Could Video be the Key to Boosting your SEO?
When it comes to increasing online exposure through SEO, there are an abundance of techniques and tactics at your disposal. But have you ever considered using video to boost your position on Google, Bing or Yahoo!?
If not, then you could be missing out on extensive audience numbers. According to Cisco’s 2014 Visual Networking Index, video already makes up 64 per cent of all Internet traffic. What’s more, this number is expected to grow to 80 per cent by 2019.
With spend on video advertising also expected to almost double in the next four years to $14.38 billion, its far-reaching potential clearly hasn’t escaped the attention of big businesses. But why is it so important from an SEO perspective? And how can you use video to your advantage?
The benefits of using video
Even though written word content has its obvious SEO advantages, Forrester estimates that just one minute of video equates to 1.8 million words of text. Therefore, it can be much more effective in attracting traffic and keeping these visitors on site.
On top of that, the Online Publishers Association has revealed that 80 per cent of users recall watching a video ad in the past month. But perhaps more impressively, 46 per cent of these users took some sort of follow-up action, such as searching for addition information or visiting the advertiser’s website.
So, seeing as greater engagement and more conversions is a distinct possibility, video becomes an extremely appealing marketing technique. But in order to benefit your SEO activity, a few essential steps will need to be taken.
How to boost SEO with video
There will be little to no point in producing a video if your target audience cannot find it. Therefore, bear the following advice in mind to reap video’s SEO rewards.
1. Upload to YouTube – Along with being owned by Google, YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine in terms of the number of queries it receives.
2. Embed video on your site – Video is evidence of quality website content and can help send signals to search engines that your page contains rich media.
3. Include relevant keywords – In the title, file name, description and tags of your video, remember to include relevant keywords to help search engines identify its content.
4. Write a transcript – You don’t have to miss out on the merits of written word content if you create a transcript of the video’s audio.
5. Alter your video’s sitemap – Customise video sitemap metadata like duration, rating, view count, age appropriateness, and other useful information to improve identification.
6. Prioritise speed – Page performance is a crucial part of Google’s algorithm and users won’t appreciate insufferable buffering, so optimise your video for load time.
7. Backlink from YouTube – Insert a link to your web page into your YouTube channel profile and the video description to create a stronger link profile.
8. Be social – By getting people to like or view your video, search engines will give your content greater value and increase the chances of more website traffic.
Follow these steps and video could prove pivotal in boosting your SEO activity.