More than one-third of small businesses have an SEO strategy, according to a survey from The Manifest, and another 23% intend to launch one by the end of 2019.
Businesses that want to improve their search engine rankings should incorporate video content on their website.
Video content helps to:
- Improve engagement
- Increase dwell time
- Lower bounce rates
- Send high-quality content signals to Google
In this article, we explain the SEO advantages of investing in video content. Use it to guide your video content efforts and help optimize your online presence for search.
Video is Set to Be the Content Standard Online
Internet networking company Cisco predicts that video will dominate the web by 2022 and account for 82% of all IP traffic. Internet networking company Cisco predicts that video will dominate the web by 2022 and account for 82% of all IP traffic. Click To Tweet
Already, a global study by Hubspot discovered that over half of consumers currently prefer video over all other types of content. A global study by Hubspot discovered that over half of consumers currently prefer video over all other types of content. Click To Tweet
Recommended: 5 Tips for Creating Engaging Video Content
Source: Hubspot
According to a 2019 report by Wyzowl:
- 68% of people prefer learning about products and services by watching short videos.
- 96% of people watch explainer videos to learn more about products and services.
- 79% of people say they’re convinced to buy a product after watching a video.
By incorporating video into their marketing strategy, businesses have a greater chance of engaging with people and motivating them to purchase an item or service.
How Video Benefits B2B Brands
B2B brands benefit from video content as much as B2C businesses.
One study found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of B2B marketers say that video positively impacts their ROI. One study found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of B2B marketers say that video positively impacts their ROI. Click To Tweet
B2B businesses can publish several types of video content:
- Explainer videos
- Tutorials and how-to guides
- Behind-the-scenes videos
- Product demos
- Case studies
- Customer testimonials
Video is a visceral medium and helps create a human connection with audiences, something that B2B firms often struggle with.
For example, restaurant website development company Bentobox welcomes its website visitors with a video containing a collection of customer testimonials.
Source: Bentobox
Bentobox allows its customers to actually see the positive feedback that other customers have given the company.
By creating an easy-to-watch video, people feel genuinely connected with the customers reviewing the service and can see they are real people.
Incorporate video into your brand strategy to create a more dynamic user experience.
How YouTube Creates Advantages for Brands
When publishing videos, you need to choose between uploading them directly or publishing them on YouTube and embedding them onto your site.
Choosing the YouTube-embed format:
- Improves page load times on your website, since it takes the load off of your servers to host the content.
- Places your content on the second-most trafficked website in the world.
Marketing experts recognize the value of YouTube already: Most (87%) used YouTube in 2019, and 80% of them say it was a successful strategy. In addition, nearly all marketers (99%) who used YouTube say they'll continue to use video in 2019.
Recommended: Video Content Is Booming – What Is the Future of YouTube Marketing
How Videos Boost SEO
Video content adds a boost to your website’s SEO in several ways.
Video content improves engagement, sharing, dwell time, and bounce rates.
People love consuming video content – as such, video helps keep visitors browsing your website.
Improved traffic retention and time on site send signals to search engines your content is a relevant source of information about a particular topic, both of which are positive SEO signals.
Videos let Google know your content is valuable.
Keeping people engaged isn’t the only way videos help your SEO.
The existence of video on your website lets Google know you have mixed and relevant media, which is a sign of high-quality content.
Providing a transcript of your videos adds more SEO value since the written text is crawled for relevancy and key phrases.
For example, Moz’s Whiteboard Friday videos always include a written introduction followed by an image and transcript.
Source: Moz
Publishing an intro and transcript on the same page as their Whiteboard Friday video helps Moz please visitors who prefer skimming content, and also creates SEO advantages.
Embedding YouTube videos puts your brand in a second major search engine.
When you upload videos to YouTube then embed them on your website, it gives you a chance to rank in YouTube’s search engine. YouTube is the second-most-popular website in the world.
Publishing videos on your website gives your SEO a boost, increases dwell time and sharing, and gives your brand the chance to build a YouTube following.
Business Videos Boost Engagement and SERP Rankings
People enjoy watching videos online, even when shopping for products and services. Businesses should incorporate more video onto their websites to improve their SEO and user experience.
As people look for more immersive media experiences, video will become the best path to engage user interest and curate leads.
Kelsey McKeon is a Content Writer at Clutch and Visual Objects. Her content provides actionable tips on how businesses can maximize their working relationships with business services partners.
