Video is the place to be in this day and age, so the fact that you are reading this, trying to get your video in even more searches, is going to get you to the top even quicker. Many brands are catching on now that you almost can’t be successful without some kind of animation, but not everyone has realized that it takes more than quality work to get yourself seen.
SEO (search engine optimization) for video is not difficult, and not much different than any other kind of media. The goal is always to use as many ways as possible to be picked up by the “bots” that run search engines. The more often your video comes up in the algorithms of the bots, the higher you show up in the search engine results. It’s all about keywords and where they can be found.
How do you find the right keywords? Is there such a thing as a wrong keyword?
While there may not be wrong keywords, there are definitely some that are “more right” than others. If you have created a video about gardening for beginners, you may not want to use very specific plant names as keywords. A beginner won’t be searching for Latin names. To find the best keywords to add to your SEO, you will need to research other videos similar to yours, with a similar audience, to see what worked for them. Alternately, you can test your expected keywords to see if the videos that come up are similar to yours.
As for those many different ways to enter the algorithms of the search engine bots? Here are a few ways to make sure your work is seen:
Quality
This attribute may not directly affect your SEO, it will protect your reputation. Before you publish ANYTHING online, you need to make sure it is the best work you have. If your video is seen, and seen to be shoddy, then even the better work that is published by your brand will have that reputation. There may be no way to recover from someone’s bad opinion of you, so all the SEO in the world won’t bring you another click if you turn out poor quality work.
Title
Your title is the your first opportunity to introduce your keywords, so do your best to put them up front. If someone is looking to read an article about new movies, their eyes (and the bots’ “eyes”) will go first to something with the title of “New Movies You Don’t Want to Miss” before they go to something like, “If You’re Looking for Action, Don’t Miss These New Movies.”
However, with all use of keywords, make sure the usage flows naturally. Getting a bot to pick up on your keywords will get you listed in a search, but a real human user will only click on your video if it sounds right to them.
Bots pick up your keywords from text only, and not from the videos themselves. That’s why the video description is the best place to soak up your SEO. Not everyone takes advantage of this keyword-rich gold mine, which will also help put your video up toward the top. Fill your description area with as much relevant information and as many keywords as will sounds natural. It’s also not a bad idea to include a transcript of the audio in your description. It will be filled with your keywords, and will tell the user exactly what they are going to find in your video.
Tags
Tags are another way you can let the bots know what keywords you are aiming for. Some programs limit the number of tags you can add, so you will need to be selective when choosing. What words would your target audience most likely enter into a search engine? You might even think of adding a similar, but better-known brand to your tags if you want to let people know what your product can be compared to. Tags are a key component for SEO, so never skip them.
Input
Even comments that are entered by users can factor into your SEO. Good reviews, bad reviews, even just the short and sweet ones. They all count as text. So even if an irate follower trolls you in the comments, the bots will still pick up the number of times he says your keyword, and you win! You’ve moved up on the search.
Sitemaps
Though sitemaps may seem complicated to beginners, they really add depth to your website and are pretty easy to create. And just like the name indicates, they give direction to the bots as they try to categorize your site components. When a bot enters a sitemap, it will easily detect the media you have used, thus making it easier for them to list your video on searches in the right area.
SEO may sound complicated and optional, but it’s something you are doing whether you know it or not. The question is, how well are you using it? Make the most of this tool by incorporating the most information into the right places so that your video stands out above the rest.
