You already know that SEO is important when it comes to optimizing the visibility of your website in search. The e-commerce landscape is flooded with competitors, and it’s key to stand out by making your way to the top of search engine result pages (SERPs). Algorithms are constantly changing to prioritize what users are looking for. Luckily for us, research shows that video is 50x more likely to get organic ranking than text. Here’s why – and how – you should made search engine optimized video content part of your SEO strategy.
Does Google Prioritize Video in SERP?
Google + Video = ?
Imagine Google as the world’s quickest and most knowledgeable librarian, constantly trying to give its users the most informative and engaging content based on every search query. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that video can help to improve search engine results. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a short video is worth a whole lot more.
“What makes SEO so hard is that Google doesn’t tell you their algorithms, but what we do know is that they really are optimizing for rich content,” says Sean Braacx, Chief Product Officer at StoryTap. “So, whenever possible, Google is trying to show people not just links but also relevant content – and one type of content they really promote is video.”
Why Do You Need a YouTube SEO Strategy?
Google + YouTube Video = ❤️
Since Google purchased YouTube in 2006, videos hosted on that platform are generally given preferential treatment ?? in terms of SERP ranking. YouTube is also a great choice for visibility on its own – it is the second-largest search engine in the world (right behind Google), after all. One billion hours of YouTube videos are watched every single day.
YouTube videos can appear in SERPs even shortly after being published, whereas it generally takes a while for any given text page to earn enough authority to be displayed. If you’ve been seeing slow results, a video strategy could help your website see a quicker traffic and conversion boost.
StoryTap’s videos are indexed directly and can also live on YouTube, meaning a video has extra chances of being viewed.
“Brands need to focus on YouTube to be discovered, but it does break the buyer’s journey because it isn’t as smooth [to follow through to a website],” says StoryTap CEO and founder Bernadette Butler. “That’s why we do a two-step approach. We recognize that YouTube plays a big role in ranking, but we also index a video directly because it gets consumers to a product page right away.”
Video SEO vs. Text SEO
Google is constantly updating its algorithms to have video perform, and in fact, in many instances, video content outperforms any text SEO you can possibly think of.
While text SEO shouldn’t be ignored on a site, video is way (like waaaaay) more powerful. 2020 stats show that video has a 50 times higher chance of ranking in Google than plain text results. And beyond ranking, video click-through is 41% higher than regular URLs (since people love video and are likely drawn to the thumbnail, which Google displays on SERPs).
Where Should Videos Live On Your Website?
In an ideal world, your website would be rich with (quick-loading, engaging) video content on almost every page. While this should be the goal, you can start by focusing on landing pages, since stats show that landing page video can increase conversions by 80% or more. It’s also worthwhile to have your videos hosted on YouTube (see above).
The Power of Real People
Before you scramble to produce another ultra-polished, brand-perfect video to showcase on your site’s landing page, consider that Google prioritizes the sites that have inbound links, which are born when people share links to your video or web page. People love authenticity, and it’s often the homemade, real-person videos that get the most shares (along with any kind of baby animal videos). Focus your efforts and budget on creating the kind of videos that will not only please the public, but also check off all the boxes – from improving your search engine rank, driving organic traffic to your website, and increasing conversions.
Don’t Skip Data
Once you’ve got an engaging video and it’s as shareable as baby animals, you’ll want the transcript and the metadata to help it truly perform. A transcript not only makes your content accessible, but it also gives you an SEO advantage since it gives Google more to dig through and a better understanding of what any given video is about.
Bottom Line
Looking to inject more video into your marketing strategy but not sure where to start? StoryTap is a story-led video automation tool that helps you create authentic, engaging videos starring your own customers and staff (from product reviews to FAQ support desk videos to testimonials). All videos include SEO metadata and are fully controlled by you and free to share across multiple channels (including social media) in one click from our user-friendly platform. Those were a lot of words, but it’s actually super simple.
Book a demo and we’ll show you how StoryTap can turbocharge your brand growth online.
Looking for more information about video SEO? Download our ebook: Improve Search Rankings With Video SEO.
