It’s no secret that video has become a very powerful tool in the online marketing arena. According to Wyzowl’s research, 84% of consumers say they’ve been convinced to purchase a product or service by watching a brand’s video content. It only goes to show that if you integrate video in your marketing strategy, then you can reach more consumers and ultimately boost your revenue. However, with the massive influx of videos online, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. You have to ensure that your videos are highly visible so that you can reach as many people as possible. In order to achieve that your videos must rank high on the result pages of search engines. Let’s talk more about Video SEO and how you can leverage it to attain a high ranking.

What does Video SEO mean?

Video SEO refers to the strategies used in optimizing video content to be indexed and ranked on the search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keyword searches. You’ll find various optimization tactics that will give your videos a greater chance of ranking and we’ll discuss some of them in this article.

1. Choose the appropriate video hosting platform

There are various video hosting platforms available, both free and paid. Each one of them has advantages and disadvantages; for example, no ads in the video player, but offers limited customizable embedding options. It’s essential to research each platform before you finally decide which one you’ll use for video hosting. You can also opt to upload your videos to several hosting platforms to enhance exposure and discoverability. The most popular free video hosting platforms are YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Dailymotion.

2. Create top quality and relevant videos for your viewers

Remember, that your videos should always serve a purpose to your audience, whether it’s educational, inspirational, storytelling, or creative content. Aim to create top quality videos that compel people to click, watch, and reshare your video link to others.

3. Search for the relevant keywords you want your videos to rank for

Typically, keyword research is the first step in the SEO writing process and it’s highly critical when you want to get high placements in the search engine rankings. It’s vital that you understand what terms your target viewers are using when they’re looking for your type of video. Once you have identified them, then you can use these terms/ keywords to improve your CTR (click through rate) in both organic search and paid results.

4. Create an interesting title and description for your videos

Similar to blog posts, the title and meta description also play a crucial factor in ranking videos. Do make sure that you come up with engaging video titles and descriptions. Additionally, use the terms or phrases that you’ve gathered from your keyword research.

5. Make a compelling thumbnail to attract clicks

A video thumbnail is what people will see when a video is indexed and it plays an important role in whether searchers click. Think of your thumbnail image as something like a book cover or your website’s homepage. It must be relevant, compelling, and visually appealing.

If possible, use expressive human faces in your thumbnails because people tend to respond well to other people’s faces. According to Wistia, videos with custom human thumbnails get a 30% higher play rate compared to those without.

6. Optimize your video’s metadata with target keywords

Video metadata shows all the digital information about a video such as:

• Title
• Thumbnail
• Date Created
• Video Length
• Author, etc.

It’s saved and indexed by your video hosting platform when you upload a video to identify the accurate placement in video search results. After performing keyword research, you can optimize your video’s meta details using this information while uploading to your hosting platform. Boost your video’s visibility by adding the top keywords while writing your video’s title, tags, and description.

7. Make sure to have a dedicated page for your videos on your website

A good way to get the most SEO exposure possible for your video content is to create a page for each one and embed the video at the top of that page. When you add video to your website pages, a video thumbnail is added next to your Google listing result and gets categorized as a “rich snippet”. A rich snippet content is considered by Google as higher quality pages in search ranking results, which means increased visibility and higher click through rates for your brand.

8. Position the video you want indexed on top of the page

Generally, Google indexes only one video per page. If you have multiple videos on a page, then it’s unlikely that the search engine crawlers will recognize and analyze more than the first video. This should not drastically change your tactic, but it’s something to consider when designing and planning the pages your videos are embedded.

9. Know where to embed videos on your website

Videos can bring heavy traffic to your website. Yet, your video content needs to fit well with the overall content of the page. Irrelevant or poorly placed videos can contribute to an increase in your bounce rate. This hurts not only your Video SEO but your overall website ranking as well. It’s vital to take into account the purpose of your video. Does the video show the story of your brand? It may fit well with your home page or About Us page. As for the testimonial videos, you can put them in your portfolio page so customers can see them when they visit your site.

10. Include transcripts of Your videos

If possible, add transcripts of your videos to the page too, so people who aren’t able to watch with audio, or can’t finish watching the entire video, can easily read the content. You can also create dedicated video pages with transcripts to increase exposure for your content by allowing your videos to be listed on the Google Video results tab. This creates another inbound traffic channel where users can discover your content and brand.

These are just a few of the most effective tips on improving your Video SEO. Creating high quality and engaging content is still the best way to ensure that your business stays relevant and competitive. If you need help making videos, we’d be happy to help. Everpost produces unlimited premium videos for brands and startups at low flat rates. We’d love to meet you.