Video marketing has exploded in recent years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. One study by Cisco reported that by 2021, video will represent more than 80 percent of all internet traffic. According to research by Vidyard, businesses are publishing an average of 18 videos per month.
With so much video content being created, you're probably wondering how you can make your videos stand out.
To help make sure your videos reach your target audience and generate enough ROI to keep your video machine humming, we've compiled the top video SEO tips. But first, the basics:
What is Video SEO?
Much like optimizing any other content for search engines, video SEO will help ensure your videos rank on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). The better your domain authority, the higher your SERP ranking.
Video SEO is self-perpetuating. In other words, the higher you rank for video-related search engine queries, the higher your new videos will land on SERPs.
Here are three video SEO tips you need to implement immediately to improve your ranking.
Use Video Transcripts
People love video content, and it's a great way to provide a lot of information in a short period of time. However, people aren't always in a position to watch and listen to one — imagine a quiet office, city bus or library. In those cases, adding a transcript below the video gives visitors the ability to read the video content even when they can't watch it.
Adding a transcript also boosts SEO value. That's because this text can be crawled and indexed by search engines, which allows you to rank for even more relevant queries.
Include Keywords in Your Title and Description
You wouldn't publish a blog post without including relevant keywords and an optimized meta description, and the same should hold true for your videos. Like with blog posts and other pieces of content, make sure your video and description are interesting and engaging to humans as well as search engines.
Shine a Spotlight on Your Video
Forcing visitors to scroll to find the video they were promised is not only bad user experience, it can also affect search engine ranking. Make sure your video is featured prominently on the page — preferably located "above the fold."
Google recommends creating a unique landing page for each video. This allows your video to shine while also providing relevant information like descriptions and transcripts to search engine crawlers.
It comes down to this: If you want your video to rank, make it the focus of the page.
By applying these video SEO tips to your video marketing practices, you can help your videos rank higher, reach your intended audience and drive a healthy ROI.
