Keep the Video Page Light
Search engine
algorithms send people to quicker loading sites first. It could easily
be the difference in you being on the first page of search rankings to
being ranked further down. That's why improving your page load time is
really important.
You should also consider the video player size
on the page and the resolution: should it really be in HD? Also,
consider the file types; MPEG4, SWF or Flv? Some would load quicker than
the others. Consider which device is it going to be watched on.
Look
after the image compressions on the page as well; JPEGs weigh at least
10-20% less than a PNG file. Rescale the image if necessary.
The Title Is Important
You'll
just have 3 seconds to impress someone to click on the link to the
video when it appears in the search results. Thus, you should keep the
title clear, concise and to the point. Select the keywords that relate
to your main topic and how promising they sound compared to other
videos. Use Google AdWords' Keyword tool to look up some good ones.
Surround Your Video
When
search engines look up a video, they not only look at the content of
the video, but also at the other content on the page to check the
relevance. All the content put together, the words and pictures
included, tell the search engine about the focus of the content and how
well targeted it is.
Link It Up
Provide for
a link to your other videos within the video. YouTube lets you do this
easily with Annotations, other services allow for related links at the
end of the video.
Meta Tags Are Still Relevant
Even
with all the new search engine algorithms, Meta tags still are the
index for searches. If you use specific and focused keywords well
enough, you can easily improve your search engine rankings. Try having
the same information as your page and video title in the Meta tags.
Use the URL
Search
engines also use the video's URL to form their hypothesis. So, instead
of just using a generic URL, try using precise words in relation with
the video content. You should just display one video per page; to make
sure the search engines focus on only that particular video.
Should You Use YouTube?
Not
only is it a video hosting service, it's also the second biggest place
where people search for a video (after Google)! So, if you want your
video to get noticed, you need to have a YouTube presence. It helps in
developing your brand awareness and also makes it easier for your video
to be shared socially.
However, if your video is about engagement
or a product demo, you might want it to be seen on your website as well.
Use the embed code from YouTube after you upload your video there to
embed it on your website. It will mean that you can still reap rewards
through the Google/YouTube SEO results on your website.
Search
engines are displaying video links on top of the results page and a
proper use of tags and keywords will increase the odds of your video and
company name to be displayed on top of the search results.