Essential tips on Video SEO to rank your videos higher

Google is the most accessed search engine in the world. In 2013, Mashable revealed that its website received more than 100 billion searches per month. With so many hits, Google prioritizes content that is more relevant for users. Because, the higher the number of interesting results it delivers, the higher number of hits it will receive.

Videos, on the other hand, have the advantages when compared to texts. According to Forrester, video content is 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of the search engine.

A few video SEO techniques can help you position your videos in search engines. You have no idea what this means? Well, keep reading to understand what it is and how to use it. Check what you’ll learn:

What is video SEO?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of optimization techniques used to get content recognized by search engines and reach the top positions. If you have ever produced for websites and blogs, you have probably come across this term at some point.

This is how it works: When users perform a search on websites like Google or Bing, they use a keyword.

In order to deliver the pages and content with the highest possibility of answering users’ questions, the search engine analyzes a series of factors that demonstrate the relevance of this content.

And this works with audiovisual content.

In other words, we can define video SEO as a set of optimization techniques that allow better ranking of videos and pages containing videos. Thus, this content is found more easily on the internet.

Why is video SEO so important?

The consumption of online videos keeps growing. Just open your feed on any social network and you’ll see a huge amount of such content on your timeline.

And it didn’t take long for many companies to see this format as a great way of communicating with their audience. After all, videos are easy to watch; they are didactic, exciting and engage more than other types of content.

As a result, the number of videos available on the internet has reached levels never imagined. So, what do you have to do to make your brand’s video stand out and found by your target audience?

The answer is, use video SEO!

Through optimizations, search engines will be able to identify your video’s topic and classify it according to its relevance. And thus, display it among the search results for users.

Check out some information that proves the importance of video SEO:

• Results with videos receive 41% more clicks than other content, such as text webpages, according to Tubular Insights.
• According to Marketingland, 62% of all searches performed on Google include videos.
• After clicking on a search result, users spend up to two minutes longer on a page containing a video than on a page containing only text, according to Comscore data.
• Webpages can double the volume of organic traffic just by displaying a video thumbnail on the search results, as shown by IQ Visibility.

How does Google classify videos?

In order to deliver as much content as possible to users, Google ranks it according to its relevance.

It will consider several factors. As for example, if the page containing the video – or the video itself –, has a keyword that the user has searched.

The description of the video content also helps the ranking. It is the summary of what is present in the production. Another important point is the information contained in the video’s content.

On YouTube, especially, it’s quite common to find videos with so-called click bait titles. The term refers to sensationalist or even at times fake titles that are used to attract users.

After users click on them and realize that the content has nothing to do with what they were searching, they abandon the video.

This type of content is classified as irrelevant or of poor content, and therefore, has a high rate of rejection.

Creating content and placing keywords with high search volume, in the description or title, just to attract the audience’s attention, is rejected by YouTube, Google and other search engines.

After all, search engines are unable to watch and understand your video’s content. Therefore, you need to show these services what the topic of your video is and how it can help other web users.

What is the impact of video SEO?

The use of videos has grown a lot over the last few years. Many people have found a way of transmitting their message, through this means of communication, and of producing their content without filters and standards, and without the rules imposed by advertising.

Meanwhile, major brands began to notice their potential to inform and communicate with their customers.

The popularity of several technologies, such as smartphones and digital cameras, has made it easier to produce and post videos on the internet.

So much so that nowadays, it’s practically impossible to search the web or go to a website without coming across a video.

The success of videos is so great that Cisco estimates that by 2020, 82% of all internet traffic will be generated by this type of content. So much so that, a few years ago, Google included an exclusive video tab on its search website, to improve user experience.

But, this tab still isn’t as used as the main page. Therefore, in order for the content to be seen by as many users as possible, it must also be well ranked in Google’s universal search.

11 video SEO techniques

Now that you’ve understood what video SEO is, and why it’s so important for your strategy, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Check out some of the most important optimization techniques below:

1. Keyword search

As with text content, such as blogs and websites, keywords are also important for your video SEO strategy.

They indicate the topic of your content to search engines, and whether it matches user searches.

Therefore, search the most relevant keywords for your audience and market, and insert them in your video title and description. This will give your content a better chance of standing out in a search engine.

2. Create a YouTube channel

According to Searchmetrics, 82% of the videos that appear in Google’s universal search in 2014 were hosted on YouTube.

And this makes perfect sense. After all, the largest online video platform belongs to Google and uses similar algorithms as the search engine.

Therefore, make sure you create a channel for your brand on the platform and integrate it with your video marketing strategies.

And of course, don’t forget to promote your channel to attract even more views.

3. Invest in subtitles and transcriptions

Accessibility is another ranking factor highly valued by search engines. In other words, your video needs to be accessible to people who are hearing impaired or for users who prefer to consume muted videos.

Just to give you an idea, for example, 80% of videos posted on Facebook are watched with muted sound.

Therefore, insert subtitles and transcription in your videos. Besides making the content accessible to more people, you also allow Google and other search engine’s bots to scan the content and identify your topic.

4. Post the videos on your website or blog

As we explained earlier, Google values web pages that contain at least one video. Therefore, make sure you include videos in your brand’s posts and webpages or blog.

To do so, just copy the platform’s embedded code where the content is hosted and paste it directly on the platform used to edit the website or blog’s posts.

5. Your video must be the center of attention

In order for the above strategy to work, it’s very important that the video be the center of attention. In other words, no elements should take the focus away from the videos on your page, such as images and GIFs.

Thus, all content around the video should only be the complement. Always let the video stand out to ensure the largest number of views and engagement!

6. Create meticulous thumbnails

Thumbnails are a preview of your video’s content, and is usually decisive for users to click on it. It works like a business card and can either attract or drive away users.

Make creative thumbnails that pique the audience’s curiosity, and that shows what will be presented in your video.

7. Create engaging titles and descriptions

Video titles and descriptions need to be convincing in order to stimulate clicks and be consistent with the content. Besides, they need to be objective and summarize the content’s topic, in such a way that the search algorithms can understand them.

It’s also important to work with titles with up to 55 characters, so that they aren’t truncated on smaller screens, and have a meta-description of, on average, 155 characters.

The description and title, besides showing the purpose of the video in detail, are also displayed when the content is shared on social media, which are important criteria for the video SEO.

8. Have a responsive website

Since 2015, Google has been favoring the delivery of  responsive websites, i.e., which can be viewed correctly on different mobile devices.

This is because, according to Insider Intelligence, 75% of video viewing in the world is mobile.

Therefore, make sure that the content on your pages is adapted to mobile devices and ensure they are ranked at the top of search results.

9. Exchange backlinks with relevant collaborators

A backlink occurs when another website mentions your content.

This strategy helps you generate new access paths to your content through other channels. And thus, reach a larger number of people and improve your ranking.

In addition, the more other websites and channels share your brand’s content, the more its authority will be in the eyes of the search algorithms. And thus, you company’s content will be interpreted as being more relevant.

10. Encourage engagement

Similar to the previous tip, another factor that affects video SEO in a positive manner is the number of user interactions, such as comments, likes and shares.

The higher the engagement of the content, the more interesting and relevant it is, and therefore, the better its ranking in search results will be.

Thus, allow your audience to share your content and use spoken CTAs, encouraging comments and likes.

This way, the video’s engagement and reach will be much greater than if it was merely posted on your page.

11. Produce evergreen content

In terms of marketing, evergreen content would be something like content that never ages, and is always current.

Unlike news content, which needs to be current, recent and contain “fresh” information.

This type of content is important, since it stays relevant over time and helps most users to find your brand in searches.

Invest in video SEO and appear at the top of search results

In order to stand out among your competitors, and make your content reach good positions in search results and be found by users, it’s important to invest in video SEO.

And all you need are a few simple techniques, such as inserting keywords, creating attractive thumbnails, investing in relevant descriptions and investing in a YouTube channel.

And speaking of YouTube, did you know that there are specific optimization techniques for the platform? Check out the professional tips on how to improve your YouTube channel’s performance!