How To Boost SEO Using Videos

There are many benefits to using video for SEO purposes that directly impact the marketing and visibility of your business’s online footprint. In this article, we will focus on 6 ways to boost SEO using video and discuss how each one impacts your company along with a little history of video’s role in SEO.  

What is Video Marketing?

A lot of people confuse video marketing with more traditional methods of advertising. When people hear the term video marketing, they think about commercials, late-night infomercials or those annoying unskippable ads that show up when you are trying to watch a show.

While those kinds of advertisements utilize video, they are not quite what we mean when we talk about video marketing for SEO. Like with most things related to search engine optimization, an SEO video utilizes research, analytics and search trends to introduce an audience to a larger ecosystem. In the same way that an article about the best clothing trends can be used to bring an audience to your clothing website, an SEO video is a purposeful extension of your company’s marketing and outreach efforts that is laser-focused on search intent. Some good examples of video marketing using SEO would include:

• How-to guides on product installation
• Product demos or feature spotlights
• Listicle videos on new industry trends
• Making-of videos
• Company overviews
• Video podcasts

Video marketing for SEO utilizes these categories to provide numerous advantages for your company’s online presence. Corporations continue to respond to consumer demand for digital business services. By using video to boost SEO along with other proven methods, these companies will maximize their search engine visibility moving into the future.

What Was The “Pivot to Video” Marketing Fad All About?

In late 2014, social media outlets like Twitter began to gobble up streaming services as video became more popular on platforms like Vine and Periscope. Speculation began that media companies like Buzzfeed may move to all-video publishing, eschewing the articles that they write in favor of short-form video news content. In January of 2015, Facebook announced major growth in video streaming and viewership on all of its platforms. Following this, companies the world over began laying off employees and switching their focus to producing video content for the web. Over the next few years, there was a tectonic shift in the way corporations produced content for public consumption.

However, it was not meant to last. Companies noticed sharp downturns in site visits and engagements following the shift. Web traffic plateaued and in some cases declined. Additionally, videos were more costly and time-consuming to produce, which increased overheads and ate into profits. In 2018, Facebook announced that they had lied about their video metrics, overestimating viewership by as much as 900%. A few years and several lawsuits later, the media landscape had been altered permanently.

The takeaway from these events has had profound implications on how companies approach video marketing. Many have shied away from using video altogether, deeming it too expensive and unnecessary for their operations. Others have continued to lean into video marketing at the expense of traditional SEO, with uneven results. The main takeaway from the past six years is that the best SEO strategy is an all-encompassing one that utilizes every tool available to capture the largest target audience. Video SEO is an extension of your overall marketing strategy that works in tandem with content, web design and PPC.

The Benefits of Using Video to Boost SEO

At OuterBox, we have identified the six most important benefits of using video for SEO. When used as part of a comprehensive marketing plan, video can provide a boost to your search engine optimization and increase the overall success of your company.

1. Generate Traffic Through Videos

An underexplored avenue of the video marketing landscape, videos can be used similarly to articles, blogs and other written content as a first-look entry into your marketing funnel. With properly branded SEO videos covering strategic topics, you get increased foot traffic to your website and overcome the first hurdle of any online marketing strategy: bringing potential customers to your website. The higher your monthly visitor count goes, the more authority your website receives. The more authority you receive, the more relevant your website becomes for related searches. SEO videos operate similarly to other forms of content marketing by creating new, relevant media for consumers and search engines.

2. Extend Session Duration

Video marketing is a great way to increase the session duration of website visitors. One of the often-overlooked metrics that Google uses for ranking purposes, session duration is used as an indicator of how relevant and interesting your website is to visitors and its effectiveness in holding their attention. By including relevant, informative and interesting video content in your SEO strategy, you will keep your audience engaged with your website and boost both your site ranking and visitor satisfaction.

3. Search Engine Results for Video

With its own dedicated tab, Google’s video-only search results page has seen increased traffic and visibility since its introduction. Many visitors looking for a visual guide, vlog, DIY video or review will utilize Google’s video search page to get direct links to their queries. Producing relevant content tagged with related keywords and relevant search terms will cause your videos to rank highly and provide your website with additional authority, visibility and traffic.

4. External Linking

Video marketing for SEO provides opportunities for link building with other relevant websites. High-quality videos can be linked to or embedded on other websites, increasing site authority and search relevance for your own pages. You can harness your own link building potential with video content on channels such as YouTube and other social media platforms.

5. Conversion Improvement

With showcases and demonstrations, you can increase conversion rates by offering professional, detailed looks at your available products or provide more information about the services you offer. Used in combination with robust category content and SEO keyword relevance, you can create professional, informative video marketing content that drives conversions.

6. Keyword Ranking Opportunities

When it comes to SEO, video marketing presents new opportunities for keyword rankings. Video transcripts, vlogs, and video podcasts allow you to stay current with market trends and provide new content to rank for. Video titles, tags, and descriptions should be keyword relevant to your search intent and provide users with information regarding your content, company, and products.

Let OuterBox Design Your SEO Video Marketing Strategy

Our team is inspired by finding data-driven creative solutions to today’s modern digital marketing problems. Since 2004 we have worked with hundreds of clients across dozens of industries on lead generation, eCommerce, web design, content creation, paid search and more. Through the collaboration of experienced professionals, we work together with our clients to create tailormade marketing solutions using proven industry methods. Contact us today and let us help you grow your business online.