The use of video marketing can significantly enhance your SEO strategy. When used correctly, video content will help your website rank higher in Google search results, as websites displaying video content are more likely to rank higher than those without it. Studies show that 85% of marketers use video to boost SEO, and websites with video content rank 53 times higher on Google than websites without it.

In order to maximise conversions and exposure through your video marketing strategy, it is essential to understand a few best practices. Having relevant text posts and images on your website can increase your search engine rankings, but different types of video content can give your business an edge over the competition.

There are many benefits to using visual content for SEO, and the overall value of using video for any purpose cannot be overstated. Read on for more information about SEO video marketing, or check out how our video production services can help you improve your online marketing presence.

What is Video SEO?

In Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Google determines whether your content is worthy of being seen by others. The search engine uses a set of rules to decide which content is ranked higher on the first page of Google. You can expect fantastic results if you follow the rules, make Google happy, and make website visitors happy.

Video marketing can help with that. In 2020 alone, consumers watched a record number of films totalling 23,000 years worth of video - that is undoubtedly a lot of time spent watching videos. Video SEO relies on aligning your internal content strategy with the priorities of search engines. Although we don't always know what Google is looking for, we do know that video is a powerful SEO tool.

As with written content and SEO, video marketing and SEO go hand in hand: they are two sides of the same coin. In the same way that you optimise blogs for search, you should also optimise videos for search. Neglecting video SEO could result in fewer views and a lower return on investment.

How to improve your SEO using high-quality video

Video can be a potent SEO tool if you create high-quality content focusing on a particular goal. However, producing top-quality video, no matter how good it is, isn't necessarily a website's saving grace.

You can think of it as a cycle. When your video is optimised for search engines, it will rank higher in search results, allowing it to reach a broader audience and lead to more people clicking your link. On the other hand, if your on-page content is not of high quality, visitors will not stay on your site very long.

Fortunately, this is not a problem if you plan your production strategy well. 

Here are some tips to help you succeed in your video marketing efforts and boost your ranking on SERPs. If you would like additional assistance from our team of experts, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

Plan how to optimise your video content

It is critical to ask yourself the following question before recording your video: are you creating content that is relevant to your audience? Your video's context can be understood by search engines and used to determine if your content is relevant to searchers' queries.

It would be best if you start by identifying what search intent you are aiming for and then make sure your video uses those terms. In the same way, you would write a blog, you should produce videos based on your audience's interests. You can gain more insight by focusing on search intent during the planning process.

After identifying the intent, conduct keyword research to identify related search terms and incorporate those terms into your video. It is crucial to understand the intention of the search queries to determine which keywords are the right ones to use. Keywords are still important and need to be tracked, but first, you must understand the intent of the search queries. 

Make your video's thumbnail, meta title and meta description stand out

Have you ever skipped over a book or a movie because the cover didn't catch your eye? Videos are no exception. A video's "book cover" consists of three main elements: its title, its description, and its thumbnail.

Give each element careful consideration, putting yourself in your audience's shoes. What is important to them? How could they be motivated to take action? Remember to create a compelling meta title and meta description for your video. 

Search engines like Google use search result interactions and page engagement to determine a site's value: Are people clicking your links? Do they stay on your page, or do they leave right away? Do they spend a long time on your page? For a successful video, you should first develop a hypothesis about your audience's needs based on your available data, test it, and then implement it.

Choose the video positioning on the page and its purpose

Deciding the video's content and purpose will determine where it will appear on the page and on what platform. Let's say you want to insert multiple videos on one page. The most compelling video should be displayed first if that is the case. Video indexing by Google is limited to one per page, and Google prefers videos that appear first.

Choosing the correct video placement is crucial and determines if your visitors will be able to access your content and watch it to completion. For example, it is unlikely that your readers will go all the way down to your video if it is buried beneath a long content piece such as a blog post. 

Moreover, choose a video hosting platform that suits your needs. If driving traffic and attracting new leads to your website is your primary goal, you should only upload the video on your website. Alternatively, if you want to raise brand awareness, you can consider multiple hosting options, such as YouTube or Vimeo.

Create a video that contains CTAs

Marketing calls-to-action (CTAs) are written instructions designed to trigger an immediate response from the audience. This is usually done with imperative verbs, such as "download now" or "subscribe now", commonly used when communicating.

To avoid losing viewers, you need to engage with them in a manner that matches the preferences of your target audience by using the right call-to-action at the appropriate time.

Your pages should include video transcripts

Search engines can't watch video content, but they can process and understand the dialogue in a video. Nevertheless, a video transcript should still be included on the page where your video is hosted. This will help search engines figure out what the content is about when they crawl your video.

On some websites, the transcript is housed within a collapsible module, while in others, the transcript is made available as a text-based guide. Either option is acceptable, depending on the context and purpose of the video.

Remember that video transcripts provide context for search engines that helps them understand the content better. Consequently, your video will be accessible to a larger audience, culminating in a higher ranking.

Consider the video's length

Ensure that the duration is kept in mind. Our attention span tends to be short, so it is recommended to stay between 30 and 90 seconds for videos. You want your viewer to be intrigued by your content and keep watching for the remainder of the video. Make the first few seconds count.

It is essential to consider the video's length. Keep in mind that video lengths and specifications vary depending on the platform when posting videos to social media platforms.

Make sure your video is educational

If prospective customers have questions about your brand, services, products, or industry, educating and empowering them will make their buying decisions easier.

Answering their questions establishes your authority and enables you to gain credibility. As a result, search engines start to rank your pages higher. Your product pages may benefit from a Q&A video or a demonstration of your products in action. Additionally, you can use video to provide an alternative to reading long texts on educational pages like your blog. 

Explainer videos are ideal for this purpose as their inspiring visuals can convey an organisation's values and personality and even showcase its products or services. It has been shown that explainer videos increase the conversion rate of pages by as much as 80% when used on websites.

Get Started With Your Marketing Video

If you’d like more tips, take a look at our guide, Creating an Animated Video Marketing Strategy, or our video production process to get a better understanding of how we can create your next marketing video. 

If you want to discuss how a marketing video can benefit your business, get in touch with the Squideo team today!