10 Tips for Increasing Your Video SEO Ranking in 2020
Make videos work for you in 2020
When starting off a new year, every business plans to execute a successful marketing tactic. These plans usually include a digital strategy to increase traffic to, and conversions from, your website. One of the hidden gems that can really help on your website is video. I have put together a list of 10 tips that you can implement, which can all help to boost your video SEO ranking.
1. Keyword Research
All SEO success stories begin with keyword research. If you don’t want to pay for a keyword research tool, you can always use Google’s free “Keyword Planner” tool.
Instructions for logging into Google’s free keyword tool can be found here: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6325025?hl=en
You’re looking for keywords that users are actually using in their searches. Without proper keyword research, you’re unlikely to rank for anything.
2. Create a Landing Page for Each Video
If you want to optimize for any particular keyword, the keyword needs to permanently live on its own dedicated landing page. Never try to optimize multiple pages for any single keyword. That’s called “keyword cannibalization” and it’s an SEO-killer. Each page should have a unique job to do. Providing a home for your strategically-important keyword is its job. Choose your keywords well!
3. Add Structured Data
This is the information that gets passed along when a user shares a video on a social network, like Facebook or Twitter. Without structured data, Google will either attempt to create its own structured data by “scraping” the page content, or it may simply skip the meta data entirely.
Here’s the thing: Nobody is going to click on a search result that contains no image and no description.
The structured data will include the following attributes of your video:
• Name
• Description
• Thumbnail URL
• Upload Date
• Duration
• Embed URL
To create the structured data, modify the code below with your video attributes, then place the snippet into the <head> of the page code:
<script type="application/ld+json">{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "VideoObject",
"name": "This is the Name of Your Video",
"description": "This is the descriptions for the video, which is what will get the users to click on the video - so make it good! Also, do not copy the description from the Meta Description, since that can trigger a duplication penalty.",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://your-website.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/15-name_of_thumbnail.jpg",
"uploadDate": "2019-12-14",
"duration": "PT6M22S",
"embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/4ZQ6UxEzpB8"
}</script>
Note: When writing the Title and Description, keep in mind that you should follow the same guidelines as when creating regular Meta Data on any other post or page. Craft your title and description carefully, allowing your keyword research to inform which keywords are most appropriate for your purpose (high-volume and relevant). Also, your description should be longer than a typical Meta Description – at least 250 words!
4. Include Link to Website
Remember to include a link to your website in the video description. Not only does it improve user experience by allowing the user to simply click-through to your site, it also provides additional SEO value.
5. Video Transcript
This is an opportunity to increase SEO value while also improving accessibility. The transcript should be written to include words that help describe the topic shown in the video. These words are not only read by your users, they are also indexed by Google, so make them count. Remember to write naturally, and do NOT “keyword stuff” in an effort to increase rankings for a particular keyword.
6. Thumbnail
Video platforms like YouTube will automatically generate a thumbnail for the video. That’s not good enough. You can increase the CTR by up to 30% by creating a thumbnail image that inspires users to click.
Top Tip: Ask yourself if you would click on your thumbnail if you saw it on a page with 30 other competing video thumbnails. If the answer is “no,” select a more engaging thumbnail image.
7. Optimize the Landing Page
Just as you would optimize any other page, a video landing page should have all technical SEO optimized, including: Meta Title, Meta Description, image ALT attributes, H tags, and body copy.
Don’t forget to choose a focused keyword for the page!
8. Encourage Social Signals
Every time somebody shares your video, or embeds it into their own page, it’s like casting a vote for your video. Encourage your viewers to share the video! The sharing of great content is how you build your audience, which is also an essential component of effective long-term SEO.
9. PPC
Optimizing for SEO is hugely important, but it should not be the only method for promoting your video. Combining organic SEO optimization with a Pay-Per-Click campaign can be a very powerful way of increasing your video’s ranking, as well as a great way of getting the most reach in the shortest amount of time.
10. Quality Control
2020 will be the year of E.A.T.
This acronym stands for: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. When creating video, pay attention to the value of the video to the viewer. Is it answering a question? Is it showing your product or service in the best light? Does it represent your brand?
Also, video and audio quality matter. All video content should be as high-quality and professional as possible. It doesn’t have to be 4k video with professional narration, animated graphics, and a guest appearance by Morgan Freeman – it just has to be clean, professional, and have original content.
You should also keep all videos under 10 minutes, if possible. The average viewer loses attention between 10-18 minutes into a video.
Keep your audience engaged!
Next Step
I hope that this list helps you create a successful 2020. If you have any questions about what is listed above, give us a call. We work with our clients to not only help fix SEO woes, but to also review, analyze, and help with their entire Digital Marketing strategy, if needed.
