Utilizing video content certainly helps boost your website’s search engine ranking and bring more meaningful and sustained traffic to it. However, the entire exercise needs expert guidance for a definitive direction on how to perform it effectively.
In the previous blog on handy SEO tips for your video content, we considered the importance of title and description. We also discussed the relevance of utilizing a transcription service in this regard, apart from when to opt for and when to avoid mass-upload services. We shall now look into a few more SEO ideas.
Prepare a video sitemap
A crucial SEO tip for video content is to include it in the sitemap, employed to specifically identify and also tag the videos placed on your site. A sitemap is basically a document, which informs a search engine about specific pages on the website so they have a higher probability of being indexed (in case of Google, these are mostly managed by utilizing its ‘Webmaster Tools’.)
If you are opting to host the video on your website, then it is important to ensure that the search engine gets to index the pages containing it as well as other relevant information. You may accomplish this goal by creating a proper video sitemap.
It should comprise the video file, a thumbnail, and title as well as description. If your website lacks a good video sitemap, then the search engines will not be able to include the video directly in relevant search results (though they might still index the specific page on which the video is placed.)
Keep video short and Optimize video URLs
Next important aspect is your video’s length or duration. You cannot
expect people to patiently watch a lengthy video, unless it’s attention grabbing. Ideally, you should break it up into a number of smaller videos. This will not only help hold users’ attention, but also multiply the total number of videos that can be optimized and tagged.
A greater number of videos will drive more traffic to your site, and thus help get it ranked higher on search engines. Another vital SEO tip is to carefully optimize your video URLs. The way you optimize the respective URLs on the site by including in them requisite details of the page itself, the same logic and method can be followed for the page containing video.
Ensure to spread around the word
Once you have created quality video content worth sharing; have tagged, submitted and uploaded it, you must try to get the word out. Post a link to it on your Twitter and Facebook accounts, encourage commenting, and facilitate sharing on popular networking sites as well as blogs.
Encourage your colleagues, employees and friends to spread the word, too! An online advertising campaign is another option. As you will soon discover, quality online video content backed by good SEO will act as a catalyst to drive sustained traffic to your site and increase sales.
Do send in your valuable feedback and experiences regarding SEO of video content. Your inputs and interaction sure will benefit other readers.
