An effective Video SEO campaign can include optimization for YouTube, getting rich snippets, and merging the campaign with your link building strategy. However, you need to adapt your tactics to changing search engine algorithms and here are a few ingredients that can help you achieve an effective video SEO strategy.
You firstly need to establish a goal, which includes factoring in your target audience, before creating highly optimized content for that audience as well as ensuring that it is hosted and promoted as part of the defined strategy. Most people bring in their SEO team only after creation of their videos based on their specific ideas and this does not permit the SEO team to engage in any technical optimization.
Your video SEO goals should include increased conversions, brand awareness, rich snippets, and links as well as social shares. Videos made precisely with the needs of the target audience in mind can result in an impressive increase in conversions. Well-made videos help deliver crucial information without being too pushy, and should build up the trust factor for the displayed business, products, and services.
However, rather than hosting these videos YouTube, you should either host them on your own or through a secured third party since this will enable you to direct web traffic to your desired pages as well as use them to acquire rich snippets. If you do put up this video on YouTube then you will need to ensure that it does not outrank your own site. You can try using different keywords to make sure that this does not happen. On the other hand duplicate content on YouTube will create issues when you wish to re-target your visitors by using PPC ads and lead customers to your website.
You also run the risk of creating negative brand awareness by putting up videos on YouTube since displaying videos of products on YouTube before visitors have even visited your website could result in negative brand awareness.
Videos are anyway excellent tools to create brand awareness since it allows viewers to take a peek into your company and the people behind it. It tells a compelling story through use of visuals, sound, and a smooth-flowing storyline, and can build up that crucial trust factor within those precious few minutes. Your branding company video should certainly feature on YouTube as well as other sites such as vimeo.com.
While trying to ensure that your video pops up on organic search results, promoting your video through the paid route should also be followed. You can opt for Unruly Media if you want to place your video in viral seeding. In addition to using creative stories in your videos to build up awareness about your company, business model, and products, you can also opt for tutorials to build your brand identity. These videos are quite easy to produce and can be made merely by recording any conference or lecture that you address.
Rich Snippets provide enhanced click-through rates as compared to organic results. You can drive web traffic to a specific web page of your site that has a higher potential of ending up as conversions. You should host videos yourself as well as submit a video sitemap to get your rich snippets featured in searches.
While it is not possible to use rich snippets for YouTube to direct traffic to your site, you can try using tools such as the Yoast Video SEO WordPress plugin to do the same. However, if your video is delivering the desired results and traffic, it would be best to avoid using any tools.
There are several ways to build links as well as shares back to your website. You should firstly make sure that your video contains content that is useful to your target viewers. Another way is to create a video suitable for creating brand awareness the organic way, but instead of hosting it on YouTube or other sites, you should host it securely on your own website. You will just need to embed a code featuring a text link on the bottom that leads back to your website. You can find tools online that can help you embed these codes in an instant.
In other words, your video SEO strategy should ensure that your videos lead to increased conversions by submitting video sitemaps to get rich snippets, should create and boost brand awareness by way of paid advertising and inbound channels, and include videos with links as well as social shares that lead back to your site.
This effective Video SEO strategy will help you achieve your goals while helping you adapt to new technologies and updated search engine algorithms at the same time.