Video content is an essential part of digital marketing for businesses today, but what’s the point of making videos if no one watches them? You must use several tactics and strategies to boost your content and ensure your target audience views your business’s videos.
While you may already have a successful SEO strategy for other content, video SEO is a different ballgame. Here are some expert tips for optimizing videos for search engines:
What Business Videos Have Good SEO?
When it comes to business content, how-to videos, product demonstrations, and customer testimonials are typically the most-searched-for videos. According to Wzyzowl’s annual report, 91 percent of users will watch videos to learn more about products or services, and 82 percent of users say they’ve bought a product or service specifically because of the business video.
Above all, your video should be high-quality and have top production value. According to Wzyzowl, 87 percent of users say video quality helps them determine a business’s credibility.
Post Your Business Videos on the Right Social Media Platforms
You might assume YouTube is the only place to post business videos. While it is the top platform for videos, your SEO won’t be boosted if that’s the only place you post. Depending on the type of video, it may not even be the best platform.
More businesses are using short-form video content these days. These quick videos are great to post on TikTok, a viral and fast-growing social media platform. There are also Instagram Reels.
It’s not just that TikTok is made for shorter videos. When posting videos to a platform, the most important thing is that your target audience will see them. If your target audience spends a lot of time on TikTok, they’ll come across your content organically. Typically, TikTok is associated with younger users, so if you’re trying to reach a Gen Z customer base, that’s an obvious move. However, TikTok’s skyrocketing popularity means you will also reach plenty of customers in other age groups.
Strategically Place Videos on the Business Website
YouTube is such a trusted and popular video platform you should upload your business videos to your website from YouTube. Since Google owns the site, YouTube videos will appear first in the search engine results.
When posting on your website, make the video the page’s focal point. Don’t bury it at the bottom of the page after long paragraphs of text. Also, ensure that the page’s contents are optimized for search engines and relevant to the video.
Include Keywords
Keywords are a huge aspect of SEO strategy; the same goes for videos. You should include keywords in the video’s title, description, transcript, and URL, but make sure to do so organically. Keyword stuffing is frowned upon in every industry and can adversely affect your content.
Optimize the Title and Description
In addition to including keywords, your video needs a relevant title and description. They must be short, clear, engaging, and accurate to the video’s contents.
Try to keep your video titles under 50 characters. In the description, include links to your website, social media pages, and related business videos.
Create Transcripts
Because SEO is so keyword-dependent, you want to include those words as much as possible to optimize search results. A transcript makes it easier for Google to scan and take note of the keywords used in your video. However, you can’t count on a video platform to perfectly transcribe everything in your video.
One thing your business can do to boost SEO is create a transcript. There are tools available that will transcribe for you so you can post the transcript alongside your video or on your business website.
Make Eye-Catching Thumbnails
When browsing through YouTube, it’s apparent how extra creative and bold thumbnails have become. Often, users won’t even notice the video title because the thumbnail is engaging enough. The graphic attached to your video should be professional and high quality while remaining true to the video.
To make your thumbnail pop, you can use tools like effects, photo editing, bold text, and more. The image is static, so animations won’t be helpful here. You should ensure the thumbnail accurately reflects the video’s contents.
Make Sure Your Business Videos Are Accessible
One big way to ensure more people see your business videos is to make them more accessible to everyone. Accessibility is another reason transcripts are crucial for business video optimization.
A transcript makes it easier to create accurate video captions. In addition to making videos accessible for people who are hard of hearing, there are many situations where those who aren’t hearing impaired will turn on captions instead of sound.
Analyze Your SEO Strategy Results
The analytics and response to your posted content will be very helpful tools for video optimization.
For instance, one thing you can measure is how long people actually watch your video. Say you post a two-minute video but notice that viewers stop tuning in after less than 30 seconds. This could be a sign that your target audience has a short attention span or that your content needs to be more brief.
Frankly, many people have shorter attention spans these days, thanks to the current state of the internet and its content. By noticing when your audience starts to tune out, you can make a note to experiment with video lengths. You can recut the existing video to be shorter and also keep length in mind when creating future content.
Another important way to optimize your business videos is to work with an experienced and highly rated public relations and digital content marketing group, such as InnoVision. These groups know the latest strategies and techniques for boosting business video SEO. It’s important to stay ahead of competitors, and a marketing group will have the right tools to measure how well business videos perform.