So, do videos help with search engine optimization (SEO)?
Spoiler alert: they sure do!
Videos can drive tons of traffic, bump up your search rankings and keep your audience engaged longer. Whether you're a small business owner looking to expand your reach or a non-profit aiming to amplify your mission, videos are a game-changer.
In this article, we’ll break down why videos are such a big deal for SEO and how to use them effectively.
Why Are Videos so Powerful for SEO?
Videos aren’t just engaging for your audience—they’re exactly what search engines love. Here’s why:
- Longer Visits = Better Rankings: When users watch a video, they spend more time on your site. Search engines interpret this as high-value content.
- Video Content Gets Prioritized: Google loves video snippets, often placing them at the top of search results.
- Better Engagement = More Credibility: Quality videos build trust and can lead to better click-through rates and conversions.
DID YOU KNOW? Video content appears in about 26% of Google search results, making it a powerful way to boost your site's visibility. This means video content has a direct advantage in capturing attention and clicks in search results.
Expert Insight: Why Video Matters for SEO
Danielle Hazelton, Video Producer at Eternity, shares her perspective:
Q) What’s your creative process for making videos that engage audiences?
Here at Eternity, we’re all about authenticity in storytelling. We have a documentary-style approach to our longer video content that allows our clients to show their faces, tell their story from their perspective and create opportunities for genuine engagement and connection with their audience.
This approach also works well for short-form content like Instagram Reels, TikToks and Google Ads content. Showcasing the human behind the brand is the most effective way to connect with audiences in an authentic way.
Q) How can businesses use video to tell their brand story effectively?
Nowadays, people don’t like to be sold to. We actively go out of our way to avoid ads–from quickly scrolling past them to putting ad blockers on our browsers.
Instead, focus on creating content that’s exciting or interesting to watch. Think about what content you watch when you’re scrolling through your phone or browsing the web. Are you watching YouTube videos for how-to content? Stopping your scroll to engage with a funny video on Instagram? Or perhaps listening to a bite-sized new perspective on a topic you’re interested in on TikTok?
These are all avenues of engaging content that you can apply to your own brand videos.
Q) What’s the most important element to focus on when creating video content?
Quality. Unless it’s a meme or a very short video on social media, people want to see videos that are high quality–both in their content and the way they are produced. Working with a video producer is the best way to achieve high-quality content for your website that will last.
Q) What types of videos do you think work best for keeping viewers engaged on a website?
- Brand Anthems: A video that’s all encompassing and tells the story of your business, your values and your mission. Think of it like a TV commercial for your brand, but longer, with more opportunities to connect and engage with your audience.
- Customer Testimonials: Having one of your clients tell future customers about their amazing experience with you is just as important as a Google Review. It adds weight to their words, because they went out of their way to show up, recorded with you and shared nice things about your brand for the world to see.
- How-To Videos: Excellent content for your website, especially if you work with products or in a more technical field. These videos provide value to your audience and give them content they can actively use.
Other thoughts and ideas:
Not all videos are watched with sound:
People are always on their phones in places where playing audio out loud would be inappropriate–like in line for coffee, a lobby or waiting room or on public transport. Make sure to use captions on your videos to ensure folks who are scrolling without audio on can still read and engage with your content.
Try This Exercise:
Try making an Instagram reel where you speak directly to your audience about a topic related to your field of expertise. Add captions to your reel so people can read along even if they don’t have sound on. They’ll be able to place a face to your business name, and see you as a thought leader in their line of work!
How Do Videos Actually Boost Your SEO?
Here’s how videos can transform your SEO strategy:
1. Increase Visibility
Pages with videos rank for more keywords thanks to the additional metadata that videos provide.
What is Video Metadata?
Video metadata includes elements like:
- Title: The name of the video, optimized with relevant keywords (e.g., “DIY Dog Training Tips”).
- Description: A detailed explanation of the video content, incorporating secondary keywords and phrases.
- Tags: Keywords or topics that help categorize the video.
Example:
A video about dog training could include:
- Title: “How to Train Your Dog at Home – Step-by-Step Guide”
- Description: “Learn easy tips for training your dog at home. This video covers basic commands, common mistakes, and tools to make the process smoother.”
- Tags: “dog training,” “home training for dogs,” “obedience training tips.”
When search engines crawl these elements, they associate the page with additional keywords, increasing the likelihood of ranking for multiple search queries.
2. Improve Time-on-Site
When people watch a video, they stay on your page longer, which reduces your bounce rate. This sends a strong signal to search engines that your content is engaging and valuable.
Why This Matters:
Search engines like Google monitor how long users stay on a page (dwell time). Videos encourage visitors to spend more time-consuming content, increasing dwell time and indirectly boosting your rankings.
PRO TIP: Embed videos above the fold to ensure they catch the visitor’s attention early and encourage them to stay.
3. Enhance Engagement
Videos encourage more interaction, such as likes, shares and comments. These engagement metrics not only build trust with your audience but also boost your content’s authority in the eyes of search engines.
How Videos Drive Engagement:
- Social Sharing: Video content is 12 times more likely to be shared than text and images combined.
- On-Page Actions: Embedded videos often lead to comments, likes or questions, creating a two-way conversation.
PRO TIP: Encourage viewers to take specific actions like commenting or sharing the video. Use calls-to-action (CTAs) within the video or its description to prompt engagement.
4. Drive Backlinks
High-quality videos naturally attract backlinks from other sites, boosting your rankings and credibility.
How This Works:
- Videos offer valuable, shareable content that others want to link to.
- A unique or entertaining video can position your site as an authority on a topic, prompting blogs, news outlets or social media users to reference your page.
PRO TIP: Host your videos on your site (not just YouTube) to ensure backlinks benefit your domain. Use embed codes to make it easy for others to share your video while linking back to you.
Making Video Work for Your SEO Strategy
Here are a few tips to get the most out of your videos:
1. Optimizing Video Content
- Refine Titles and Descriptions: Use the formula: [Keyword] + [Unique Benefit] in under 60 characters.
Example: Instead of “Tutorial Video About Gardening,” try “Gardening 101: How to Grow Vegetables at Home.” - Use Eye-Catching Thumbnails: Thumbnails are the first thing viewers see. Design them with bright, clear visuals and minimal text that reflect your brand. For DIY designs, tools like Canva make the process simple and intuitive.
2. Enhancing User Engagement
- Encourage Social Sharing: Add clear calls-to-action in your video and its description to prompt viewers to share.
- Monitor Performance Metrics: Track CTR (Click-Through-Rate), Average View Duration, and engagement rates using tools like Google Search Console and YouTube Analytics.
3. Technical Optimization
- Ensure Mobile Compatibility: Optimize videos for mobile viewing by using vertical or square formats and compressing files for faster loading.
- Leverage Video Sitemaps: Submit a video sitemap to search engines to provide detailed information about your video content for better indexing.
Recommended Tools for Video SEO
Streamline your video SEO workflow with these tools:
- TubeBuddy: A browser extension that integrates with YouTube, offering features like Keyword Explorer, SEO Studio, and Tag Management to optimize your video content for maximum visibility.
- YouTube Analytics: Dive deep into your video’s performance metrics, including Average View Duration and Engagement Rates, to fine-tune your strategy.
- Screaming Frog: An SEO tool that crawls your website to identify technical issues and generate detailed video sitemaps, ensuring your content is properly indexed by search engines.
Mobile Video Optimization
With nearly 70% of the digital video audience in the United States watching videos on smartphones, optimizing for mobile is essential.
Best Practices for Mobile Video
- Vertical or Square Formats: Ensure your videos are mobile-friendly by using aspect ratios like 9:16 for platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels.
- Faster Loading Times: Compress video files to improve load speed and reduce buffering.
- Responsive Design: Use a video player that adapts seamlessly to various screen sizes.
- Engaging Thumbnails: Create visually appealing thumbnails that are easy to see on smaller screens.
- Add Subtitles: Incorporate captions for accessibility and silent viewing environments.
Addressing Common Concerns
“What if I don’t have a big budget for video?”
No problem! Start small with:
- Free tools like iMovie or CapCut for editing.
- A smartphone for shooting quality footage.
- Free design tools like Canva for thumbnails.
“Isn’t video SEO too technical?”
Not at all. Focus on these basics:
- Use keywords in your titles and descriptions.
- Add captions for accessibility.
- Host your videos on a fast-loading platform like YouTube.
The Bottom Line
Videos are an incredible tool for boosting SEO, engaging your audience and driving results. Whether it’s tutorials, testimonials or product demos, the right video strategy can make a big impact.
Ready to Amplify Your SEO with Video?
Contact Eternity to help you create a video strategy tailored to your audience and goals. Let’s make your story unforgettable!
Start Your Video Strategy Today!
