How to Integrate Video To Your SEO Marketing Strategy

The main objective of search engine optimization (SEO) is to get your business in front of people who are actively searching for the products and services you provide. Once reserved only for text content optimization, video content optimized for search has emerged to be just as effective at exposing your brand to those most likely to be interested in your business.

Online video consumption is at an all-time high and increasing with each passing year. Google, YouTube and other prominent search engines realize the power of video and now treat properly optimized videos as relevant, legitimate content that provides valuable information to consumers.

• More video content is uploaded in one month than in the last three decades of television content combined.
• Internet videos make up more than 85 percent of online traffic in the United States.
• More than 500 million hours of video are watched every day on YouTube and 100 million hours on Facebook.
• Seventy-eight percent of people watch online videos every week, and 55 percent view them every day.

The accessibility of high-speed wireless internet connections and the affordable availability of the latest smartphone has made video the dominant form of personal and business communication online. The major search engines have recognized this shift in online activity and have adjusted algorithms to reflect videos’ influence and importance to online marketing efforts.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

When the original search engines like Ask Jeeves, Bing and Google began, marketers could get their clients’ businesses to show up by stuffing the pages with keywords whether they were relevant to the article’s topic. Today, algorithms allow search engines to find only the most credible, legitimate and substantial content to rank for specific keywords and phrases.

The industry standards and search engine guidelines are continually adapting to technology breakthroughs and ever-changing online user habits and trends. To rank for specific keyword clusters, content must be optimized to the latest technical parameters and content guidelines.

As video continues to rise in popularity and accessibility, search engines place a higher priority on video content on search engine results pages (SERPs). YouTube is now the second-largest search engine in the world, behind only Google, which owns YouTube.

How to Integrate Video Into SEO Marketing

Today’s online consumers know the difference between sales ads and marketing videos that provide valuable insight and information relating to your products and services. The best way to maximize the power of video for SEO marketing is to create and distribute high-quality video content that engages, informs and entertains those consumers actively searching for the types of products and services your business can offer them.

Websites are now designed and built with the marketing tools needed to properly optimize text, photo and video content to get ranked on Google and other search engines. Ongoing content that is produced and presented using the latest guidelines and trends has a better chance of reaching the first page of specific searches and driving interested consumers to your website.

The following are the key ways to optimize video content that gets ranked on search engines.

Keyword Research

Keyword research is the foundation of SEO campaigns designed to propel content up the SERP rankings. The pain-staking process of keyword research involves researching search online user trends, histories and additional analytical data to create a list of the terms and phrases related to your specific services and products.

Digital marketers work to evaluate and update the list on an ongoing basis to adjust for consumer trends and technology advances. For example, the rise in popularity of voice command functions has added a unique set of dynamics and terminology phrasing used by today’s online users.

Technical SEO

One of the ways search engines rank only the most relevant and credible content is by verifying the structure and setup of the backend of your website’s technical construction. To get noticed by Google, YouTube, Bing and other search engines, videos need to be optimized with the proper technical aspects while also presenting relevant, engaging content.

Slow websites and other technical issues have negative impacts on the ability to rise in search rankings. Broken links and delayed downloads can repel consumers that might otherwise become customers. All technical aspects of the design and development need to continue to run in top condition according to search engine guidelines and industry standards. Items that can have the greatest influence on search engine rankings include:

• Analytical, reporting tools
• Blogs
• Broken links
• Coding errors
• Index status
• Internal linking structure
• Links related keyword list
• Site and page download speed
• Sitemaps

Metadata and Descriptions

To get recognized by search engine algorithms, the meta titles and descriptions need to be filled out in the website’s backend. These fields detail the topic and specifics of the content in your video. If these items are not filled out with complete metadata, the chances of ranking will be severely reduced. Video thumbnails and other photos also have alt tags to fill out.

Quality Content

Search engine algorithms cannot physically view and evaluate the video. They rely on the written content to determine the value and credibility of the video presentation. In addition to the meta descriptions and alt tags, a transcription of the video helps search engines find and rank your content.

Benefits of SEO in Video Marketing

The main goal of marketing videos is to get your content in front of those people that are actively searching for the information you can provide them. Competition in the crowded digital age is fierce. SEO is a powerful marketing tool to help stand out and generate interest and more sales.

The best way to grow your business is to expose your video content to the people who need your products and services and are actively looking for you. Producing quality video that is fully optimized for SEO will put your content high up on relevant SERPs and drive interested consumers to your website. Additional benefits to integrating video content into your SEO marketing strategy include:

SEO Never Sleeps

The internet spans across the globe, and search engines are accessible at all times of the day or night. Ongoing SEO video marketing plans work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. Users looking for the kinds of products and services your business provides can find you whenever they are searching from anywhere in the world with an available internet connection. Automated online systems and eCommerce sales technology allow you to generate website viewers and facilitate sales around the world while you sleep.

Grow Online Presence

The primary objective of video marketing strategies is to get video content in front of the most potential customers as possible. Getting videos to rank high on SERPs for the most valuable keywords and phrases will help to increase your online presence and grow your customer base.

Expands Brand Awareness

Your branding is how you present your business to the world. Consumers who are more aware of your brand and how you do business are more likely to become first-time and repeat customers. Seeing your brand in online marketing videos will eliminate the need for you to prove yourself each time. The branding elements in your video content are constant reinforcements to retain and expand your customer base.

Drives Traffic to Your Website

Getting videos as high up in the search engine rankings as possible will drive high volumes of interested and engaged potential customers to your website. Those consumers that find your marketing videos through organic searches are already expressing a need and an interest in your business and are more likely to make a purchase or schedule a service call.

Improved Conversion and Bounce Rates

Digital marketers use a specific set of metrics to monitor progress and evaluate the performance of content on search engines. Videos are effective at improving key determining factors like conversion and bounce rates that indicate visitors are staying on your site and being converted to customers.

Drives Up Sales

Implementing the latest search engine optimization tactics allows the targeting of consumers that are already looking for you. The volumes of quality traffic videos generate results in solid leads, increased sales and rising profits. The quality of the leads generated through organic searches will drive up sales and allow you to grab a greater share of the market in your industry. 

Ensure Long-Term Growth With SEO Video Marketing

Using the strategies and principles of search engine optimization is not a quick fix that provides instant results. SEO video marketing takes patience and persistence. It is an ongoing, long-term strategy that needs regular maintenance and adjustments to produce consistent web traffic for many years to come.

Search engines like Google and YouTube consider video to be a legitimate and credible source for valuable online information. Video content ranks as well or better than other forms of content and will help to grow your online presence and drive volumes of consumers to your website.