12 Video SEO Optimization Tips to Help You Rank First in Search
Video is gaining popularity online and on social media platforms worldwide. In fact, while over 1 billion hours of YouTube video are consumed each day the fact is, people are enjoying video in more ways than ever before! Whatever kind of video you produce, if you’re using it on your website to boost your search engine rankings then you need to be following these top video SEO optimization tips to ensure you get ranked first page.
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Optimize Your Videos
Check out these 12 video SEO optimization tips to help you get ranked first page.
1. Choose a Hosting Platform
Before you produce your video, choose a hosting platform. You might host your video on your own website, but if you’re wanting to reach your target audience in a particular area or place where they are most likely to be spending their time, consider hosting your video there. Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and various other hosts are available.
2. Produce Your Video for Your Hosting Platform
Once you’ve decided on where to host your video, SEO optimization moves immediately to focus on the individual video. Produce your video specifically for the host that you intend to use. If hosting on Facebook, produce for Facebook. If hosting on YouTube, create the video specific to that platform.
3. Always Write Your Video Transcript
Your video transcript is an important part of your video SEO optimization. A well-written video transcript that utilizes keywords and subheadings that represent key topics of your content will help you to rank first in the search engines. Consider taking the time out to write, and plan, our video SEO optimization.
4. Use a Unique and Captivating Video Thumbnail
The thumbnail image that viewers see is a huge element responsible for the success of your video online. Thumbnail images should almost always include a person, to humanize the video. They should also be bold, easy to read, and visually engaging or interesting–this is what will make people click.
5. Carefully Plan the Video Title
Your video title should resonate with your audience, relate to them, and engage them. Plan your video title only after you have your script written and you’ve done keyword research to ensure you choose a title that both your audience will enjoy and that the search engines will rank. Video SEO optimization requires a powerfully written title.
6. Use a Keyword-Rich Description
The video description is the first real place for you to incorporate keywords and phrases that are going to resonate with your audience and make them feel connected to the message that you want to deliver with your brand video. Use a keyword-rich description for your video content but don’t stuff keywords!
7. Post Your Optimized Video on a Relevant Page
Video SEO optimization is a mix of knowing what to do with your video and knowing what to do with the page that you’ll post the video on. Post your optimized video on a page that relates to the video. You wouldn’t want to post a video about shows on a webpage that is about landscapes, nor would you want to post a video about games on a page that is about cars. Post on relevant pages.
8. Consider the Use of Native Videos on Social Media
One of the quickest ways to boost the SEO performance of your video content is to post native video ads. What are native videos? They are videos produced specifically for social media platforms where they are posted. For example, a Native LinkedIn video would be a video that is produced on LinkedIn and posted there and not anywhere else. Instead of sharing the link to your video on LinkedIn, such as posting it on YouTube and then sharing the YouTube link on LinkedIn, you will just post the video directly to LinkedIn. This is a native video.
9. Use Keyword-Rich Naming for Your Video
As you name your video file, consider keywords. You’ll want your video file to be short and very clear, but you can still use a keyword rich name. The name of your video file should be relevant to your topic. Video SEO optimization that uses keyword-rich naming conventions is more likely to send small SEO signals about your brand to the search engines.
10. Include Subtitles & Closed Captions
Subtitles and captions that are included in your video can improve your SEO while equally working to improve consumer knowledge of your brand. Consider the use of optimized subtitles and when writing the closed caption text, think about relevant keywords that people will search for and how you can incorporate those into your video content.
11. If Posting on YouTube, Include Cards & End Screens
Cards and End Screens are ideal for YouTube videos as they increase viewership to your channel. Consider including cards and end screens in your video to promote other channels, videos, or topics relative to your brand. Cards are the small white icons that have the circle and the “i” inside that appears to stand for “more information.” They are ideal for connecting viewers to your related channels.
12. Encourage Shares, Comments, and Subscriptions
Finally, once you’ve taken all of the above video SEO optimization steps and you’ve done what you can to optimize your video content, consider asking your audience for a share. While this technically isn’t optimization, the more likes, comments, and shares that you have for your video content, the higher it will rank in social media algorithms and similar search engines. Asking for a share can boost your ranks just as much as some of the previously-listed video SEO optimization tips that were listed.
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Ready to hire a professional to produce videos that you can fully optimize for your brand? Give Beverly Boy Productions a call today at 888-462-7808!