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Video and SEO: How do they work together?

In today’s digital landscape, producing the right content is king in the battle for online attention and visibility.  

From Youtube to websites, video content is now an essential component of any successful digital marketing strategy. But did you know that video content can also have a significant impact on your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) efforts?

In this article, we’ll explore the relationship between video content and SEO along with how they work together to improve your website’s visibility and search engine rankings. 

We’ll discuss the importance of video in SEO, how video content improves user engagement, and the role of video in Google’s search engine algorithm. 

We will take a closer look at YouTube, the second biggest search engine, and how it can drive commercial goals for your business, whether your goal is lead generation, brand awareness or sales if you have an e-commerce function. 

It won’t matter if you’re just starting to incorporate video into your digital marketing strategy or if you’re looking for ways to optimise your existing video content, this article will provide you with valuable insights and actionable tips to help you succeed.

The Importance Of Video In SEO

Videos are becoming increasingly important in digital marketing, especially when it comes to search (SEO). Video SEO can lead to higher organic search results and is now a crucial part of any marketing strategy. 

The key to improving video ranking involves optimising various factors, including the video’s title, thumbnail, description, chapters and links.

Creating engaging thumbnails is particularly important as it entices users to click on the video. User metrics are very obviously a key part of the Youtube algorithm

Keywords should be included in both the title and description of the video as they help boost visibility on search engines. It’s also a good idea to include a full transcript with videos as Google/Youtube can’t crawl a video (yet) and understand what is in it.

By leveraging SEO, businesses can increase their website traffic with quality leads whilst optimising their search strategies concurrently. 

As video consumption continues to rise, ensure that you stay ahead of the curve by creating high-quality content that resonates with your audience. Use the tactics outlined above alongside quality content creation, ultimately driving more online engagement & visibility for your brand.

How Video Content Improves User Engagement

Video content is a powerful tool for improving user engagement. Optimising videos for SEO can help them rank higher on search engines, thus increasing visibility to potential viewers. 

To maximise the reach, paid promotions on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram can supplement organic search efforts.

Creating engaging video content can lead to better conversions. User engagement is crucial for the success of video content and can be improved through strategies like playlists and series that keep users watching additional videos. 

Quality video and audio are essential to guarantee your audience hangs around – these factors could directly impact the amount of time audiences spend viewing a piece of content.

Additionally, average video engagement measures how much of a video people watch and is an important factor to understand how valuable it is to the Youtube audience. 

Youtube, The Second Biggest Search Engine; How Does It help your Commercial Goals?

Youtube is the second biggest search engine on the planet! People use it to find all sorts of information and answers to their problems. 

By optimising your videos for Youtube, you are indirectly optimising them for Google search results at the same time. They are one and the same and as such, you can get 2 bites of the cherry if done right. 

Say you are selling Cyber Insurance; the same questions people are entering in the Google search box will be very similar to those being searched on Youtube. Not only will they be similar searches, but as per one of my predictions back in 2022, 2023 has seen the Google gods push more and more video results on the first page of Google. 

It makes complete business sense to be creating well researched video content that also matches your customers search intent, much the same way as you do when creating written blog content. 

With the right optimisation techniques, video can help businesses generate leads, increase sales and build brand awareness. 

Bear in mind that search traffic comes from high quality research; without the research, you’re flying blind when creating content. Well, that is if you want search traffic and not just an entertainment channel. 

Consistent production of quality content that provides value and engages viewers should be high on the list of priorities for all businesses. The visual appeal of your videos play a vital role in attracting prospects to your business. 

Just a few stats from Zupo clearly show how valuable Video content is to your overall Organic Search Acquisition strategy. 

  • Video has an 11,000:1 probability of making it to the 1st page of Google. Text based results have a 500,000:1 probability of making it to the 1st page.
  • Blog posts with video have a 53x higher chance of ranking on the 1st page of Google.
  • 88% of videos ranking on Google rank in the top 10 for YouTube for the same search.
  • Video search results have a 41% higher click through rate (CTR) than text based results.
  • Video results are 50x more likely to be organically ranked in Google than text based results.

The Role Of Video In Google’s Search Algorithm

In today’s digital world, video content has become an everyday occurrence on Google’s First page of search results. 

Google are continually looking to improve the experience of their users. From adding generative AI answers through to adding different media to page one to help a user find exactly what they want, quickly.  

Therefore, Google’s algorithm is starting to favour multimedia and video content more than it has previously, making it important for businesses to integrate high-quality videos into their marketing plan.

Not only does this improve the user experience, but can also generate more traffic to your website. More traffic should mean more leads –  if it doesn’t, then speak to us about Conversion Rate Optimisation as something is wrong!

To make video content more “findable” by search engines, including a transcript is recommended. Video transcripts enable Google’s crawlers to understand the context of the video and its relevance to search terms. 

This makes it easier for users searching for relevant information to find your content.

12 pieces of content are consumed by a prospect before they pick up the phone or complete a form on average. Make video one or a few of those touch points and your brand recognition increases. 

In conclusion, businesses who are not incorporating high-quality videos into their online marketing strategy will be left behind. 

It not only enhances user experience and engagement, but also potentially helps improve SEO rankings indirectly by increasing visitor’s engagement or dwell time on the site.