How to Rank With Video SEO
What makes a video go viral? Is it purely the subject matter? Thematic or emotional elements that resonate with the viewer? Or is it something less “cinematic” – the implementation of several video marketing tactics, all coordinating and working together to reach the biggest audience possible?
The truth is that it’s all of those things that contribute to any video going “viral,” but it’s important to note that a video of a cute puppy being caught devouring a child’s birthday cake doesn’t take over the internet without a little help from the inner workings of video SEO. Just as you optimize all aspects of your other online content, video SEO is the overall practice of optimizing your video content with the proper indexing and metadata to help it rank as high as possible on search engine page results containing relevant keyword searches.
And the difference between properly optimized videos versus text-dominant content, as far as audience potential goes, is substantial. Research shows that video results are 50 times more likely to rank organically on Google than text-based content, not to mention having a 41% higher click-through rate (CTR) than text-heavy content. That’s why implementing video marketing services into your overall digital marketing strategy is so imperative to spreading brand awareness and multiplying your target audience!
If you’re looking to beef up your video SEO strategy, you’ve come to the right place. At Atomic 8, we implement proven video SEO tactics into all of our video advertising productions, giving your company a more effective path to ensuring your videos appear prominently in search engine results while boosting your overall engagement levels. Whether you are creating product demos or releasing promotional content such as testimonials or case study videos, incorporating a video SEO strategy into your overall marketing plan will help take it to the next level.
Here are nine video SEO tips that will be sure to help your videos rank higher and hopefully compete with those irresistible cute puppy-eating cake videos!
1. Do Your Keyword Research
The words you include in your video titles, descriptions, and hashtags will have a profound effect on how well they rank on Google. Be sure to put the time in to perform the necessary keyword research, so you include relevant keywords within titles, descriptions, and tags of posts.
This ensures that whenever someone searches for those terms on Google or another search engine, your video will be one of the top results.
2. Properly Tag Everything
Successful video SEO also requires optimizing the metadata of all of your video content, which essentially means incorporating the right keywords, proper headings, and accurate descriptions into every video you share.
Video titles should also be descriptive and contain relevant keywords so they can appear in search engine results, while the actual description of your video needs to implement appropriate linking to all brand-relevant pages of your website, social media accounts, etc.
3. Target Interested Audiences
It’s important to have a specific target audience in mind for every piece of video content your business decides to share. To effectively target appropriate audiences, create social media video ads that are engineered to target audiences who have expressed interest in related topics or products similar to what your company has.
Social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube offer great opportunities for businesses to expose their content to specific demographics on different channels simultaneously.
4. Transcribe Your Content
There are plenty of viewers out there who have no interest in watching the entire video you share, preferring to, in fact, pursue your video at their leisure and only engage with what they consider to be “the highlights”.
That’s why you need to utilize transcribed content for your company’s videos, so viewers can easily search for the most interesting parts of it through the text. This helps increase visibility since searches will lead people directly to a particular spot in the video instead of forcing them to scroll through the entire thing.
5. Index Your Video Content
According to Google, “If a video is indexed, it can appear in Search, with features such as a title, description, a thumbnail, and a link to play the video, depending on the available metadata. A video must pass certain requirements to be indexed.”
Taking advantage of creating sitemaps for all of your videos will help make sure your videos are properly indexed and discoverable on search engines. Essentially, indexing your video content helps Google’s crawlers find and access all of your content more quickly.
6. Provide Closed Captioning
It’s important to be as inclusive as possible when considering the audience for your video content. That’s why you should add closed captions to all of your videos for enhanced SEO performance, as this ensures more people can watch them regardless of their hearing ability or language preferences.
Closed captioning also improves click-through rates since viewers can easily read what’s being said while they’re scrolling through the page – even if they don’t have sound enabled on their device.
7. Create a Captivating Thumbnail
Obviously, you need your video content to be visually stimulating in order to entice your target audience into watching, but one of the most overlooked elements of video SEO is ensuring your video content is accompanied by a captivating thumbnail that serves as a sneak peek into what the viewer can expect to watch.
Think of thumbnails as the first impression of your video content, which can be crucial when you factor in just how quickly people scroll by video content on their phones. Be sure to craft custom thumbnails that are visually appealing and relevant to your content, and include text overlays if necessary.
Thumbnails have been found to significantly impact click-through rates, which will ultimately factor into your video's SEO ranking.
8. Promote Social Sharing
Once your video content is ready to be shared, it’s important to spread awareness to all of your social media followers in order to really start building up some buzz. Be sure to encourage viewers to share your videos on all of their own social media platforms, as social signals can indirectly impact SEO by increasing visibility and driving traffic to your videos, signaling their popularity to search engines.
It’s important to remember that you don’t have to necessarily share your video content across EVERY social media platform or video hosting site, so be sure to choose a reputable platform that already has a built-in audience to host your videos.
YouTube is obviously a popular choice due to its massive user base and search engine integration, so uploading your videos there will only work toward increasing the chances of your videos being properly indexed and ranked.
9. Engage Your Audience Through Video
Part of what makes video content so special are all the engagement opportunities these visuals present to you and your target audience. Be sure to engage with your followers and community by responding to comments and connecting with potential customers on relevant topics related to your videos.
This will help strengthen relationships with viewers and increase the chances of them recommending your videos to others, further boosting visibility.
Analyzing & Adjusting Video SEO Performance
Once your videos start ranking, you’ll need to closely monitor analytics in order to ensure they continue to maintain and improve their ranking. Platforms like YouTube and Google Analytics provide insights into viewer behavior, demographics, and engagement, giving you more clarity into what’s working (and what’s not) with your video content.
Here are a few tips for tracking video SEO performance analytics and adjusting your video content when necessary.
A/B Test Different Elements
Perform A/B tests with different titles, thumbnails, descriptions, and even video lengths. Analyze which variations perform better in terms of clicks, views, and engagement. Continuous experimentation can lead to improved rankings over time.
Monitor Keyword Rankings
Regularly check how your videos are ranking for target keywords. Tools like Google Search Console and third-party SEO tools can help you track keyword positions and identify opportunities for improvement.
Track Viewership Metrics
Pay attention to metrics like watch time, average view duration, and audience retention. Identify patterns – when do viewers drop off?
Is there a specific point where engagement dips? Adjust your content based on these insights.
Analyze Click-Through Rates
Monitor CTR for your videos in search results. If your CTR is low, consider tweaking your titles and thumbnails to make them more appealing and relevant.
Review Engagement Signals
Comments, likes, and shares indicate audience engagement. Engage with your viewers and encourage interactions. A higher number of engagement signals can positively influence your video's ranking.
Stay Consistent
Consistency is key in Video SEO. Regularly upload high-quality content, optimize metadata, and engage with your audience. Search engines reward consistent efforts!
Seek Professional Guidance
If Video SEO feels overwhelming, consider seeking guidance from SEO experts. They can provide personalized strategies and insights tailored to your specific goals and industry.
Create Your Video SEO Strategy With Atomic 8!
In the end, video SEO is a powerful way to make sure that your content appears prominently in search engine results. Utilizing these tips can help maximize visibility while increasing engagement with potential customers.
At Atomic 8, we’ll be sure to help you incorporate the necessary video SEO tactics into your video marketing strategy so you can reach bigger audiences across multiple channels and engage more effectively with potential customers.
If you’re looking to help your videos rank higher on local, relevant search engine results, contact Atomic 8 today to get started on your customized video marketing campaign!