Video marketing has blown through the roof in recent times. Marketers and brands are posting more videos online, and consumers like it.

• People are 10x more likely to interact with video compared to block text
• On a landing page, videos increase conversion rates by up to 80%
• Up to 90% of consumers who watch a video share it 

Above all, videos now directly impact your SEO performance and SERP ranking. Including a video within a web article or blog, for instance, increases, 53x, your likelihood of ranking on the first page!

This guide specifically focuses on the role of video in search engine optimization. We want to show you how to leverage video to boost your SEO performance.

Why is Video an Important Part of SEO?

There are three main reasons;

1. Videos enhance the depth and quality of your content 

Although it’s a much more complex process, the basics of search engine ranking involve crawling through all available content pieces and deciding what results to return based on how well each piece answers the searcher’s query.

Videos pack a ton of information. Thus, even search engines feel that pages with videos would answer a query more comprehensively. The results? Higher ranking.

1. Videos boost user experience, resulting in longer session lengths

Bounce rates are a real challenge for the majority of digital marketers. Bloggers, for example, experienced a 70-90% bounce rate in 2019, meaning that up to 9 out of 10 times, visitors didn’t read a blog post to the conclusion.

Videos are an excellent way to improve your bounce rates. Simply adding a video to a blog post reduces bounce rates by up to 34%.

1. Videos increase backlinks to your site

Although you can also earn backlinks with plain-text content, videos promise a lot more links. People are much more likely to link back to a video than a text block.

But, it’s not just about someone from another site linking to your site. Videos are also shared more, further increasing the potential for backlinks. If person A shares your video, person B, who comes across the shared video, can link back to it without even visiting your site.

Keyword Research for Video Results

Once you understand the importance of video in SEO, the next step is to conduct keyword research for your video marketing campaign. Keyword research is the process of finding words and phrases that people use for video search.

Why You Need Video Keyword Research

You’re probably wondering why you need separate keyword research for video marketing when you already do keyword research for text-based SEO. There are three reasons;

• Videos have their own search engines: YouTube, the largest video platform, for instance, uses a search algorithm that’s different from Google’s.
• Key ranking factors vary: Video search engines use a completely different set of ranking factors. The elements necessary to rank in Google, for instance, won’t necessarily help you rank favorably for YouTube searches.
• Search intent is different: How people search for general content isn’t the same way they search for video. Even the search terms they use are usually different.

4 Steps to Successful Keyword Search for Video

There’s no one right way to do video keyword research. The most important thing is to get the basics right. Here’s what we recommend;

1. Brainstorm ideas

Begin by thinking about the topics you’re interested in and the type of videos you want to create. For example, if you run an Airbnb, you can have two types of videos. The first type could be marketing videos, with descriptions and video tours. Then, the second type could involve feedback from your clients.

1. Use autocomplete for inspiration

Once you have a few topics in mind, head over to YouTube, type in some of the words, and see which auto-suggestions come up. These suggestions are never random. They are like FAQs – the queries the search engine receives most often. Make a list of the terms for further research.

1. Perform competitor research 

Begin by typing your primary keyword(s) on YouTube and noting the brands on the first page of results. Then, check each brand’s video titles and descriptions. You can also use tools such as TubeBuddy to find out the tags used in each video.

1. Consider YouTube SEO keyword research tools

There are several YouTube SEO tools, including Kparser, Hypersuggest, KeywordKeg, YtCockpit, and WordTracker. For most of these tools, all you have to do is enter a word or phrase. The dashboard will then fill up with dozens of related keywords. Most YouTube SEO tools also give a keyword volume and competition index.

Creating a High Retention Video

Now that we’ve identified the right keywords, the next step is to create high-retention interactive videos. Follow the steps below;

1. Write a home-run script. You need an excellent script that grabs attention from the off and convinces the viewer to watch to the end.
2. Choose a great character: Your main character in the video must be both likable and relatable. The little details, such as age, health, and clothing, are also vital.
3. Find a captivating voiceover: The voice in the video can also make or break the video. So, don’t cut corners. You need the best possible voice.
4. Keep it flowing: The viewer must not take their eyes off the video. You want them glued to the screen throughout the length of the video.
5. Music and sound effects: Here, too, the minor details, including background score and sound effects, matter greatly.
6. Round off with a CTA: A video marketing piece without a CTA is useless. Finish by telling the viewer to take a specific action.
7. Prepare a video landing page: A video landing page is a page, possibly on your site, where you direct all the traffic from a particular video.

SEO Best Practices for YouTube Optimization

Once you’ve created the video, heed the following tips and best practices for maximum YouTube SEO performance.

• Tailor your videos to the people looking for them

Two things are especially important. First, make sure that you know your target audience. This can be done by creating buyer personas. Secondly, use a language and tone that suits the technical level of your audience.

• Add your SEO keywords to your video title and descriptions 

If the opportunity arises, you should also consider incorporating secondary and long-tail keywords in these areas. However, don’t use this as an excuse to make your titles unnecessarily long and stale.

• Include a video transcript to boost SEO further

Adding a transcription of your video on the same page as the video gives search engines more information and context. The engines can’t read visual content. So, transcribed material gives them the text to crawl and rank.

• Aggressively promote your videos 

Posting the video on your site or YouTube is just the first step in the marketing process. You need to get the word out by aggressively promoting the video on all your online platforms, including your website, blog, social media accounts, and even industry forums.

Conclusion

You need video SEO. Not only does it boost your potential for traffic and enhance session length, but it also increases your chances of appearing in SERP pages – where you stand to get even more traffic and leads.

Updated: 25 April 2024

About Vivian

Vivian is an anthropologist lost in the world of digital marketing. She has an interest in learning about the science of marketing and the creativity that businesses use to transform themselves into purple cows.