Is Video Content Good for SEO? Here’s Why It Matters

Ever consider adding videos to your website? Videos can significantly improve your SEO. Google recently carried out a case study demonstrating the potential impact of following video best practices. In fact, 51.07% of mobile search engine result pages (SERPs) in the US feature video content. The numbers are equally impressive across Europe, with 56.5% in Italy, 52.28% in Finland, and 46.41% in the UK.

With so much competition online, businesses need every advantage to stand out. The popularity of video content has exploded because it both captivates viewers and boosts search engine rankings. For businesses, especially those with a strong local presence or multiple locations, video content offers a powerful way to drive traffic and engage potential customers. But the real question is: Is video content good for SEO? The short answer: yes. Let’s explore why video content plays such a significant role in today’s SEO landscape and how you can make the most of it.

Why Video Content is Vital for SEO

Video content has taken center stage in digital marketing, becoming one of the most engaging and effective forms of media for businesses. But why does it work so well for SEO? For starters, search engines like Google prioritise videos in their results, often displaying video snippets at the top of the page. This gives businesses an opportunity to stand out by producing videos that not only attract viewers but also improve rankings. Videos tend to keep users on your website longer, reducing bounce rates, which signals to search engines that your content is valuable.

Additionally, YouTube, the second-largest search engine in the world, provides a huge platform for businesses to promote their services and products through video. Embedding YouTube videos on your website can further boost your site's visibility, helping to increase traffic and engagement. By leveraging video as part of your overall SEO strategy, your business can reach a larger audience while offering users a more interactive experience.

Crafting an Effective Marketing Strategy Using Videos

Building a marketing strategy that includes video is no longer optional—it’s a necessity for businesses aiming to improve their online presence. A well-thought-out video marketing plan not only increases engagement but also has a direct impact on conversions. Studies show that video content on landing pages can increase conversions by as much as 80%.

But where do you start? First, it’s essential to understand your audience and what kind of content resonates with them. Whether you're creating product demos, tutorials, or customer testimonials, each video should align with your brand’s overall message. It’s also important to keep videos concise and to the point. Consumers appreciate clear, valuable content, and the more engaging your video is, the more likely it will be shared, driving additional traffic to your site.

Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook prioritize video content, making it more likely that your posts will appear at the top of feeds. Consistent video output not only helps with SEO but also strengthens your brand’s presence on these channels.

The Benefits of Combining Video and SEO

To take full advantage of video content for your business, it’s important to build and maintain a comprehensive SEO video marketing strategy. By combining video and SEO, you can expect several benefits, including extended session duration, improved click-through rates (CTR), and enhanced backlink generation. Let’s look at some of these in detail:

1. Video Content Extends Session Duration

Videos tend to hold viewers' attention longer than text-based content. This increased session duration signals to search engines that your content is relevant and engaging. The more time people spend on your site, the more likely they are to explore other pages, increasing pageviews per session. Longer session durations contribute positively to your SEO rankings.

2. Video Content Can Increase Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Videos combine sight, sound, and motion, making them highly engaging. A well-crafted video can grab attention, tell a compelling story, and prompt users to click through to your site. This can boost your click-through rate, an important metric that influences SEO.

3. Video Content Enhances Backlink Generation

Video content is more likely to be shared compared to other content types, which increases the potential for valuable backlinks. These backlinks can boost your site’s credibility and SEO performance. Additionally, embedding videos on platforms like YouTube and linking back to your website can drive qualified referral traffic.

How Can You Do SEO for a Video?

Now that we know video content is great for SEO, the next question is: how can you do SEO for a video? Here are some practical steps you can take to ensure your video content is optimised for search engines:

1. Use Keywords in Titles and Descriptions: Make sure your video titles and descriptions include relevant keywords. This helps search engines understand the content and ensures your videos appear in the right searches. For example, using phrases like “video content” and “SEO for videos” can improve visibility.
2. Add Captions and Transcripts: Captions make your videos more accessible and provide extra text for search engines to index. This can enhance your chances of ranking for certain keywords.
3. Create Eye-Catching Thumbnails: Thumbnails are the first thing users see, and a compelling thumbnail can increase click-through rates. A well-designed thumbnail stands out and draws attention.
4. Leverage Structured Data (Schema Markup): Adding structured data to your video pages helps search engines display video snippets more effectively. It also improves the likelihood of your videos appearing in featured snippets.
5. Organise Videos into Playlists: Grouping related videos into playlists on platforms like YouTube helps improve user experience and makes your content easier to find, which indirectly boosts SEO.

By following these steps, you can maximise the SEO potential of your videos and attract more visitors to your site.

Make Your Videos Stand Out on Google

Finding top-ranking topics is one thing, but getting Google to favor your videos is another. Whether you’re creating a YouTube video or a video hosted on your website, you need to ensure that your content stands out. A key way to achieve this is by following Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) guidelines. According to Google’s Page Quality Guidelines, high-quality artistic content—whether it’s videos, images, or written content—should be “unique, original, and created by highly skilled and talented creators.”

If your video covers sensitive topics like health or finance (often called YMYL—Your Money or Your Life—topics), it’s even more important to align with E-E-A-T principles. Google pays particular attention to content quality and trustworthiness, and it closely examines content on these subjects.

How to Conduct SEO for Website-Hosted Videos

To make sure your videos are optimised for SEO, there are several best practices to follow. Let’s go over the most important ones:

• Help Google Find Your Videos: Publish videos on publicly accessible pages that aren’t blocked by robots.txt or meta tags. Place videos on dedicated pages with relevant titles and descriptions. Use appropriate  HTML tags, generate a video sitemap, and ensure videos load directly on the page without requiring complex user actions.
• Make Your Videos Indexable: Ensure that videos are the main content of the page. As of April 2023, Google only shows video thumbnails next to search results when the video is the primary focus of the page.
• Allow Google to Fetch Your Video Content Files: Provide structured data like the contentURL property using supported formats. Make sure the website embedding the video and the website hosting the video are both accessible to search engines, and use unique URLs for each video.

Enable Specific Video Features to Boost SEO

Google offers several SERP features that can help your videos stand out:

• Video Previews: Google may display moving video previews in search results. To enable this, make sure Google can fetch your video files and use the max-video-preview meta tag to specify how long the preview should be.
• Key Moments: This feature divides long-form videos into chapters, helping users navigate to specific parts. You can manually provide timestamps for key moments using structured data or through your YouTube video descriptions.
• Live Badge: If you’re broadcasting a live event, you can mark your video with the BroadcastEvent structured data and the Indexing API to display a Live Badge in search results.

Finding the Right Topics for Your Videos

Generating the right topics is key to improving your video SEO strategy. Start by identifying keywords your site already ranks for that trigger video results, or use tools like SE Ranking to find keywords with video opportunities. You can also find brand-new topics by researching related search queries that are relevant to your business.

Create Videos for Keywords You Already Rank For

Focus on keywords your site ranks for that appear in SERPs with video snippets. Creating videos for these keywords can increase the likelihood of ranking higher in search results and capturing the video snippet.

Find Brand-New Topics for Your Videos

Use keyword research tools to discover new opportunities, targeting search queries that trigger video snippets. Creating video content for these keywords can help you dominate video-rich search results.

Monitoring and Adjusting Your Video SEO Strategy

A dynamic approach to SEO entails continuous monitoring and adjustments based on analytics and performance metrics. Tools like Google Analytics or built-in platform analytics provide valuable insights regarding viewer demographics, engagement rates, and traffic sources. Understanding which videos are most successful can inform future content creation, ensuring alignment with user preferences and expectations. Regularly updating old video content with fresh data, trending keywords, and a modern look can aid in maintaining relevance and retaining rankings on search engine results pages. As trends evolve, staying informed on algorithm updates and shifts in viewer behaviour will ensure your video SEO strategy remains effective, maximising return on investment over time.

Conclusion

Incorporating video content into your marketing strategy is a strategic move for local businesses and franchises eager to enhance their online visibility. Offering substantial benefits for SEO, videos can drive significant engagement and conversion improvements when optimised appropriately. As you continue to develop your digital marketing efforts, make video content a priority to ensure long-term success in an increasingly competitive online environment.