Video content continues to be one of the most influential and engaging types of content, and it won’t change anytime soon. Thus, businesses need to invest in video content if they haven’t yet. With that increase in video content production also comes the need for an understanding of video SEO.
What is video SEO?
While many are familiar with traditional SEO techniques, there is another aspect that has gained significant importance in recent years - video SEO.
Video SEO is optimizing video content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). It involves implementing various tactics and strategies to increase the visibility and discoverability of videos on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and even Google’s search results.
So, what sets video SEO apart from other types of SEO? The main difference lies in the medium itself.
Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on optimizing textual content such as blog posts or web pages, video SEO centers around enhancing the performance and relevance of videos.
Videos have become a prevalent form of content consumption, with millions of hours people watch daily. By leveraging video SEO techniques, businesses can tap into this vast audience and drive more organic traffic to their websites or channels.
Although video is the primary medium, that doesn’t mean that this is the only part you should tweak. The meta tags involved in videos are also a huge part of video SEO.
The optimization process for video SEO includes several factors, such as:
- keyword research specific to videos
- optimizing titles and descriptions with relevant keywords
- creating engaging thumbnails that entice viewers to click
- adding closed captions or transcripts for better accessibility and indexing by search engines
This optimization means that your videos should keep search engines in mind, and you should try to captivate and engage your target audience.
Why is video optimization important?
Knowing what video SEO is doesn’t necessarily tell you why it’s worth your time and effort, so let’s cover why it’s essential.
Well, its importance starts with the relevance and power of video marketing in businesses these days. With the rise of video content, it is equally important to recognize the significance of video SEO or optimization.
Videos have proven to be highly engaging and captivating for users. Incorporating videos into your website or marketing campaigns can significantly enhance user experience and increase engagement metrics such as time on site and click-through rates.
Learn about careers in SEO and discover how this dynamic field can open doors to exciting opportunities in the world of digital marketing and online visibility. As businesses increasingly rely on their online presence, skilled SEO professionals are in high demand to optimize websites, boost search engine rankings, and drive organic traffic.
Also, search engines like Google have started prioritizing video content in their SERPs. This change means properly optimized videos have a higher chance of appearing at the top of search results, driving more organic traffic to your website.
Search engines want to promote content in their search results that will prove most helpful to their users. Therefore, video content, especially with specific keywords, is something that Google might push more in particular contexts. This effect is why you should invest more in video optimization if you’re producing video content.
10 Tips to Optimize Your Video SEO
Now that you know how crucial video optimization is, let's move on to some of the top video SEO best practices you should follow. And of course, the last one will help you make your videos go viral faster.
1. Choose the right platform
If you plan to have video content on your website, think about where to host the video. Choosing the right video hosting platform is a critical aspect of video SEO and can significantly impact the success of your website.
A well-chosen platform will enhance the user experience and provide valuable features that contribute to better search engine rankings.
One of the primary reasons for selecting the right video content platform is its impact on website loading speed.
Search engines prioritize fast-loading websites, and a poorly optimized video platform can significantly slow down your site’s performance. Choosing a venue that prioritizes speed and efficient delivery of videos can improve user experience and increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
Another crucial consideration when selecting a video content platform is its compatibility with schema markup. Schema markup provides structured data to search engines about the content on your page, including videos.
By utilizing schema markup designed explicitly for videos, you can enhance search engines’ understanding and display information about your videos in search results.
Another thing to consider when choosing a video platform is your reasons for creating video content.
The thing about putting your video content on other platforms is that it will produce a lower “SEO power” heading to your website. Instead, it will go to these platforms, especially on places like YouTube, where they’ll immediately serve video recommendations after finishing yours.
If you don’t mind not getting web traffic but still increasing brand awareness, hosting your video content on these reliable video platforms is a good idea.
2. Find the relevant keywords
Although it’s video content, you can still benefit from doing keyword research when you make these videos. According to GoBiggr SEO Philippines Company, keyword research should still be part of your workload.
By identifying and incorporating these relevant keywords into your video titles, descriptions, tags, and transcripts, you can significantly improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
Finding relevant keywords for video content allows search engines to understand what your video is about and match it with user queries effectively. This effect helps increase the likelihood of your videos appearing in relevant searches, attracting more views and engagement and ultimately driving more traffic to your website or channel.
Moreover, incorporating relevant keywords in your video content also helps you target a specific audience or niche.
By understanding what terms or phrases resonate with your target audience, you can create compelling and optimized videos catering to their needs and interests.
3. Write a compelling title and description
The titles for your video content, especially for places like YouTube, differ from when you decide on titles for your written content.
For the title, what’s most important is to make it compelling unless your video is meant to be informational. It all comes down to the purpose or goal of the video content that you’re making. If you’re not trying to create entertainment content, it’s best to state what the video is about simply.
As for the video description, this is a chance to make the most of your keyword research. You can describe what the video is about while including keywords that will be useful for the target audience you want to reach.
4. Add related hashtags to your video
Speaking of the video description, one thing that you shouldn’t forget to add would be some related hashtags.
By incorporating relevant hashtags into your video description, you can enhance its discoverability and increase its chances of appearing in search results. Hashtags serve as signposts for search engines, providing valuable information about your video’s content.
When selecting hashtags, choosing ones directly related to your video’s topic or theme is essential.
For example, if you have created a tutorial on photography tips, consider using hashtags such as #photographytips or #cameratutorials. These specific and targeted hashtags will attract viewers specifically interested in photography-related content.
Furthermore, incorporating popular industry-specific hashtags can help expose your video to a broader audience. Including commonly used hashtags within your niche increases the likelihood of reaching users who actively engage with similar content.
It’s important to note that while using relevant and popular hashtags is beneficial for SEO purposes, it is equally crucial to maintain authenticity and avoid overloading your video description with excessive tags.
Focus on quality over quantity and ensure that each hashtag accurately represents the content of your video.
5. Create a high-quality video thumbnail
Sometimes, your video thumbnail is more compelling than your title. That’s why paying attention to your video thumbnails is a huge part of video SEO.
You can always change the thumbnail to see which ones get the most clicks. Most video platforms enable you to do that.
Make sure to strike a balance between being eye-catching and being truthful about what your video will be about.
6. Use cards and end screens
In the video, your end cards will be your video’s call to action. However, most of the time, you would usually encourage them to watch other videos in your playlist, so you might not get the leisure to be as specific with it as you want.
However, the right end card can push your audience to take the appropriate action you want to take, mainly after they consumed a specific piece of video from you. So make sure to pay attention to them too.
7. Insert a video transcript
Significant video transcripts can make it easier for your editor to fix and edit your videos. If there is a front-facing person in the video, the transcript will ensure that the crucial points come out in the video.
It’s also beneficial since you can grab the transcript and even repurpose it into other pieces of content that you have outside of video content.
8. Add subtitles and closed captions
Subtitles and closed captions are great for improving the user experience around your video content. Plus, these subtitles also make you more accessible for some of the differently-abled individuals that may be watching your content.
Although some video platforms offer auto-captions, adding your own is best to improve the video viewing experience and get accurate subtitles.
9. Add your videos to playlists
Having an adequately categorized inventory of videos will make it easier for your target audience to find the videos they need from you. Creating playlists based on parent topics is one of the best ways to organize the video you produced, so make sure to consider that whenever you produce and create new video content.
10. Sharing Your Video Will Help You Go Viral
You might have noticed a considerable amount of content being shared across platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram. Implementing this action can be beneficial to direct traffic from your social networks to your YouTube channel or website. However, it's essential to note that these actions are subject to an algorithm that determines whether your content is relevant to the audience or not. Therefore, working on your video's positioning, even on these platforms, is crucial for better outcomes.
If your primary goal is to get more views on your videos, there's an unbeatable channel that lets you attract more users to your YouTube channel and make your videos more popular: email.
Email is a vital tool that allows you to send your videos massively, directly reaching your target audience. This increases video views and, consequently, enhances their ranking on search engines and video platforms.
Moreover, it's been proven that including videos in your emails can increase your click-through rate by up to 200% and potentially triple your sales.
If you're not sending videos via email to enhance customer communication and boost sales, it's time to catch up. Learn how to embed videos in your emails and harness this powerful marketing tool.
Conclusion
These video SEO tips make it easier for search engines to find your video content and for your target audience to discover them. Given all the effort into creating videos, you want to ensure people watch them. Therefore, make sure to apply these video SEO tips whenever you produce video content.
