There is no doubt that videos are becoming increasingly popular when it comes to marketing or advertising.
Their extensive usage can mainly be attributed to how instrumental they are in generating measurable marketing results.
Today, a whopping 98% of marketers already consider videos to be an integral part of their overall marketing strategies thus helping them perform better on SERP.
Among the many video types, explainer videos confidently stand out in helping brands explain their products within a few seconds and boost session durations on the website.
On the other hand, SEO is all about ranking higher in SERP results.
Ever wondered what happens if we include explainer videos to boost SERP rankings? Will it be effective?
Let’s understand it through this blog:
The Role of Explainer Videos to Boost SERP Rankings
A study from Forrester Research states that if we make a comparison between videos and plain text, video content has 50 times more chances to achieve organic page rank on Google.
It gives us proof of what type of content the audience is looking for, as videos are quick and engaging, which appeals to them more than any other form of information.
Here are some benefits that will help you understand how videos will increase SEO performance.
1. Less competition
When we search a query on Google, we are bombarded with lots of information in the form of articles, blogs, or guides, but very little visual content.
This lowers the competition and creates an opportunity for a video-embedded website to rank higher in search results. Making strategic use of video can be an advantage in increasing rankings in search engines.
2. Diversification in content
Imagine visiting a website full of plain text – nobody likes that, right?
But explainer videos give you the opportunity to leverage different types of content that can make a website visually attractive, making your users stay longer.
Using a variety of media content creates an engaging environment for your audience and also increases your chances of ranking.
Remember, search engines value websites that provide a rich and engaging user experience.
3. Increase social sharing and inbound links
With the buzz all around social media, videos have become a highly shareable and engaging form of content. Taking advantage of this one, you can create a compelling video and share it across social media platforms.
This will help to attract more viewers and possibly give rise to backlinks from other websites. The increased number of backlinks will represent the authority and worth of your site to search engines.
4. Enhance Click through rate
Videos are the best tools, whether it is to influence purchasing decisions or drive conversions. Studies have shown that using product demo videos on landing pages increases the number of clicks.
As a user sees a video of your product, they get a better understanding of it, and with that, they start to trust your product. As a result, using videos proves to be the best tool when it comes to increasing click rates.
5. Makes Targeting Long-Tail Keywords Easy
We are all aware of the fact that in modern SEO, it is important to target long-tail keywords. Here, videos make it easier to target these keywords, which is a little difficult with text-based content.
Create a video that addresses specific topics or niche interests, and optimize it with relevant keywords. This will make it easier to capture organic traffic from users searching for those specific queries.
Want to know some benefits of explainer videos?
Check Out: The Guaranteed Benefits of Explainer Videos
How to Optimize Explainer Video for SEO
People are aware of many SEO practices, but very few know how to perform them more effectively. The same thing is applicable to videos.
Keeping the following things in mind will make your video more effectively optimized for SEO.
Check out a few tips:
1. Choose a relevant video hosting platform
The right video hosting platform overall impacts SEO performance as the right platform will help you to reach your target easily.
YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia have been popular choices among people when it comes to hosting videos.
Each of them offers unique features, and people can choose them according to their preferences, considering their goals and target audiences.
2. Keep the Length of the Video Short
These days, people don’t have much patience to watch long and complicated videos. In fact, a study states that when people search on YouTube, they are most likely to open a short video first.
In that case, the length of an explainer video should be brief and to the point, and the information in it should be clear and engaging. Provide them with the insights they want to watch and encourage them to share the video.
3. Create eye-catching thumbnails
Video thumbnails have a direct impact on the site’s visibility in organic searches and click-through rate. A thumbnail is the first thing a viewer sees and plays a crucial role in CTRs.
It should be appealing enough to make people wait and click on the video to watch. Use high-quality images and bright colors that complement the content of the video.
Also, the text on the thumbnail should not be cluttered and should be clearly readable.
4. Optimize the video title and description
When searching for the video, the title is the deciding factor in whether you will click on it or not. It should be brief (less than 60 characters) and include the focus keyword.
As viewers come to watch videos, they are least interested in reading the description, so it should cover the gist of the video and CTA in the first few lines. Also, include the focus keyword in order to optimize it for search engines.
Include a transcript in the video because it is extremely beneficial to search engines. It boosts your chances of showing up in the suggested videos section, which increases the views of the video.
5. Embed Videos on Your Website
Embedding the videos on the website increases visibility. The search engine crawls the information, title, and description of the embedded video, which helps in understanding the context of the video.
When properly optimized, the embedded video can be shown on the results page when it matches the user query. This may have a positive effect on the rankings.
6. Include Video Schema
When a video schema markup is applied to the embedded video, search engines understand and display the videos better in search results.
By adding schema, the search engine has a clear idea of what your video is all about and can serve it up to the right audience at the right time.
It not only helps you stand out in search results but also catches the eye of searchers and encourages them to click on your video.
Conclusion
By now, it must be clear that if you are not using videos in your SEO strategy, you are missing out on a lot. Videos can do wonders when it comes to search engine rankings.
One just has to make sure to develop a terrific video that the audience will love to watch and optimize it to match the user’s intent.
If you match the user’s search intent, the search engine will automatically send them to you, and if you are providing them with visually attractive information like explainer videos, then they will stick with you for a longer time.
