Power Of Video Content Marketing for SEO
From social media experts to SEO professionals, it seems like everybody is advocating for creating and marketing video content nowadays. Not surprising, given the multitude of marketing benefits: Videos are more engaging and spread well. They also attract users on various social media platforms and can still pique interest and capture attention in a world where most of us are overwhelmed by information overload.
Video and SEO
However, have you ever thought about leveraging videos to enhance your SEO strategy and boost conversions and revenue? Well, deciphering Google’s ranking signals is an uphill battle, so we can’t be certain if there is a direct link there.
So, whether the search giant “likes” or prefers web pages with videos more than pages without video content remains a secret. However, given the plethora of benefits, not prioritizing video or ignoring it altogether is probably not the best move.
Did you know that Google processes more than 99,000 searches every second? That’s over 8.5 billion searches daily! Considering these numbers, it may seem like a Herculean task to strive to rank at the top in your niche if you haven’t figured it out yet, no worries. Many brands are still in the early stages of grasping the value of building an optimized website experience using video.
Fortunately, your brand can incorporate this often-overlooked opportunity to engage users and keep them on your page longer. Let’s find out how this low-hanging fruit (video creation is not that difficult) can help your website soar through the ranks of Google’s mysterious SERP algorithm.
How Video Improves SEO
Simplifies Complex Topics and Ideas
Videos can explain complicated topics effectively and succinctly. Let’s say you sell sophisticated medical equipment. One option is to write a lengthy, jargon-filled blog post. Given the technical nature of the subject, it may put people to sleep.
Isn’t it better to create a short, engaging video tutorial demonstrating how to use the equipment? This visual guide will make the information simpler and more accessible to a wider audience and keep viewers engaged. Video simplifies the jargon, demystifies the complexities, serving difficult ideas in a way that appeals to you.
If visitors like your video, they will spend more time on your page, which can reduce your bounce rate. This positive signal can improve your post’s search engine rankings on Google and Bing.
More Engaging
Humans have a thing for visuals. Whether it’s movies, memes, or comics, they often capture our attention, transporting us to different worlds. Video content taps into this penchant for visuals to create a compelling and memorable experience.
Research reveals that 73% of people prefer watching a video rather than reading written content. As videos are inherently engaging, they can keep users and visitors on your page longer. Actually, it’s been reported that individuals spend nearly 1.4x more time on web pages with videos than on pages without videos.
Search engines like Google and Bing aim to deliver the best results to users. When visitors spend more time on your website, it signals to Google that your content is valuable. The higher dwell time can have a positive impact on your site’s SEO.
Backlinking Opportunities
When search engines evaluate your website content, they consider numerous variables to decide your ranking. The number and quality of backlinks your website receives are among these factors. Quality videos on your pages can be an excellent source of backlinks. Why is that so?
People love sharing engaging and valuable content. This means that if your video strikes a chord with viewers, expect it to be shared on social media channels and other platforms. When people share your informative video, it creates natural backlinks to your website. These backlinks can improve your website’s traffic.
Google Prefers Videos
Search engines prefer content variety, often prioritizing pages that provide a mix of content types. Whether you consider YouTube’s video results or Google’s image search, one thing is apparent – search engines are more than capable of populating non-text results.
This trend is likely to accelerate in the future. Google’s Search Generative Experience is a prime example of how search engines now share diverse visual content, including both videos and graphics.
So, having videos alongside images and text can make your webpage more diverse and appealing to search engine algorithms. Let’s say you’re creating a blog post titled “Safe and Effective Beginner Exercises to Lose Weight.” Your first instinct would likely be to include text-based explanations of various exercises, along with images showing proper form. However, to make things simpler to follow, you could embed a video tutorial for each exercise.
For example, you could include a video demonstrating how to do a burpee right. Watching a video has two benefits – viewers can clearly see how to ensure the ideal burpee posture and execute the exercise correctly. The second benefit is that it minimizes the risk of injury.
Improves Keyword Visibility
Another way videos enhance SEO is through greater keyword visibility. Video content provides additional opportunities to optimize for keywords. You can include relevant keywords in your video title, tags, and description to improve the chances of your video content showing up in search results when searchers enter these keywords. This keyword optimization can improve visibility and boost traffic to your website.
You can go a step further by including pertinent keywords in your video’s file name and subtitles or captions. What’s the point? You’re helping search engines understand the content of your video. As a result, they are more likely to recommend your video content to target users.
Video Featured Snippets
You have probably heard of featured snippets. These short snippets of text show up at the top of search results and quickly answer a searcher’s query. Many SEO professionals commonly refer to the featured snippet as “Position 0” as it occupies a position of prominence above the traditional #1 spot.
Now, let’s discuss featured clips and how they help. These videos are pulled from YouTube and show up in the featured snippet spot. How do you increase your chances of landing a coveted featured snippet? Optimize your video content by using relevant keywords, providing accurate information, and implementing video schema markup.
Video schema markup is a bit of code added to your site to help Google bots better understand your video content. Incorporating video schema into a webpage that features a video can improve your chances of appearing in featured snippets and boost your search engine rankings. If you are still in two minds about how video content coupled with schema can elevate your search engine results, this example will drive the point home.
If you search for “how to braid hair,” Google displays a video featured snippet. You will notice two important things that make this result unique:
- It shows up at the top of Google search results
- The video featured snippet is much larger than all other search results
Here are the implications. Search listings appearing at the top of SERPs get a higher number of clicks compared to those below it. As a result, having a video that clinches this top spot is likely to increase clicks to your site. Moreover, the larger size of video featured snippets on SERPs gives them a visual advantage. They are more noticeable and more likely to be clicked.
Some Keywords are Too Competitive for Text
Here is another way using video content on your website can help improve SEO. Leveraging video can be a simple and effective strategy for targeting competitive keywords and phrases that might be too challenging for written content to rank for.
Many keywords, such as home improvement ideas, fitness tips, and personal finance advice, are highly competitive, particularly in text-based search results. However, specific queries may have fewer video results, and this allows your video to stand out more easily.
This is your cue to create high-quality and engaging video content around these keywords. This way, you will find it easier to capture traffic that may be difficult to achieve with conventional written content alone.
On top of that, some keywords are better suited for video content, usually known as “video keywords” or “YouTube keywords.” These are generally how-to queries – how to create a playlist in YouTube – or informational searches that lend themselves well to visual explanations.
Want to improve your chances of ranking higher in search results? Better work on optimizing your video for these types of keywords.
User Preferences for Visual Content
While many businesses are readily using web videos and video marketing to reach a wider audience, not everyone has realized their full potential. And the way younger customers make buying decisions is constantly evolving.
Many prefer watching videos before purchasing. So, this is your opportunity to outperform your competition and demonstrate why your brand is a cut above the rest. Don’t get left out of the loop, and deliver compelling content in the way your audience is most likely to consume it.
Here is another reason video content marketing works. Compared to other types of content, videos are usually more shareable – in fact, they are 52% more likely to be shared. Customers increasingly rely on engaging marketing videos and their visual appeal and short nature lend nicely to sharing on various social media platforms.
This convenience and ease of sharing open video content up to plenty of cross-channel posting. If you post a video clip on your site, you can also post it to your YouTube channel and other social media profiles. Besides social media, your video content is also flexible for pay-per-click (PPC), SEO, and email marketing.
As followers and consumers are more likely to share your videos, here’s one thing to keep in mind when posting video content on your site for SEO purposes. Add a few sharing buttons to encourage other people to share your video.
Videos are Trackable
You are posting videos for a reason. To inform or persuade your audience or maybe both. However, unless you know how well they are faring, it is difficult to justify their continued use or make necessary adjustments. So, it is imperative to track results.
The nice thing about adding videos to your site is that you get convenient access to new data! You can easily track metrics such as clicks to play, video watch time, completion rate, and drop-off points. Let’s briefly discuss a few video content metrics:
Video Watch Time
This video metric measures the total time period viewers or customers spend watching your video. Watch time allows you to see where viewers may become less engaged or interested in your video.
You can even break it down to show the specific points at which viewers started to “drop off” from watching your video. Watch time is a good gauge of the stickiness and overall quality of your content. For example, higher watch times indicate that visitors find your video content relevant and engaging, which can have a positive impact on SEO ranking.
Engagement Metrics
The number of likes, comments, shares, and other interactions with your video shows the level of engagement. Search engines may interpret high engagement levels as a sign of high-quality content. It signals to Google that your video content is valuable, informative, and worth promoting, which can improve search engine rankings.
Click to Play
This shows the number of times users click on your video to play it. If you think that this number is lower than what you expected, there could be two reasons for this. Either the video is not prominently positioned or it isn’t appealing or engaging enough. If it is the former, consider moving the video clip up on the page to boost this number.
Completion Rate
Tracking the completion rate will let you know how many viewers completed your video. A high number indicates that your content is engaging and holds your target audience’s attention throughout its duration. You can use these metrics to measure video marketing ROI and gauge your videos’ performance and if editing is needed.
Video Marketing Stats
If you are still on the fence about how video marketing can help you stand out from the crowd, these numbers will hopefully change your mind:
- More than 91% of internet users watch digital videos every week, including how-to videos and product review videos. This definitely highlights the huge audience for video content globally and is a reason to give video content marketing a chance.
- About 82% of customers have cited video content as a significant factor in a buying decision they made. Numerous studies have shown that video has a positive effect on online buying decisions and helps drive brand engagement.
- People dedicated 17 hours (on average) every week to watching online videos in 2023. While this marked a minor decline from last year’s average of 19 hours, it indicates a broader cultural and social shift toward a ‘video diet.’ A good reason to get started with video production.
Best Practices and Tips for Using Video in SEO
Optimize Video Content
Video optimization has many benefits and is too dynamic to ignore. Optimized video content reduces file size and leads to faster load times. This improves user engagement.
So, make sure your video clips are well-optimized with relevant keywords in descriptions, titles, and tags. Also, adding transcripts and captions is a simple way to improve SEO and accessibility.
Choose A Suitable Hosting Platform
Your choice of platform depends on your goals and how well that platform integrates with other tools that you use, including social media and CRM systems. Platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo can improve visibility and are ideal for reaching a broad audience. Wistia may be better for targeting a specific niche.
Create High-Quality Videos
Prioritize creating engaging and valuable content that resonates with your audience. Low-quality videos that fail to connect with users can lead to high bounce rates. This can negatively impact your rankings.
Monitor Performance
You won’t know how well your videos are performing if you don’t measure the results. Stay on top of metrics like click-through rates, engagement, and backlinks to assess the efficacy of your video content strategy in boosting SEO.
Final Thoughts
Due to their immersive nature, the popularity and use of videos will continue to increase in both the near and distant future. Embedding videos on your website makes sense as it enriches the user experience and plays a crucial role in boosting your SEO efforts. People like watching videos and engaging with video content more often. They also tend to remember them, highlighting two engagement metrics that all marketing strategies seek to improve.
Videos have time and again proven their ability to enhance the visibility of brands, increase engagement, generate more traffic and qualified leads, and boost site rankings. By following our best practices and tips and focusing on high-quality content, you can leverage videos to improve your search engine rankings significantly.
