It’s probably not news to you that video is becoming an increasingly central element of online marketing and search engine optimisation (SEO) – indeed, there’s an abundance of statistics to suggest precisely this. Did you know, for instance, that 83% of participants in one recent study said video content was gaining in importance, compared to the mere 5% who perceived it was becoming less important?
Despite such figures, however, all too many website owners are still failing to take all of the steps that they can do to optimise their videos for organic search. So, what are some of the measures we would advise you to adopt here at Piranha Designs?
Make sure the topic is actually interesting
When we say ‘interesting’ here, we do – of course – mean ‘interesting’ to your target viewers, rather than necessarily to you. Is the product you’re trying to sell one that the viewer could better appreciate if you provided a 360-degree view of it, or showed it ‘in action’? Or maybe there’s a common problem that you could explain a solution for in video form?
One thing is almost certain – your viewers probably won’t want to see an out-and-out advertisement, unless you’re a household-name brand. Keyword research – as we provide as part of all of our search marketing packages here at Piranha Designs – could be instrumental in enabling you to pick out some suitable video topics.
Produce videos of the highest quality
The term ‘video quality’ can apply to several things, including the literal image and production quality, as well as how well-structured the video content is, and how effective the video is at resolving shoppers’ needs. Whatever – all of these types of ‘quality’ count as far as your SEO is concerned.
Choose an attractive thumbnail
Given that your video’s default thumbnail may not be a very accurate reflection of the entire video, there’s likely to be considerable scope for you to select a thumbnail that is both more attractive and relevant.
If you fail to do this, searchers might not click on your video at all, or they may click on it and immediately leave after a few seconds of watching – and both of these things, if they occur frequently, can have adverse consequences for search engine rankings.
Have a well-structured video section
The structure of your site can play a fundamental role in how quickly its pages are indexed – so why not apply this same lesson to your video SEO, by effectively treating your videos like you would a blog?
Not only can your video pages themselves be optimised with appropriate title tags and relevant descriptions, but they can also each be assigned to a category – again, as routinely happens with blog posts. Also ensure that the category page includes links to every single video page on your site, to make search engine crawlers’ task of navigating your site easier.
Are you on the lookout for an agency that can provide the most in-depth website design and SEO marketing expertise, as part of services that are perfectly matched to your organisation’s needs? If so, we would be pleased to discuss your requirements with you, and how our team could fulfil them; simply call or email us in Gibraltar, London or Edinburgh today.
