Video SEO: Optimizing Your Videos for Search

Video is one of the most engaging and powerful forms of content on the web. But creating a great video is only half the battle. Just like with your written content, you need to optimize your videos so that they can be discovered by your target audience in search results. This is video SEO.

Video SEO is the practice of optimizing your videos to be indexed and to rank on the search results pages for relevant keyword searches. This applies not only to YouTube, which is the world's second-largest search engine, but also to the video results that appear directly in Google Search.

A smart video SEO strategy can help you reach a wider audience, drive traffic to your website, and build your brand's authority.

Where to Host Your Videos

You have two main options for hosting your videos:

1. YouTube or Vimeo: Hosting your videos on a public platform like YouTube is fantastic for discovery. You can tap into their massive user base and benefit from their powerful search algorithm. This is the best option for top-of-funnel, informational content.
2. Self-Hosting (with a service like Wistia or Vidyard): Hosting the video file on your own website (using a professional video hosting service) gives you more control over the player and the user experience. This is often a better choice for videos on your main product or service pages, as you don't want YouTube to recommend a competitor's video after yours is finished playing.

For most businesses, a hybrid approach is best: use YouTube for your public, educational content, and a service like Wistia for your core website videos.

Key Video SEO Optimization Tactics

1. Perform Video Keyword Research

Just like with written content, you need to know what your audience is searching for.

• YouTube Search Autocomplete: Start typing a keyword into the YouTube search bar and see what suggestions it provides.
• Analyze Competitor Videos: Look at the popular videos in your niche. What keywords are they using in their titles and descriptions?

Video keywords often include phrases like "how to," "tutorial," "review," or "what is."

2. Optimize Your Video's Metadata

The text-based elements associated with your video are crucial for helping the search engine understand its content.

• Video Title: Your title should be compelling and include your primary target keyword at the beginning.
• Video Description: Write a detailed, keyword-rich description of what the video is about. The first few sentences are the most important, as they are what users will see before they click "show more." You can also include a link back to a relevant page on your website here.
• Tags: Use a mix of broad and specific tags to help categorize your video and connect it to related content.

3. Create a Compelling Thumbnail

The thumbnail is the small preview image for your video. Along with the title, it's the most important factor in convincing a user to click on your video.

• Use a High-Quality Image: It should be bright, in-focus, and visually appealing.
• Include a Human Face: Thumbnails with a person's face, especially one showing emotion, tend to have a higher click-through rate.
• Add Text Overlay: A short, punchy title on the thumbnail can help to grab attention and provide context.

4. Create a Video Transcript

A transcript is a text version of all the dialogue in your video. This is incredibly valuable for SEO.

• Why it's important: Search engines can't "watch" your video, but they can crawl the text of a transcript. This gives them a complete, word-for-word understanding of your video's content, allowing you to rank for all the keywords mentioned in the video.
• How to do it: You can upload a transcript file directly to YouTube. You can also post the full transcript on your website on the same page where you embed the video.

5. Embed Your Videos on Your Website

Don't just leave your videos on YouTube. Embed them on relevant pages and blog posts on your own website. This can significantly increase the time users spend on your pages, which is a positive user engagement signal.

6. Create a Video Sitemap

A video sitemap is a special type of XML sitemap that you can submit to Google to help it discover all the video content on your website. This is especially important if you are self-hosting your videos.

Measuring Your Video SEO Success

• YouTube Analytics: If you're using YouTube, its analytics dashboard provides a wealth of data on your video's performance, including watch time, audience retention, and the traffic sources that are leading people to your video.
• Google Search Console: The Performance report in GSC can show you how your videos are performing in Google's main search results and in the "Video" search tab.

Conclusion

Video is a powerful medium for connecting with your audience, but its value is limited if no one can find it. By implementing these video SEO best practices, you can ensure that your video content is properly optimized to be discovered by search engines. This will help you to attract a wider audience, drive more traffic, and get a much better return on your investment in video production.