In today’s digital world, videos are everywhere, from social media to search engines. Videos are a powerful tool, as they have the unique ability to capture attention, keep audiences engaged and present information quickly.
Beyond the entertainment value they provide, are videos important for the SEO (search engine optimisation) of your site?
Many website owners focus primarily on written content, and while high-quality content of this nature is essential, search engines (and users!) love video content.
With Google acquiring YouTube back in 2006, it’s no surprise that a staggering 82% of all video results on Google come from the platform.
Despite this, videos are often overlooked in many SEO strategies. When optimised, videos can help improve user engagement, increase click-through rate and even boost the likelihood of your website appearing in Google’s search engine results page.
In this blog, we’ll explore a few reasons why adding videos to your website can significantly enhance your SEO, and how you can optimise them for maximum impact.
Videos increase engagement
As mentioned above, videos can capture and retain audience attention, encouraging a user to stay on your website to longer.
Unlike written content, which requires active concentration, video content requires a lot less effort to consume, offering users an engaging way to absorb information.
Because of this, users are far more likely to sit through a full video than they are to read a blog post in its entirety.
Search engine crawl bots consider engagement rate when determining rankings. If a user is spending more time on a website, it signals to search engines that the content on the site is valuable.
This increased engagement rate because of users watching videos can lead to higher rankings in search engines. Higher rankings mean more traffic and more conversions.
Videos provide additional keyword optimisation opportunities
Incorporating videos on your website opens up additional keyword optimisation opportunities that go beyond what traditional web content can offer.
Videos allow you to target a wider range of search queries, including those you may not have otherwise considered. This can mean video-specific keywords such as “how to” or “tutorial”, as well as more specific, long-tail keywords that users search when specifically looking for video content, such as “step-by-step video tutorial on how to cook fish and chips for beginners”.
Videos have several elements for keyword optimisation, including titles, descriptions, tags and transcripts.
This not only increases the likelihood of your video appearing in both video and traditional search results, but it also helps search engines better understand the content and relevancy of the video, which can aid in improving search engine rankings.
When done correctly, video keyword optimisation can significantly improve the visibility of your website in the search engine results page and help drive the most relevant traffic to your site.
Videos expand your reach with YouTube integration
YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google, making it a powerful tool in increasing the visibility of your video content.
By uploading videos to YouTube and optimising the key fields, such as the title, description and tags with targeted keywords, you can improve your chances of appearing in both YouTube and Google search results.
When you embed a YouTube video onto your website, the video can still rank on both platforms. This dual exposure can help you reach a wider audience, which can drive more organic traffic to your website.
Videos provide a better user experience
Incorporating videos on your website not only helps enhance your SEO but can also greatly improve the overall user experience.
Videos are an engaging way to deliver the information that a user is looking for, making it easier for them to understand your product or service.
As a result, users are more likely to take action, which can lead to higher conversion rates.
For example, product demonstration videos provide a visual explanation of how a product works, while explainer videos break down services in a digestible format.
By reducing confusion and presenting information in a clear way, videos provide users with a more seamless and enjoyable experience, ultimately driving higher engagement and conversions.
Curious to know how you can benefit from the addition of videos as part of your SEO strategy? Contact the knowledgeable team at Engage Web today.
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