According to a 2009 Forrester study, a website that includes video in its content is 53x more likely to rank on the first page of a Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Video marketing needs to be an essential part of your online digital strategy. To understand how video optimizes a site’s search engine ranking, we must first delve into the factors that make up that ranking.
Though many factors work together to produce higher page authority, the link is still king. The more users posting backlinks through the form of social shares to a site, the higher and more authoritative that site becomes. This is why informative sites like Wikipedia and review-based sites like Yelp dominate search engine results across many topics. Users visit them for information then share that information with others. Every link back to that site boosts its page authority.
Video is the ideal medium for boosting a website’s SERP ranking, because in one brief audiovisual display, a company can guide a potential client through the parts and processes relevant to that consumer’s needs. With all that information neatly packaged up, it becomes ideal for sharing, three times as much sharing as with just text. Sharing leads to backlinking, backlinking leads to higher SERP ranking.
Video also encourages site visitors to spend more time on a website, even if just to watch the video. Having a video on a page can excite a visitor and encourage him/her to investigate your brand further.
However, simply creating a video does not guarantee an improvement in SERP performance. It has to be engaging. It has to be relevant. It has to be high quality. If the goal is to make your brand go viral the way Dollar Shave became a household name seemingly overnight, you will benefit from incorporating elements of surprise and humor into a 1-3 minute video.
After producing the video, there are a number of ways to display it. Some sites permit direct hosting of video independently of a third party, but for many businesses, this is a costly and unnecessary option.
Posting on Google-owned YouTube pre-optimizes your video for search and opens an additional channel to drive traffic to your website. YouTube videos can also be embedded directly onto your site. Did you know YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world?
Vimeo is also a popular platform for embedding video and distinguishes itself from YouTube as a targeting platform. YouTube users tend to browse widely, while Vimeo provides a more focused channel for directing video views into site visits.
With a top quality video at your fingertips, you can expect up to a 64% increase in sales thanks to an audience lingering on your website longer, according to a comScore study. So there really is no excuse to wait any longer! Contact a Smile TV representative today to learn more about your video future.
Sandy Pedeflous is the founder and CEO of SmileTV Group, a professional video production company that specializes in creating online promotional videos, corporate videos, training videos, YouTube channels and more. SmileTV Group partners with Vende Digital to connect customers to our clients.
