High-quality, useful video isn’t just great for engagement, it proves to search engines that you’re dedicated to their cause. Using video for SEO is a great way to boost your multi-channel marketing strategy, whether on Social Media, Email Marketing, or your website.
As the importance of various SEO performance metrics evolves, it’s now more essential than ever to incorporate many different content types that engage, retain and convert. Video is the most consumed form of media in the online landscape, followed by written content, imagery and audio. It’s an easy-to-consume medium from which users receive instant gratification, so why not incorporate it into your SEO strategy?
Will Video Lower My Website’s Bounce Rate?
Yes – if your video content is helpful and engaging, your bounce rate could decrease.
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page.
Nobody wants to sit through a life story. When you concisely communicate your message, linking it closely to the content on your page, users are less likely to click away. This is because they’re receiving immediate value that quickly and visually hooks.
However, video content can negatively affect your website’s bounce rate if it slows site speed, feels like a pushy advertisement, or takes too long to get to the point.
- When embedded directly into a page, your site speed will slow down and increase the likelihood of bouncing.
- There’s a fine line between pressurising spiel and informative content. Nobody wants to be explicitly sold to, so keep your dialogue personable.
- Avoid “Dead Air”. Give your viewers something to think about every second. Retain momentum and maintain engagement.
Video can explain complex information in as little as 60 seconds, conveying everything your viewers want to know without demanding effort and losing engagement.
How Does Video for SEO Improve Engagement?
SEO-optimised video improves engagement by making content more shareable and easier to understand, which encourages users to take action. These results can positively impact your SEO efforts concerning page views and conversion rate.
Quick, short-form videos are a highly shareable form of content. Usually lasting 30 seconds or less, snippet-like videos communicate to your user in a way that is easy to pass on. Visitors are less likely to share long-form content and are even more unlikely to watch through if it takes a while to get to the topic of discussion.
Furthermore, your prospective customers understand what you’re talking about, and it encourages them to want to learn more. This will drive more interaction with your website as users move through relevant pages to the end goal of a contact form.
Not only do videos improve the time a customer spends on your web pages, but they also improve the overall learning experience. As engagement is a key performance indicator to search engines, incorporating content intended to increase interaction and dwell time could improve your search rankings.
Do Search Engines Reward Video for SEO?
Yes – video content is rewarded when it is high-value and improves the user experience. But it isn’t necessarily a quick win. Search engines prioritise quality content that educates and entertains and will often pull videos through as a result of a search query, sometimes above traditional listings.
When producing video for SEO, it’s essential to consider video optimisation. This starts with the shoot, considering the conciseness and value of your dialogue:
- Are you being helpful to your audience?
- Has their experience on your website been improved by the existence of your video?
Realising whether your content meets these requirements is the first step to search-engine-centric video content.
Editing Video for SEO
The content of your video is just the start. The way it’s edited matters too.
- Consider your brand message, tone and intent to stay consistent with your business goals.
- Ensure your content matches the platform it’s being published on.
- Understand your audience: know what they want to learn.
- Convey your message quickly to keep attention.
- Avoid long, drawn-out videos. Even interested users can switch off if it takes too long to get to the point.
Video content offers additional indexing opportunities that allow your site to be better understood and rank higher for your chosen keywords. Through proper indexing, search engines could display video content in snippets and carousels on search results, encouraging higher click-through rates to your website if the content is helpful.
Video is a powerful tool that can boost your SEO and provide additional value to your audience, which could increase conversions.
Boost Your SEO Strategy for Long-Term Success
At Pod Digital, we understand that remaining ahead of the competition in SEO is more than simply monitoring metrics. We believe that multi-channel strategies are the key to success, and the flexibility of video content can help you get there. Let’s work together to create video content that ranks, engages and converts.
