By the end of 2015, online video is to increase to 90 percent of all internet traffic. In fact the top spots on Google search results are increasingly being occupied by websites with video content, pushing those with traditional content to the lower spots or out of the first page search results. Ninety percent is not just a majority number but a takeover of internet traffic.
This change in Google’s search results is no doubt a problem for the organic web ranking of websites with plain text content but it offers a big opportunity for video-rich websites. However, most businesses may not have yet realized this new development because online video marketing is still not the major thrust of their marketing strategies.
Whether created as product advertisements or mini-documentaries, online videos are now the fastest way to present unique content to a wider audience. Internet users just prefer videos over text or non-moving pictures which results to more traffic, content sharing and leads to websites with videos. According to Search Engine Watch, the click-through rate of videos is 41 percent higher than that of plain text. So, if you want your website to rank high in the search engine results, optimized videos must be the major part of your content.
How do you optimize your videos? Following are five online video marketing tactics you can implement.
Create Quality Videos
A video is of good quality if it has useful and relevant content, has a short duration (preferably 3 minutes, maximum of 10 minutes), well scripted, with appropriate music and the best videography that technology can create.
Relevant content is important because internet users click on your video based on its title and tags as well as the theme of your site. So, if your site is about water sports, visitors expect to see videos about different water sports activities. If you uploaded videos about carpet installation because you just want to, your visitors will not be pleased.
You also have to keep your videos short because the viewer may not have the patience to finish the video and hear your message towards the end. Divide long videos into multiple segments with SEO optimized titles and descriptions.
Host and/or post your video
After you have created your video, it’s ready for upload to the internet. You have two basic options: host it on your website or upload it to YouTube, Vimeo or other third-party sites. Uploading the video on your website will increase traffic to it. Posting it to another site will maximize the exposure and reach of your videos. To maximize the viewership of your video, it is best to host and post it. For the videos that you will post to other sites, make sure to comply with the sites’ terms of use.
For the video that you will host, add the word “video” on your title and description to ensure that it will be properly indexed by the search engines. There’s no need to do the same to the videos you will post to the video-hosting sites.
Use the right keywords in the right places
Use the usual SEO practices on keywords you will use on the title, tags and descriptions of your videos. Adding a transcript of your video will also make it well understood even by those with hearing difficulties. The text will also help your video in getting indexed by the search engines.
Create a video sitemap on your website
Your video will not be indexed by the search engines without a sitemap. So, your site will not be included even on the last page of the search results. It’s a common SEO mistake error to forget about the sitemap. Your video sitemap should include the following: the video file, a full title and description and a thumbnail image.
Promote your videos
After you have uploaded your optimized your videos on your chosen locations, it’s time to promote them. You can post links to the video on your company blog as well as on your social media accounts such as Twitter and Facebook. If you allowed comments on the various locations of your videos, make sure to reply to them.
Effective video marketing strategies will make it easier for your site to rank high on the search engine results.