What Is Video SEO?
Video SEO is all about helping your video content is found by search engines. These search engines are then able to rank your content by relevance to user search queries.
Why Does Video SEO Matter?
Creating video content without video SEO considerations means you leave it to chance to be found by the end user. Chance is not a great marketing strategy and means your content will probably under perform.
1) Do Your Keyword Research
Knowing your audience and what they are looking for online is the cornerstone of any keyword strategy.Learn the words and phrases people are likely to use when searching for the type of video content you use. You can choose the right keywords based on competitor analysis, Google Keyword Planner or other keyword research tools. Keep your use of keywords limited to a few key terms so as not to confuse search engines as to what your video content is about.
2) Your Thumbnail Is Important
An ideal thumbnail should give your audience a clear indication of what your audience should expect from your content. Your thumbnail is a single image story that convinces your audience to watch your video. The image should be visually striking and it should stick out from the rest of your competitors. According to Google a video thumbnail should have a resolution of 1280×720 and be under 2MB in size.
3) Nail That Title
A video title needs to include your keyword and it should also answer that important question your audience is asking. The title has to appear interesting to your audience and it needs to have punch. A video title merits the same work that would go into the title for a blog or an important article.
A video title should be short and definitely no longer than 60-70 characters to avoid it being shortened in search results. It should be as interesting as possible and highlight the value the video content will provide for your audience. Never use a title to mislead an audience in the hope of more views. To be successful any video content must attract the right audience who are likely to actively engage with the content.
4) Make Your Description Work For You
A video description is a chance to sell your content to your user and provide search engines with detailed description of what your content is about. Write your description for a human not a computer. Pick one or two keywords that accurately reflect your video content. These keywords should then feature prominently at the start of your content. Descriptions are not a place to include anything that is not relevant to your video content as it misleads search engines. Misleading descriptions will potentially frustrate viewers. Add relevant hashtags remembering less is more where appropriate in your video description. The key is to give a good overview of the video content while leaving some surprises for people who take the time to watch the video.
5) The Power Of A Video Transcript
The importance of a video transcript cannot be underestimated. It is your audio translated into text and becomes available for viewers of your video and for video SEO purposes. YouTube has a free captioning tool otherwise you can manually translate the audio.There are also multiple tools available for creating video transcripts. If using the YouTube tool, make to sure to edit the transcript for accuracy.
The key is to make sure the transcript is accurate and matches the video content. Video transcripts are great for environments where people can’t hear your audio or are possibly hard of hearing.
A video transcript allows search engines to be indexed and ranked, making it easier for your content to be found online. This means that your video content has a better chance of being valuable and relevant to users who find it in this manner.
Video SEO And Your Audience
“He who would search for pearls must dive below.”
John Dryden
Your audience is constantly searching for content to solve their real live problems. Engaging in video SEO best practices should help them in their search. Don’t mislead in the hope of driving up views from frustrated users who realize in 10 seconds your descriptions were misleading. Instead use SEO to attract viewers that are likely to benefit from your content and will then happily engage with your content. If you created your video content to provide value for audience and use best practice video SEO they will find and appreciate it.