At present, there isn’t a better medium than video to increase traffic, engagement, or conversions.
The drop in video production costs and the availability of YouTube video editing software makes video content an exciting and affordable marketing strategy for your business.
The benefits of video content don’t stop here. Videos can help your SEO efforts and boost your search engine ranking. Today, we shall discuss what’s so special about video content, why you should focus on video marketing, and how videos, directly and indirectly, benefit SEO and ranking.
Why Is Video Important?
There is sufficient data to prove that technology; especially social media, has reduced our attention span. Marketers have just 7 seconds to impress the audience.
If your content, written or visual, can’t engage and entertain the audience beyond the initial few seconds, then they move to the next post or video that appeals to them. Video is the only form of content that can connect and engage the audience in seconds. Plus, people prefer to watch a two-minute video instead of reading a 2000-word article.
The success and popularity of video content are neither a fluke nor an accident. People love video content and businesses depend on video marketing to boost conversions.
Video Content Is Short and Concise
Information that usually takes several pages and thousands of words can be explained in just a 2-3-minute video. Videos can successfully deliver a large amount of information in a short time.
Moreover, videos deliver vital points in a way that engages the audience. An animated explainer video is easier to remember than an eBook created for the same purpose. Unlike long-form text content, there is usually no dull moment in a short video. Short and concise videos stimulate the interest of the viewers and keep them hooked right up to the CTA.
Short and concise videos are good for SEO because they make the audience stay longer on the page. Statistics show that 5% of the viewers drop off after watching a video for 60 seconds. By the end of 2 minutes, nearly 60% of the audience leaves the video.
So, if you want your target audience to stay till the end of the video, provide them with short and concise videos. Nowadays, more and more people are watching videos on hand-held devices. Smartphone users prefer videos that are short because this allows them to watch full videos during travel, work break, etc. Businesses should also bear in mind that more than 55% of videos watched on hand-held devices are less than 5 minutes long.
Videos Tell Stories
Like videos, PowerPoint presentations are loaded with pertinent information. That’s why presentations aren’t as popular as videos among the masses.
Simply packing on information isn’t enough to engage the audience. Videos weave hard facts with effective storytelling. A combination of these two will stay longer in the mind. When marketers use stories to convey a message, the information will be retained for much longer.
It was found that 4 out of 5 people remembered a video even after 30 days. Over 50% of them performed a follow-up action. Videos that tell stories work because they trigger a reaction from the emotion-related parts of the brain.
In the battle between logic vs. emotion, the latter always wins. This is particularly true in business, love, and purchasing a product.
Video Content Improves User Experience
Videos could have become the king of content years ago. What hindered their rise to the top?
Many marketers feared videos could ruin the user experience. Nothing could be further from the truth. Videos on affiliate products will only boost user experience. There is enough data to show how videos attract traffic, engage users longer on the web page, and eventually boost the website’s SEO and ranking.
- On average, users spend 88% more time on a page with video content.
- Compared to text CTA, over 95% of people said they could recall the video call to action.
- Web pages that feature at least one video are 45 times more like to rank higher on the search results page.
Finally, unlike other forms of content such as stock photos, videos give the viewers total control over the content.
The viewers can decide when to watch, how much to watch, and how to watch the content.
The ease of use, easy accessibility, and control over the content makes video content an irresistible magnet that attracts traffic, boosts user experience, and with that, improves the ranking.
Google Cares about Video Content so You Should Too
Time and time again, experts have made it quite clear that video is the best form of content to boost engagement with the audience. Also, Google always prioritizes content marketing strategies that improve engagement. Websites that deliver better engagement because of video content will see higher traffic and increased conversions.
If you’re still not convinced that Google loves video content, then here are a few points that’ll prove otherwise.
Google Loves Quality Backlinks
According to Moz, web pages that carry videos get 300% more inbound links than those without videos.
Pages with higher-quality inbound links are considered authority pages. They are shared more and receive more traffic. Pages with better credibility and authority will be favored by the Google algorithm.
Google and Stickiness Factor
This is something we have discussed already. The time viewers spend on a web page watching a video is called the Stickiness Factor. For Google, this is a vital factor that determines the quality of a page. Video is one of the best tactics to keep viewers on the page longer.
Google and Keywords
The search engine giant still considers keywords and their usage as key factors in ranking a web page. Adding the transcript as metadata while uploading a video will allow Google to understand the theme and relevancy of the video to the topic.
Google, YouTube, and Engagement
There is no definitive proof to suggest that Google favors videos hosted on YouTube. Even if we forget the fact that Google and YouTube are owned by the same company, YouTube is the second most popular search engine.
Videos that perform well on YouTube, with more views, shares, and comments will find favor with Google as well. Google always prioritizes content that engages and entertains the audience. So, it’s only obvious that Google will love video content. Precisely for this reason you must also love video content and incorporate it into your SEO strategy.
How Can Video Content SEO Improve Your SERP Rankings?
SEO and ranking are the foundation of digital marketing. They play a huge role in the success of your business. If you need to get these two strategies right, then include video content into the marketing mix.
Thanks to the availability of the best video editors, templates, effects, stock videos, etc., it’s now quite easy to produce cost-effective videos. Here are the many ways in which video content helps your SERP rankings:
Video Drive Traffic from YouTube or Other Social Media Channels to Your Site
YouTube sees millions of users watching billions of videos every day. It’s also the second most popular search engine and the third most-visited portal in the world. Plus, the social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. occupy the top positions in the most-visited websites.
It’s every marketer’s dream to divert at least a fraction of that traffic to his/her website. Video content combined with a solid strategy will convert YouTube viewers and social media users into your website visitors. With the help of management tools, you can distribute videos to various platforms in a matter of seconds.
Plus, focus on the keywords, title and description, and effective call to action to gain more website visitors. These tactics will help your video appear higher in YouTube search results. Using effective CTAs will encourage the viewers to take the action that you want.
Video Keeps Visitors on Your Site Longer
Visitors flee boring websites. Statistics show that videos increase dwell time by as much as 6 times. How many people would readily recollect their favorite blog post? Not many. In contrast, we’re sure everyone has a favorite viral video.
The ability of video content to engage and entertain is unparalleled. Visual content generates interest and by doing so makes visitors stay longer on a website. A blog page with a video will see better and longer engagement. Data shows that video viewers stayed longer by at least 6 times and visited, on average, 2.3 more pages.
Video Content Increase Click-Through Rate
Online users are constantly bombarded with information, discounts, sales pitch, and whatnot. Millions of blog posts, tweets, Facebook feeds, and more are created every hour. There is information overload and you need to break through the noise to reach your audience.
Videos about products are an effective way to attract an audience. Consumers prefer watching 2-minute videos to reading a 2000-word article. It’s better to show the products than describe them.
For example, the open rate of emails increases by 19% just by adding the word ‘Video’ on the subject line. Emails with videos have 4x times higher CTR than those without videos. Video links on Google get higher CTR than others. Higher CTR means more traffic and conversions, which translates to better ranking for your website.
People Are More Likely to Link to Your Videos
Why do some posts go viral and gather a lot of likes, shares, and comments while others don’t?
The New York Times attempted to answer these questions through a study. It studied the psychology of online sharing. The results showed people shared more for various reasons. Most people shared online to improve the lives of others, to promote content that reflected their online identity, and to engage and build relationships.
If your video fulfills any of the above conditions, then your target audience will share the videos with others. The backlink is an important factor that search engine crawlers consider while ranking your website. Plus, it’s easier to make people share videos than other forms of content.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I Use Paid Techniques to Boost My SEO Using Videos?
Yes, and you don’t need to create new videos for ads. You can repurpose old videos into ads and sponsor them on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media platforms. This will allow them to reach a new audience. With a wider reach and more visitors, the website is sure to find favor with search engines.
Plus, social media platforms will prioritize videos with higher views and engagement.
Can You Share One Good Suggestion to Rank Higher in Social Media Searchers?
Live streaming is a video marketing strategy that’s fast becoming popular nowadays. Apart from giving the video a wider exposure, live videos allow businesses to receive instant feedback from the target audience.
Live videos also help build a relationship with the viewers which will eventually lead to trust and later conversion.
- Where Should I Host Videos for a Better SEO Ranking?
For some, hosting videos on their website might appear a prudent strategy. But there are drawbacks to consider before you do so. Videos, short or long, tend to increase the page load time (an important ranking factor) and reduce its performance. Videos hosted on social media platforms will be buried under older feeds over time. This could affect your plan to reach more people and conversion opportunities.
YouTube has emerged as the best platform to host videos. Hosting on YouTube gives you access to the second-largest search engine and billions of users. Plus, displaying YouTube videos on the website will lessen the impact on load speed.
- What Type of Videos Generates the Most Interest?
There is no end to the types, formats, and styles of videos you can create.
That said some video types have a better success rate than others. Product video will allow you to showcase the product, highlight its features, and explain its functioning. You can also use unboxing videos, how-to videos, explainer videos, product review videos, and more.
Final Thoughts
The article offers you enough information to convince you that a video is a powerful form of content that can contribute immensely to boosting your search engine ranking. From the way Google has been ranking websites lately, it can be safely assumed that Google loves video content.
Moreover, there is enough data to show that people prefer videos to text content. And, Google always gives priority to content that’s favored by the end-users. So, those wanting to boost their ranking and conversions must incorporate video content into their SEO-Driven to see the magic happen.
About the author
Cristian Stanciu is a freelance video editor, owner and post-production coordinator of Veedyou Media – a company offering video editing services to videographers, marketing agencies, video production studios, and brands all over the globe.
