SEO and Videos

By nature humans are intensely visual creatures.  Consider billboards, storefront displays, television, and of course—the World Wide Web.  The visual content of any presentation—be it a movie or a book cover—is crucial to the success and reception of the product.

Recently, a specific type of eye-candy is steadily rising up and gaining momentum on sites across the Internet.  Behold—the rise of the embedded video.  Like most optimization methods, though, there are a few steps to follow in order to make sure that videos are placed effectively and with integrity.

A Step Ahead

Realistically, there are many sites that don’t bother with videos.  They can be time consuming to create, difficult to format, and irritating to update.  Should your page include a video, it puts you a step ahead of the competition.

Most audiences find visual media appealing, and incorporating it into your content could increase your links.  Keep in mind Google’s golden rule though—content and context rule.  Make sure that the video is both relevant and helpful to your users.  Spamming a grip of useless videos will have an antagonistic affect—so don’t abuse a good thing.  Stay true to the organic nature of your site, and you’ll have nothing to fear.

Mixed Results

Google’s mission is to meet the needs of the user.  Subsequently, the algorithm will often turn up results that are a compilation of advertisements, web pages, and—if the shoe fits—videos or pictures.  If a search query didn’t bring up your site based on content (for whatever reason) a video is a smart alternative that could potentially still link to your site.  For example—a search for “dogs in trouble” brings up the results shown below.

The results are a mixed bag of videos, images, and websites.  In the example highlighted above, the site featured is a Christian based video organization.  The original search query contained nothing about religion; however, because the site contains a video compilation of cute, guilty animals, it made the first page of Google results.

Video Specific Searches

Another huge benefit of using media content is that Google has image and video specific search functions.  Results will be pulled from public domains like YouTube and Facebook.  If you decide to use videos that aren’t public, enlist help in creating a video sitemap in order to make your content visible to Google’s algorithms.

Thanks in large part to the rising popularity of The Vines, Instagram, SnapChat, and animated GIF’s, it’s easier than ever to incorporate videos into your site content.  As a general rule, keep them short and sweet in order to maintain relevance and audience attention.  When considering content, keep standby guidelines in mind.  Make sure the video is relevant both to the context and the content, and make sure that it’s incorporated organically.

Webpage video media is underutilized, but if incorporated properly could increase site traffic and links.  Consider creating your own media or using a GIF in your next site update—it may produce added benefits.

Resource Box:  Jameson Ballinger is a writer and web enthusiast. Jameson currently works with Z Networks Group based in Miami and has spent what feels like full decades of his life living and breathing web design, web marketing and analytics.