The New Video Era

Think about the last time you looked up something on the internet; it was probably on Google, right? How many of those times did those queries show a video as a result? Yup… almost all of them do. 

Now, consider how the younger generations conduct their online searches. For many, Google isn’t their go-to page. 

Depending on what they’re looking for, platforms like Instagram or TikTok may be their first port of call. When did all of this happen?

The landscape of 2023 surely brought its challenges and shifts in marketing strategies, with the surge of video content emerging as a game-changer.

HubSpot research reveals that 66% of consumers prefer watching videos to learn about a brand or product over reading about them. 

Additionally, last year, “how-to” search queries on YouTube increased by 70%, making this platform a popular search engine.

This trajectory suggests that platforms dedicated to video will only gain momentum in 2024 as more people turn to these mediums for information.

In this video-centric world, the question is: How can we adapt and maintain a competitive edge in our SEO efforts?

What Is SEO

Before fully jumping into Video SEO, we might first need to go over what SEO truly means for your business and what the benefits are. 

We won’t fully go into details about it, but Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of tailoring both the on-page and off-page elements of a website to improve its ranking in search engine results. 

This practice is essential for enhancing online visibility because it makes it easier for potential customers to find a business when they conduct online searches related to that business’s products or services. 

Good SEO involves optimizing content with relevant keywords, improving site loading speeds, ensuring mobile friendliness, and acquiring quality backlinks, among other tactics and funny words.  

If you are new to the SEO game, we really encourage you to take a beginner’s course and learn more about the ins and outs of this practice. 

But the bottom line is that by appearing higher in search engine rankings, businesses can attract more website traffic, increase brand awareness, and gain credibility with targeted audiences.

What is Video SEO 

So, while traditional SEO efforts are fully directed at Google Search Engine Result Pages (SERP), Video SEO is focused on video-based platforms and uses video content to be noticed by the Google algorithm. 

Video SEO focuses on fine-tuning various elements such as video titles, descriptions, tags, transcripts, and file names to improve rankings on SERPs. 

This can look like embedded videos on websites, video tutorials on your product or service, specific hashtags, shorts, reels, TikToks, and video sitemaps.

Why Video SEO Is Essential for Businesses in 2024

Video content boasts higher engagement rates compared to text because it strikes an immediate connection with viewers through storytelling and visual appeal. 

This makes video a powerful tool for brand messaging and customer retention.

Search engines like Google prioritize video content by often placing it above standard text-based pages in search results. This can significantly increase your content’s visibility.

Mobile Usage Surge

With the frequent use of mobile devices, consumers are more likely to engage with video content on the go. Optimizing videos for mobile accessibility and fast load times is crucial.

Social Media Integration

Video content seamlessly integrates into social media, where platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube influence purchasing decisions. 

A strong video SEO strategy ensures that your content surfaces where your audience spends their time.

Competitive Advantage

As more businesses invest in video marketing, the competition for viewer attention intensifies. Video SEO helps you to stand out, ensuring that your content is not just made, but seen and appreciated.

Crafting a Video SEO strategy

So, where do you even start to create a compelling Video SEO strategy? There are a few aspects you will need to know first. 

Let’s delve into how you can create a truly compelling Video SEO blueprint.

Know Your Audience

Sure, knowing your audience is what everybody talks about, and with good reason, but truly understanding their online behavior is essential. 

For Video SEO, you will need to dive deep into the intricacies of your audience’s online behavior to grasp their preferences thoroughly. 

Investigate the platforms they frequent—are they scrolling through TikTok, or are they binge-watching longer YouTube tutorials?  This could range from short-form, snappy videos ideal for social media stories to in-depth, educational content.

Monitor the viewing patterns and engagement levels to identify what type of video content resonates most effectively with them. 

Get your Hashtags Right

Undertaking thorough SEO keyword research is instrumental in aligning your content with the queries and interests of your target audience. 

Utilize these keywords judiciously within your video titles, meta descriptions, and video descriptions to enhance discoverability. 

Furthermore, integrate hashtags strategically to boost your content’s reach on social platforms. These hashtags should not only be popular but also relevant and specific to the content you’re producing, thereby ensuring that your videos surface in the right search results and social feeds.

Plan Your Content Ahead

While embracing emerging trends and viral content can show results, a sustainable Video SEO strategy requires a structure. 

Establish a media calendar that outlines when and what you will post. Differentiate between informational, educational, and entertaining content, as each serves a distinct purpose and will be optimized differently. Always consider its core objective:

• Informational Content

Focus on providing value through tutorials, how-to guides, and explainer videos. Optimize for keywords related to questions and learning opportunities within your industry.

• Promotional Content

Highlight your products or services with persuasive narratives and appealing visuals, ensuring each piece has a clear and compelling call-to-action (CTA).

• Educational Content 

A prime opportunity to demonstrate expertise within your field. Make sure to provide actual helpful content that your audience enjoys. 

Remember, each piece of content should have a well-defined goal—whether to educate, entertain, or convert.

Repurposing your Content 

Once you get a clear strategy, do proper research, and are ready to start creating video content, make sure to get its full potential. 

Unleashing the full potential of your content involves creative repurposing to ensure it resonates across various formats and platforms.

A lengthy, informative YouTube video can be an excellent piece of media, but there’s a whole spectrum of content that you can derive from, like YouTube shorts, TikToks, blogs, Instagram pictures, and more. 

The Power of Podcast

That’s why we at Two Brothers Creative believe in the power of podcasting to create an all-in-one strategy that puts video content as the main marketing focus. 

By creating a podcast that focuses on helping the user, you can also drive results on the rest of your social media and improve your Video SEO efforts. 

Video Podcast

Nowadays, people are used to watching their favorite podcasts instead of just listening to them, so this will be our primary media content, the most lengthy one. 

This can be broadcast on YouTube and other social media that permit longer-form videos. 

Traditional Podcast

From the podcast video, we extract and utilize the pure audio format, appealing to the ever-growing podcast audience who favor audio consumption on the go.

Youtube Shorts, Reels, and TikToks

We produce shorter pieces of content suitable for sharing quick insights and attracting viewers with shorter attention spans. This will pique their interest and cause them to go looking for more. 

We do this by taking interesting parts of the podcast and leveraging them into shorter-form content. 

Make sure to take understandable, interesting, or valuable bits of your podcast, use viral audio or effect to give it more visibility.

SEO Blog Posts

Blog posts optimized for SEO will help you improve your website site and create content for that part of your audience that prefers to read content. 

Transcript

Transcribing your podcast content does more than make your material accessible; it boosts traditional SEO efforts by providing search engines with additional text to index. 

Think of it as extra copy that you can use to get keywords and make it available for those who would rather read than listen to a podcast. 

This results in a richer source of keywords and topics that improve your website’s search relevancy.

Quotes

Quotable moments from your content can become powerful social media assets. 

They can be creatively repurposed into visually appealing graphics suitable for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Strategically sharing this variety of content ensures that each piece complements the others, creating a symphony of media that caters to different preferences and platforms.

Video Elements: How to Do Video SEO

So, before you go and post all your videos and star-making blogs and quotes, make sure you are posting them the right way to optimize your content. 

Craft Compelling Titles

The title of your video is the first impression viewers have, so make it count and make it SEO effective.

• Use Keywords Wisely: Incorporate your main keywords towards the beginning of your title for better SEO impact while maintaining a natural flow.

• Be Clear and Concise: Aim for titles that are straightforward and give viewers a clear idea of what to expect—usually under 60 characters to ensure it displays well on most platforms.

Evoke Curiosity

Create intrigue without resorting to clickbait. Titles that pose a question or hint at a story tend to perform well.

Implement Strategic Hashtags

Hashtags can increase the visibility of your video content; they are also good for categorizing your content. 

Research Trending Hashtags

Use tools to find popular and trending hashtags relevant to your video’s topic.

Relevance is Key

However, just use those hashtags that work for your content and accurately reflect the subject matter of your video to reach the right audience.

Don’t Overdo It

While platforms differ in the optimal number of hashtags, Instagram, for example, recommends using between 3 to 5 relevant hashtags per post for maximum engagement.

Write Engaging Copy

The copy that accompanies your video be it the description on YouTube or the caption on social media, should:

• Include a Call to Action (CTA): Encourage viewers to like, subscribe, comment, or follow a link. Make it clear what you want them to do next.

• Optimize with Keywords: Just like your title, incorporate relevant keywords to improve searchability.
• Provide Context: Give an overview of the video’s content, which can be a teaser or a summary, to entice viewers to watch.

Craft Effective Subtitles

Subtitles can significantly boost engagement and accessibility; they help viewers understand the content better, especially if they speak different languages or have hearing difficulties.

As part of the video metadata, subtitles can be crawled by search engines, improving discoverability.

Tools like Rev or VEED can generate accurate subtitles, saving you time and ensuring quality.

Optimize Thumbnail Images

A thumbnail is a visual representation of your content’s value proposition, so make sure to always use high-resolution images to create a professional look.

Add a brief, bold text overlay on the thumbnail to provide context or highlight the core message.

Make something that people really want to click on. 

End Screens and Annotations

End screens and annotations can direct viewers to other content:

• Promote Related Videos: Suggest additional content at the end of your video to keep viewers engaged with your channel.
• Incorporate Subscribe Buttons: Remind viewers to subscribe to your channel with a visual cue during the end screen.

Quality Matters For Video SEO

It’s pivotal to remember that at the core of any successful video SEO strategy lies a non-negotiable element: quality.

While SEO efforts play a significant role in video marketing, The ultimate goal of SEO is to drive traffic, but once the viewers have arrived, it’s the quality of content that determines the level of engagement, sharing, and the value they derive from it. 

High-quality, valuable content is what compels viewers to stay, interact, and convert into loyal followers or customers.

Users are seeking more than just entertainment; they are looking for substance. Videos that provide educational insights, real-world applications, and genuine storytelling resonate far deeper with audiences than those made purely for SEO purposes.

Furthermore, the quality of your video, audio, and edition also plays a big part; make sure to invest in the right equipment, software, and team; here is our free guide to starting to make quality content. 

Hire Professional Video SEO Services

With all this being said we know that running a business is time-consuming; Entrepreneurs and business owners often find themselves stretched thin, managing multiple aspects of their operations, and getting into the nitty gritty of an SEO strategy can seem impossible.  

With the complexity and ever-changing nature of SEO strategies, it becomes necessary to stay on top of the latest trends and algorithm updates. 

This is where professional Video SEO services come into play, offering expertise and time-saving benefits.

But what should you look for when hiring these services?

• Expertise: These services bring on board specialized knowledge and experience in optimizing video content. 

This includes understanding the technical aspects like metadata, keywords, and search algorithms, as well as the creative elements that increase engagement and viewer retention.

• Time Efficiency: Delegating the intricate work of Video SEO to professionals should free up valuable time for business owners, not taking more time out of your day.  Make sure that you hire an expert who can take all the responsibility. 

• Understanding of Your Niche: The agency should have a good grasp of your industry and target audience. 

Tailored strategies that resonate with your market segment are more likely to yield successful results.

• Transparency and Reporting: Effective communication is key. Ensure that the service you choose offers transparent reporting on their activities and the subsequent results. 

Regular reports and analysis will help you understand the ROI of your investment.

• Cost: While budget considerations are important, be wary of services priced well below market rates. 

Remember, effective SEO is an investment, and you often get what you pay for.

Opting for professional Video SEO services isn’t just about achieving better search rankings; it’s about creating a sustainable and scalable content strategy that drives true value and growth for your business.

Contact Two Brothers Today

Ready to start making quality content and increasing your online visibility? Ready to elevate your marketing game? 

At Two Brothers Creative, we’re not just passionate about what we do; we like to share our knowledge with others and help their business grow. 

Unlock the full potential of marketing for your business growth.