Video content used to be reserved for social media, and, as such, technical SEO specialists and agencies didn’t consider it part of their strategies, opting instead for the written word and still photography. However, as broadband capacity evolved, video content became easily accessible, and people started watching and sharing videos for information and entertainment.
Video content doesn’t just dominate social media; it’s rapidly becoming one of the most critical elements in achieving SEO success. Watchable and enjoyable videos have emerged as a preferred medium for users seeking information, entertainment, and engagement.
In this post, we’ll look at who’s watching internet video content and how businesses and brands can improve their internet visibility by making video content a significant part of their marketing strategy.
Why Video Content is Exploding in Search
Video is the fastest, most satisfying, and attention-grabbing form of content. Search engines reward video-rich pages with better rankings as user preferences shift toward more rapid, visual information.
Tutorials, product demos, and quick explainers are types of videos that drive more clicks and extend engagement. Here’s why video content is now a must-have in any SEO strategy.
1. Users Prefer Video
- 72% of customers prefer video over text when learning about a product or service. So, it’s clear that if you are selling a product or service, a video is a necessity.
- Video content gives users more information in less time. Today, users want and expect speed and clarity.
2. Google Prioritizes Video Results
- Google’s SERPs (search engine results pages) call on video carousels over traditional text results. Google is simply giving users what they want and expect.
- YouTube creators are now beating out written content consistently. You’ve probably experienced this yourself. You do a Google search, and videos appear on the first page above traditional text results.
3. Video Improves Key SEO Metrics
- Increases average session duration — Grabbing viewers' attention is one thing, but the holy grail is keeping their attention. This is the basis on which Google pays its creators based on watch hours.
- Reduces bounce rates – Video content is ‘sticky’, which means viewers engage with it longer.
- Boosts engagement and shareability — A great video is shareable, and we all love to share a fun or interesting video with friends and family. A viral video is the equivalent of a home run!
All of these signals help strengthen your site's SEO performance overall.
Video Optimization
Video production generally takes more time, money, and effort than still photography, written words, or graphics, to name a few. And while you might have expended a lot of energy making your video, your work doesn’t stop there. Then, it’s time to upload your video and make it easy for platforms like Google and YouTube to understand what it is and why it matters. Here’s some sage advice on how to get started with video content and using it as part of your optimization marketing strategy.
1. Choose the Right Video Topics
Start by creating videos around high-search-volume topics and common user questions in your niche. Create videos around your core offerings if you're a business or brand. For example, a local dry cleaner makes hilarious before-and-after videos of its dirtiest items, and an Irish pub shares fun cocktail-making videos by all its Irish-born bartenders.
How to do it:
- Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify video-friendly keywords. These tools will give you a great look at which keywords have the highest ranking. Take this seriously and educate yourself on creating videos around keywords.
- Target "how-to," "tutorial," and "review" queries. Informative videos are generally easier for the average person to make than entertainment videos, and they perform exceptionally well.
2. Optimize Video Titles for Better Video SEO
Your video title is the first thing search engines and users see. It must be clear, keyword-rich, and compelling.
Best practices:
- Keep titles under sixty characters – While sixty characters is the max, it’s best to go below that. Forty characters give you enough room to optimize.
- Put primary keywords at the beginning of the title. e.g. – Know your primary keywords. Keep your primary keywords organized in a spreadsheet or content plan.
- Add emotional or value-driven hooks (e.g., "fast," "easy," "complete guide"). There’s a reason seasoned TikTok creators and YouTubers use these words in their titles —They work!
3. Write Keyword-Rich Video Descriptions
This is where creators can get a bit lazy and slack off! Your description field isn’t just for fluff — it’s prime SEO real estate.
How to do it:
- Use primary keywords or at least one hundred words in the first few lines. This rule of thumb is the same as writing a blog post and incorporating your main keyword into the first one hundred words.
- Summarize what the video covers clearly. Be clear in your summation. You want to grab the potential viewer's attention, not lose them with an unclear explanation.
- Include relevant links (e.g., related blog posts, product pages, contact forms). Links are still highly valued by Google, and using them in your video description can help in search rankings.
4. Add Accurate Video Transcripts
Transcripts often slip through the cracks and go underutilized in SEO. Transcripts are critical because search engines can’t "watch" videos — they need text.
How to do it:
- Add closed captions (CC) to all videos. Most platforms provide closed captions for videos when you set up your social media accounts, but you must select the option for CC before you do so.
- Upload full transcripts if possible. This works exceptionally well for Web-Hosted Videos on your website.
- Include transcripts on the page if you embed videos into blog posts or landing pages. This is an excellent way for Google to know what your video is about.
5. It’s ALL about the Video Thumbnails
Thumbnails are like mini-billboards, encouraging people to click on your video and drive more traffic. An eye-catching thumbnail can drastically boost click-through rates (CTR).
Tips:
- Get bold—Use dramatic and eye-catching colors and graphics. Black, red, and yellow are good colors. These bold colors are especially appealing to mobile users on small phone screens.
- Highlight a key emotion or action—You’ve seen it all the time, and that’s because it works. The thumbnail with a surprised or scared face is a winner every time.
- Maintain consistent branding across all your thumbnails. Logos, color schemes, and fonts should be consistent for brand recognition.
- Use professional editing software - This will increase the quality of your videos and improve the user experience.
6. Optimize Video Placement on Your Website
Embedding your site's videos can boost page engagement and SEO, but you must do it right.
Best practices:
- Place videos above the fold so users see them immediately. This will help users decide quickly whether to interact with your videos.
- Ensure fast load times (use compressed video files and lazy loading).
- Surround embedded videos with relevant written content to help Google understand context.
Video Content for TikTok and Beyond
YouTube is the king of the hill, but other platforms should be included in your video content strategy. Other platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Watch, and even LinkedIn Video, are becoming search-friendly and offer different SEO advantages. Whatever platform, remember that viewers don't often watch the entire video, so tracking your analytics is essential to understand viewer retention rates.
Video production and deployment require more skills, time, and effort, but you can rank more quickly with video. You may rank faster with video because fewer businesses do it well. Most companies and brands have shied away from video content until now to their detriment.
Every detail counts when it comes to getting your videos noticed, from the topics you choose to how you write your descriptions. Creating eye-catching and genuinely helpful videos gives you a better shot at standing out across platforms, driving more traffic, and boosting your SEO.
Optimize Video Results With Peaks Digital Marketing
You can’t ignore video content as a significant part of your marketing strategy. As we’ve seen, it dominates in search results. Videos capture attention faster than text and help improve engagement rates, time on site, and overall search rankings.
At Peaks Digital Marketing, we help businesses stand out in search results by optimizing video content to boost engagement, authority, and rankings.
Our video specialists are experts in getting your videos to rank across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to amplify your reach with high-impact video SEO? Visit our website or call us at (720) 432-7115 to request a free proposal today.
