By Brianna Pyne
If video isn’t already an integral component of your content marketing strategy, then you may already be falling behind the curve. According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, video is forecasted to account for 80% of all internet traffic in 2019. This means consumers are more than ever relying on video for information on potential products and services they intend to purchase. Brands are cognizant of this dynamic too.
But simply recording and posting videos on your web page isn’t going to immediately start attracting large volumes of traffic. You also need to implement video SEO.
What is video SEO? Video SEO is similar to its text cousin, and refers to the practice of optimizing your videos to be indexed and ranked on search engine results pages (SERPs) for your relevant keywords. However, it’s getting increasingly competitive out there. As more businesses hop on to the video bandwagon, you’ll note there’s an array of new content competing for the same keywords and search queries.
To make your videos SEO friendly, try to incorporate these best practices so that you stand out from the crowd:
1. Focus on content
While your objective when publishing a video is to rank on search engines, this cannot override the quality of the reel itself. The content of your video must be highly engaging, likable, and shareable. Spend time crafting your storyboard and use advanced editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro to make it stand out. The better your video is received by audiences, the higher it will rank on search engines.
Try to ensure the video has a key takeaway that elicits an emotional reaction with your target customer. This will compel them to tweet about it, share it with friends and family, or just play on repeat.
The viral Dollar Shave Club introductory video attracted 600,000 views in its first two days with almost 5,000 orders. It helped catapult the brand into a household name, catching the eye of several top-tier investors, too. Now that’s the power of an effective video marketing strategy.
2. Craft a snappy title and description for your video
“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.” This timeless advice from David Ogilvy, the guru of modern advertising and copywriting, should be ingrained into your marketing ethos. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it only applies to a content-heavy post.
A stimulative and snappy video headline is the difference between a potential lead clicking on your video or ignoring it for the competition. Spend some time brainstorming a few headline possibilities, and elicit feedback from your team members before settling on one.
The same principle applies for the meta description of the video. Try to add in relevant keywords so that search engines understand what the video is about. This makes indexing easier and should help bring in more relevant traffic to your site.
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3. Publish on multiple platforms
You may not be convinced about publishing your videos on platforms like YouTube and Facebook, but the fact is these platforms rake in almost 4 billion combined users every month. That’s a sea of traffic you can’t afford to lose out on.