Three crucial tips for optimising videos

Video is quickly becoming the undisputed king of content. Audiences are more inclined to watch and engage with videos than with text and other forms of media. This is why videos have a 41% higher click-through rate CTR than plain text. They also have a higher conversion rate compared to textual elements; for instance, adding a video to your landing page could increase conversions by up to 80%.

However, for videos to convert, they first need to be optimised so they can appear in search results. Here are three important things you should know about optimising videos.

1) Choose the right hosting platform

There are dozens of dedicated video hosting platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo and Wistia. The choice of platform should depend on the likelihood of finding the relevant audience, and the purpose of the video.

If the video is focused on sales and awareness, then it’s best to host it on popular sites such as YouTube. But, if its purpose is to generate traffic to your website, choose hosting sites that support JSON-LD capabilities. JSON-LD is a lightweight code that embeds metadata into the video, which can be interpreted by web crawlers. This increases the chances of your site getting indexed through references in the video.

2) Create an eye-catching thumbnail

A thumbnail is a still image that visually represents the video. Think of it as the video’s equivalent to the cover of a book. It’s the first thing that viewers see in video search results. So it has to be eye-catching, beautiful and compelling to the audience.

To create a captivating thumbnail, take photos that are relevant to the content of the video and enhance then in a way that makes them exciting enough to attract clicks. Top tip: it’s been found that including a human in the thumbnail increases the play rate by 30%.

3) Work on the title and description

The title and meta description play a vital role in ranking the video and attracting viewers. Carry out keyword research and use suitable keywords in crafting both the title and description. Take care not to stuff the keywords, stuffing makes the text unreadable and appear desperately promotional.

Summing up

Video marketing is on the rise since many digital marketers now realise the potential of videos in search engine marketing. This means that the niche is increasingly becoming competitive. As such, it’s important to look into other marketing strategies beyond SEO such as PPC and sponsoring videos on social media.

Let us assist you in digital marketing if you’re having difficulties in gaining traffic and converting sales. We specialise in promoting businesses through SEO and PPC techniques.