Video SEO
What is video SEO?
Video SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to the process of producing and tagging video content to increase its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). The primary goal of video SEO is to ensure that your video content is easily discoverable, accessible, and understandable to search engines and users alike.
Video SEO uses a series of techniques and strategies that improve the ranking of video content if followed correctly. Video SEO has its own unique rules and practices that help creators and businesses promote their sites and content more effectively on search engines.
The importance of video SEO
Video SEO isn’t just about getting your videos to rank higher on SERPs. It's also about enhancing the user experience, increasing engagement, and directing more traffic to your website or content. When done right, video SEO can significantly boost your online presence by promoting your work in relevant search results more often..
The best video SEO practices
1. Research good keywords
All forms of SEO begin with keyword research. Identify keywords that your target audience is likely to use when searching for video content similar to yours. These keywords should then be incorporated into your video title, description, and tags to increase its visibility on SERPs.
There are several tools available for video keyword research, including Google's Keyword Planner and YouTube's Search Suggest feature. These can provide valuable insights into the search behavior of your target audience. They’re also good for finding the highest-performing keywords for your video content.
2. Optimize your videos
Once you've identified your target keywords, the next step is to make your video content SEO-friendly. Create a compelling title and description, using tags that best fit the style of your videos. Adding closed captions and a transcript is a good practice as well. These details not only make your video more accessible to viewers, but also provide search engines with valuable information about your content.
A well-designed video thumbnail can also increase your video's click-through rate (CTR), leading to higher rankings on SERPs. Make sure to create a thumbnail that accurately represents your video content and grabs the viewer's attention.
3. Host video content on your own domain
If your goal is to drive more traffic to your own website, it's best to host your video content on your own domain. While platforms like YouTube are great for reaching a broader audience, they can also divert traffic away from your personal site. By hosting your videos on your own domain, any traffic generated by your video content will directly contribute to your website's traffic too.
However, hosting videos on your own domain can be technically challenging and requires more money and expertise. Consider what’s best for you before deciding on the best hosting option for your video content. If drawing attention to your own site isn’t a top priority, YouTube works well for drawing users to your video content.
4. Embed videos on website pages
Embedding your video content in relevant places on your site can contribute positively to your SEO efforts. For instance, if you have a product video, consider embedding it on the product page for users to watch, increasing views on that video.
Keep in mind that the embedded video’s content should be relevant to the page’s content. Irrelevant or misleading video content can confuse users and search engines alike, leading to lower rankings on SERPs.
5. Create a video sitemap
A video sitemap can help with improving video SEO. It provides search engines with detailed information about your video content, including the video title, description, run time, and thumbnail URL. This information can help search engines understand your video content better and index it more accurately. Once you've created your video sitemap, submit it to Google via the Search Console to ensure that your video content is properly indexed.