Producing video marketing material has become much easier in recent years. Then why is it harder to achieve high rankings? Unfortunately ease of production comes with more competition. You can rise to the challenge by applying a targeted video SEO strategy to your website to increase brand awareness, website traffic and beat out the competition in your market. There’s no reason not to invest in video content thanks to the boost it can give your online presence.
Don’t be overwhelmed. Getting to grips with the technical side of video SEO is simple. Coupled with quality content, you’re sure to achieve excellent results.
This guide has everything you need to get started.
What is video SEO?
Video SEO is when you optimise a video to be indexed and ranked in search engines like Google for relevant keyword searches. Put simply, it ensures your video reaches the audience who are searching for the question it addresses and ranks above your competition.
How do you ensure you get a return on investment? Understanding the technical SEO of video marketing is your first step.
Where to host your video content
Having your video rank in search engines requires a lot of technical tweaking and visual design decisions. You can tell Google exactly what keywords and phrases you want to rank for by focusing on these key areas.
Hosting your video on a landing page
If you’re looking to increase conversions and gain relevant on-site traffic then it’s best to host your video on a page of your website. Placing it at the top of your page increases a user session and could reduce your page bounce rate.
One of the easiest ways to implement a video on your website is through the Yoast Video SEO plugin.
This plugin automates technical video SEO by implementing Schema.org structured data, ensures fast page loading times, generates an XML video sitemap and offers full customisation of content previews. This all goes towards helping Google find and index your video and rank it right where you want it to be.
Hosting your video on a hosting service
Looking to increase brand awareness and shares on social media? A dedicated video hosting service like YouTube is your go to. Backlinko suggests, around 15-25% of video traffic comes from YouTube’s search engine while the rest comes from its suggested and browse features.
You’ll want your video to rank for your keywords to increase your exposure. Thankfully optimising for this is simple.
To find what your audience searches for in YouTube, you can find this out by simply searching your keyword into its search bar and checking the list of suggestions that drop down. These are the exact keywords your audience are searching for.
Once you upload your video, optimise it by implementing your focus keyword into your Video Description and in the Tags section. These are the basic steps to understanding SEO marketing on a platform like YouTube.
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It’s worth mentioning that the Yoast SEO plugin allows you to embed YouTube video links on your website page. Like the best of both worlds but we recommend you focus on a singular hosting option so ranking between your website and YouTube aren’t competing with each other.
Making engaging video content
Not only do you have to ensure your video is technically optimised, you need your content to be engaging to start ranking and achieving the results you want. There are a couple simple ways to jump start this process.
Eye catching thumbnail
The video thumbnail is what will determine whether a user will click and watch it. Customising your thumbnail is vital to achieving results as it boosts your play rate by 30%.
Think of it like a movie poster or a book cover and make sure it’s visually appealing and relevant to the audience you’re reaching out to.
Creating a product video? Make sure to feature that product in the thumbnail. Creating an educational video? Consider featuring an authority figure in formal dress. Whatever your chosen subject, make the thumbnail eye-catching and inviting.
Optimising page SEO for your video
When hosting your video on a page, you need to make sure both the page and the video compliment each other. The keywords optimised for the video should also be optimised for the page’s written content. There should also be a universal visual style to make the whole page gel together.
Make your video the focal point of the page as this will increase play rates and rankings. Placing it lower will make it harder for Google to find the video.
Summary
So is video SEO doing all of the heavy lifting for you to rank in Google? While it’s a major part of the process the content itself plays the most important part.
The video content is the starting point of your video SEO marketing strategy so you need to ensure it’s of high quality. You want to be the go-to resource for your target audience and strong video content will inform what your ultimate goals are.
If your goal is to build links and social shares then consider identifying your niche and tailoring the content directly to their needs. Do they enjoy humorous content or something more informative? Nail down what they need and all the technical optimisation will be much simpler.
Have some video SEO strategies of your own? Looking for a good place to start? Tell us your thoughts in the comments or tweet us @TeamTillison. For expert help on all things SEO and digital marketing contact us today, we want to be a part of your success!
