When you consider that more than half of all web traffic last year was video, it follows that companies are scrambling to create and optimise their own video marketing content.
Not only is video a powerful tool when used on your own website, driving page views and evolving your site into a dynamic, interactive destination – it should also now be an integral part of any social content strategy. Here are five reasons why:
1. YouTube is the world’s no.2 search engine
Marketers generally view infiltrating Google results as the pinnacle of SEO efforts. And with Google the most powerful search engine in the world, it’s understandable that brands and bloggers alike strive for top search rankings there.
Yet Google’s little sister, YouTube, ranks as the second most important search engine, attracting 870 million unique monthly visitors with its continually updated professional and amateur video content.
2. Video SEO is super simple to implement
Unlike web SEO, which typically takes a hefty amount of effort, time and resources to set up effectively, video SEO is extremely straightforward to implement.
On YouTube, companies merely have to fill in metadata fields with their usual, pre-determined SEO keywords and phrases. Data fields include meta tags, descriptions, titles, date, location and closed caption. Simply add any information relevant to the video, and the process is well underway.
3. Video is incredibly socially mobile
YouTube users are a sociable community that enjoys sharing inspiring content. In fact, 50% of YouTube users go on to make some form of social connection with the content they have viewed.
To further encourage video content to go viral in the social sphere, share it on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. This should encourage social activity and crank up your video views.
Tools such as Vine, a new short video app, allow the sharing of short clips (maximum six seconds) on Facebook and Twitter. Since clips appear inside tweets without redirecting users elsewhere, Vine offers an eye-catching and uber-trendy way of differentiating your brand in an overwhelming ocean of marketing micro-content.
4. Click-through rates are higher on video
Visibility in search results is, of course, all-important to an overall SEO strategy, but rankings count for little if they don’t drive click-through rates. Video content that appears in Google’s Universal Search results (allowing for results in the form of images, news, local listing and videos to appear on page one of traditional search results), enjoy a 41% higher click-through rate than plain text.
So, once video content successfully stakes its claim in Google’s ranks, it is far more likely to be clicked on than any other type of results – an attribute every marketer should surely want within their SEO arsenal.
