users enjoying your content. This then makes you a prime contender for one of those high-visibility positions on the results page.
More Likely to Collect Backlinks
Another key advantage of video is the impact on your off-page SEO. Off-page SEO utilizes your popularity and authority online to boost your rank. One of the primary methods used to establish this authority is backlinks.
When external URLs link to your content, it raises the authority of your page by telling Google that you are the best source for that topic.
By producing a great video that captures attention and adds value to consumers, you’ll increase your chances of being shared online, thus boosting your genuine backlinks.
Increases Conversions
The ultimate goal with SEO is to improve your brand’s visibility and credibility to close more sales. Without the last piece of the puzzle, your entire SEO approach leads to no return on investment.
By using video in your landing pages, product descriptions, and even producing explainer videos for your services, you’ll increase the buy-in of your products and services. These are called conversions and they not only serve to make you money but also to boost your credibility online.
While Google doesn’t measure your sales as an SEO factor, it does pay attention to the customer experience. More conversions = happy customers, thus acting in one giant circle to improve your rank!
How to Improve Video Content for Ranking
Now that you know the benefits of video content for your SEO, you’re probably itching to get started, right? Before you dive in head first, it is important to note that posting a video online doesn’t automatically boost your SEO.
You’ll need to optimize your videos for search engines just the same as you do with your other online content. Here’s what you need to know to get you started:
Produce Quality Content
Your content needs to be interesting and engaging in order to have a positive impact online. This means you’ll need to provide value to your audience to increase your chances of being shared and promoting conversions.
While you probably don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on each video, it is important to do some research as to what your customers want and how to appeal to and entertain them through video content.
Use Keyword Labels
Because you won’t have written keywords for crawlers to detect, you’ll need to include keyword labels in all of your video content.
These are the meta tags that let Google know what your content is about and where to place you in the index. Be sure to use relevant keywords for your content so you don’t end up irritating customers with your unrelated subject matter.
Include Video Transcript
Remember how we mentioned that crawlers can’t read video and images because they lack text? There’s a clever way around this problem – video transcript.
A video transcript is a text version of the content your video covers that can make it easier to index for the right keywords and makes your videos more search-friendly.
Video Sitemap
A sitemap is a fantastic way to ensure all of your content is crawled, indexed, and has the chance to rank. By creating these documents, the search engine has an efficient and easy way to navigate your online content to do just this.
By including a video sitemap as well, you ensure none of your video content is left behind.
Host on Youtube
Youtube in itself is the second largest search engine online. This makes it a fantastic place to publicize your video content.
Beyond having the chance to reach a whole new audience online, Youtube is also owned by Google and features video integration that other streaming platforms simply cannot compete with.
In fact, having your video on Youtube actually opens you up to be featured on the results page with your thumbnail and all!
While shares of your Youtube video don’t build your backlinks, you do have the simple and convenient option of adding backlinks to your content into your video description to boost your link-building strategy.
Optimize Load Time
Finally, you’ll want to ensure your video is contributing to your user-friendly design by optimizing your load speed. Just like a slow-loading page, laggy videos are unappealing to an audience and can result in higher bounce rates.
This impacts your user experience and takes away from your ability to fulfill the algorithm’s expectations.
Video Content and SEO Success
Now that you know how video and SEO work together to boost your visibility and increase your rank, it’s time to set up to work with this compelling content approach. From traffic generation to conversions, we’re confident you’ll love your results.
Struggling to make your SEO strategy work for your business? Contact us today to schedule your free strategy session to nail down your SEO approach with the help and advice of marketing pros.
