Did you know that having a well-made business video can help you stand out from the crowd? Not only that, but a well-crafted video can actually help you rank higher in search engines. According to Wyzowl, 86% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool. In this article, we’re going to share some of our recommendations on video SEO services.
Why Video SEO Services Matter
What are the chances of seeing your business show up on page 1 of Google? Well, if you have a video on your website, then the chances are pretty good! Web pages with videos rank higher in Google searches. In fact, the changes are 53% higher for pages with videos. Why does that matter to you?
In 2022, there are a lot of options out there vying for our attention, but there are only 21% of users willing to view more than one page of search results. If they can't find what they’re looking for on page one, they’re going to move on to another query.
That’s why when developing a video SEO strategy, digital marketers should keep a few things in mind:
- Video views
- Length
- Watch time
- Closed captioning
- Engagement
- Keywords
Needless to say, the world is shifting towards video and SEO marketing. When you combine high-quality video content with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you will be unstoppable. And video SEO services can aid in the success of your videos and business.
Where to Begin With Video SEO Services
Start With Relevant Keywords
When you build a website, you make sure it’s SEO-friendly, right? It’s not only important to keep this mindset when it comes to websites, but also video promotion.
Keyword research is a key piece of content marketing, and it’s just as important with video. This strategy helps with your Google search ranking factor, which ultimately can lead to conversions. You can gain insight into what keywords to use by determining who your target audience is. This will help you determine what phrases users are searching for and what to use. We go into this a bit more in the next section...
Video Search Engine Optimization: YouTube SEO
Because YouTube is the second largest search engine, your YouTube video SEO strategy should be the same as your website creation strategy. Meaning that if you’re going to upload your videos to YouTube, you should spend some time doing keyword research to find out exactly what your audience is looking for.
The best place to start? Use a platform like Ahrefs to help you identify keywords that have the best mix of good search volume but are not ranked too difficult for your website to rank on page one for. Get some easy wins with the lower difficulty keywords and as your Domain Authority (DA) of your website increases, go after harder and harder keywords. For small town businesses, local SEO can help you get found by local searchers. Or you also can run keyword research to see what your competitors are ranking for to help you get ideas of what might be high intention keywords to go after.
Another option is to work with a quality SEO firm like Growth Machine.
Still not sure where to start? Marketing agencies and strategists who are video SEO experts can help you in this area!
What Role Do Keywords Play in Your Video SEO Success?
Making sure your videos are keyword-optimized for the phrases you want to rank for will help you climb in the search rankings. You should include your target keywords in areas such as video titles, video tags, and video descriptions.
This is something that video SEO services can help you with if it feels overwhelming to you.
Video Titles
Video titles are an essential component of video SEO services and can significantly impact your search rankings. The key here is to have a title that entices users to watch your video while also including your target keyword.
A lot of brands make the mistake of simply using their company name in their video title. It’s okay to add your business name before or after the keywords, as long as it’s relevant to your video. But unless you have a well-known brand, using just your brand name won’t do you a lot of good.
TIP Make sure your video title and file name are both optimized using your target keywords.
Example: “The Complete Guide to YouTube Video Marketing in 2022”
Video Tags
When you’re optimizing YouTube videos for your YouTube channel, don’t forget to use relevant tags to help make your video easily searchable! Tags can be used when uploading a video. And these tags –– which work similarly to hashtags –– can help in getting your video found.
Try to make your first tag the keyword you want to rank for. Then, use variations of that keyword as well as some general terms for the topic you’re covering.
Example: “Search Engine Optimization”
Video Descriptions
This might seem like it’d be common sense but make sure you use keywords in your video descriptions. But be sure not to overuse your keyphrases. Not only will Google catch on to what you’re doing, but so will your viewers.
Again, people want authenticity. If your video description reads like you’re stuffing keywords to improve your rankings, your viewers will see through it.
Transcripts
Did you know transcripts are an important part of helping people find your video content?
You may have noticed captions are now available for videos (if you don’t want to bother your other half who’s reading in the same room, this is a great tool!). But, it’s also beneficial to the hearing impaired.
Google’s top priority is providing its users with THE BEST search experience. As a result, when your video is all-inclusive, Google considers it more accessible and helps with your rankings.
Transcripts not only make your videos available to a wider audience but the additional text that Google indexes make them easier to find online – aka, the more text there is, the more easily it can be found.
Video Thumbnails
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. That sentiment, however, does not always apply to video thumbnails.
As users scroll down through search results, the first thing they see is the thumbnail you choose as the cover of your video. Because of this, video thumbnails play an important role in your video click-through rate (CTR).
So, be sure to put some time and effort into choosing yours carefully. Otherwise, users will most likely click on another video if it is not engaging enough.
Sitemaps and Video SEO Services
While some of the keywords used to identify your video may appear on your video sitemap, this is a separate process. According to an article by Search Engine Land, “video sitemaps are an extension of your Web property’s general sitemap.”
Metadata that can be customized includes:
- Duration
- Rating
- View count
- Age appropriateness
- Whether the video can be embedded
Social Media and Backlinks
An engaged social media community around your company pages will benefit you greatly when promoting your video on your social channels. The greater the number of people who share your video, the more backlinks you will receive over time.
What are backlinks?
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, backlinks are also known as “inbound links”. All this means is their hyperlinks that go from one website to a page on another.
Backlinks are important for SEO because they let Google know another resource values the content enough to link to it from their own website. And as a website receives more backlinks, search engines decide that website has valuable content – making them worthy of ranking higher on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Know there are experts in this field to help you if it feels too much for you. Video SEO service providers know all about this!
Video SEO Services to Optimize Video for Web Users
Optimizing your video for load time is critical. Did you know that the time it takes for your website to load can significantly affect your SEO? That’s because it affects the overall user experience. And we know how important user experience is to Google…
According to Neil Patel, if a website has a load time of more than three seconds to load, 40% of visitors will click off.
Google’s search engine algorithms can now analyze video content and recognize key elements that users should be aware of. These factors have a significant impact on how content is crawled, indexed, and delivered to users.
“If an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1-second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.” (Neil Patel)
While video SEO is important, it’s one part of your overall SEO plan. On-page SEO for your website and all articles are also essential.
This is how your website’s SEO might look:
- Including keywords in your copy
- URL, title tag, metadata, and meta description optimization
- Examining your site’s usability, speed, and design
And these are all key elements in on-page optimization.
Bonus tip: Embed videos in landing pages and blog content to boost engagement and provide a better experience.
This, combined with video SEO services, will give your company a competitive advantage. Everything will work together if you optimize all aspects of your website, including the platforms where you host your video.
If all of this feels overwhelming, talk to us about our experience building videos that are SEO-friendly. Here at Levitate Media, we can optimize your videos to make them both watchable and rank well. To learn more about Levitate’s video SEO services, contact us here!
