So you work for a company who’s in tune with SEO. Overall the company is making great strides in social marketing, by keeping up with the latest hype and trends. They even have a YouTube channel filled with interesting, relevant videos but the results just aren’t there. Below are some additional optimizations, which can provide a nice traffic bump, so give them a shot. Also be sure to check out our Top 5 Best Practices for Video SEO, for a little background.
1. Try hosting everywhere. First there’s deciding where your videos will live: on a 3rd party site or on your own. I say both, they’re different monsters! Hosting the videos on your website is usually the approach taken when trying to add as much value as possible to a single site, be it clicks, time on site or achieving a sale. Most organizations try 3rd party when they want to gain as much exposure as possible for their video, focusing on brand awareness. There’s the chance that your videos will sit on your website and gain hardly any exposure and also the chance that someone will watch your video on YouTube and won’t quite make it over to your product page. These scenarios are sad- so give it a shot, try casting a really large net and gain as much traffic as possible.
2. Optimization Checklist. Make sure you have a video transcript, good title tags and maybe even leave a comment or two about the video! Posting comments will show even further, that you like engaging your customers. If you don’t have a transcript, the search engines will know little of your video except what’s in the title tags. You might even try optimizing the transcript so it flows smoothly and can be read easily. Having a fun, catchy title for your video is also important, though be sure to include your keywords. Remember you’re selling the video and someone is making a 5 second decision on whether to watch it or not… try using the same headline-writing skills you apply to your other marketing projects!
3. Short and to the point. Engage your customers but make your point and move on. Definitely shoot for a video which is 2 – 3 minutes long, but at the very most 5 minutes. Free time is a luxury, don’t impede. Also think about why most searchers are watching a video – to be entertained or learn something new! This isn’t TV, so try not to make an infomercial, unless it’s kitschy and fun. If the video doesn’t provide some benefit to your customers, scrap it.
4. Apply PPC Principles To Your Video. PPC ads are all about testing- trying different headlines, descriptions and even landing pages. Try applying this principle to your videos by breaking out everything you can into a moveable element and make several different combinations of videos. Many see the creation of one video as a big enough step- but if you put just a bit more effort into making your video modifiable up front, your likelihood of striking a successful balance will increase, and with it, the value of your video project. Different advantages and calls to action can resonate with several types of users, try them all.
5. Submit An XML Sitemap. If you have a video on your website, regardless of where it’s hosted, Google will usually only know about it if you tell them. Here are some instructions for creating your sitemap. This is the one item which could be your golden ticket. If Google hasn’t found your videos yet it will be like flipping a switch on and pretty soon your videos should start showing up in search results.
Video SEO can be very tricky and as with all SEO, coming up with content that will resonate with your audience is the key to success. Simply being out there and trying the latest trends isn’t necessarily enough. So try something new and see if it works, the tips above should be a good starting point!
     | do some of that social network stuff. |
