You have probably heard that Google ranks pages that employ video content highly but the one thing that many people aren’t aware of is the SEO involved in getting that content to rank. It’s more than just producing an amazing video because Google needs to know it’s there. And, how do they do that? You’ve got it, SEO – Search Engine Optimization. But how can you use SEO in a video? Actually, you don’t. It’s in how you ‘mark’ that video for Google to find. There’s an actual technique involved and it’s what you should focus on when uploading your content.
It All Begins with Research
Just like your written content such as your web content, articles or blogs, you must do the research to find the right keywords with the right amount of competition. You can’t always compete with the most researched keywords, in fact it’s fairly impossible to rank for them so you find alternatives that you know you can rank highly for. You look for either long tail derivatives of a highly ranking keyword or another one altogether. It’s the same with video content – it’s all in the keyword. Well, sort of. There are other factors at work here too.
What Else Will Google Look For?
Stepping aside for a moment, let’s look at other things Google looks for when ranking your content. Of course it has to be informative but when it comes to video content, the way they determine that is with bounce rate. If visitors start your video and immediately close it out and move on to another site, you’ve pretty much lost hope of ranking well with Google. Also, if you are looking at video content on your site rather than on YouTube, for example, uptime is essential. It is imperative that you find the best UK hosting that can guarantee at least 99.999% uptime. If your server is down any more than .001% of the time, you’ve lost valuable points with Google. It’s all about user experience and if they can’t find your video because your site is constantly down, they don’t have a great experience and you don’t get ranked highly. It’s really that simple.
Now Then, Onto Video SEO
In most Content Management Systems, you will be able to add the title of the video, a description that allows a certain number of characters and then a place for tags, which would be your keywords. Some CMS platforms such as the highly popular WordPress have video SEO plugins that help you rank with Google. When uploading a video to YouTube you simply need to hit the edit button and those three fields will be there (Title, Description and Tags). In both circumstances this is where you tell Google what your video is about by the effective use of competitive keywords.
That is really just a basic explanation of how to get Google to rank your video content well and you’ll likely need a lot more information on SEO. However, there is one last tip that might help you rank well and that is to know what Google likes. They love ‘how to’ videos, sports videos, tutorials and funny or cute videos, so use those descriptive words either in the title, tags or descriptions and you’re home free. The main takeaway here is that SEO can make or break your Google ranking so make sure to employ keywords well and you’ll have a friend in Google for life.
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Community manager at Visual Contenting. Jacqueline loves to talk about social media trends, new technology and how they help businesses accelerate their marketing efforts.
