A Guide To Optimizing Video Content

How To Optimise Video For Web

Since your digital marketing campaign needs to have a clear and defined goal, think about why you are making the video and whom you are making it for, before getting into the process of video production. Keep in mind a few things before writing your video scripts, like the emotions you want to evoke in your audience and why, the target buyers to which the video will appeal, and the actions you want your leads to take after watching your content. Reviewing these things before making your video will help you develop content that is perfectly optimized for your specific audience.

Entertain and Inform Your Audience

The process of optimizing video for your business is to first produce great content that entertains and informs your audience, then to guarantee as many people see it as possible. Invest in storytelling. If the content has value, it will get views and will rank well. Get the highest quality in your production, lighting, storytelling, content, and editing. We’ll reveal more about the technical aspects of optimization, but right away if the content doesn’t entertain or inform the viewers, it will not get the desired views, engagement, and branding.

Research Keywords

Once you have chosen the topic and content of your video, analyze which keywords people are searching for. Research the popular phrases, list-out the keywords your competitors are using, and plan where you’ll use those terms. Use them in the description box, the title, or the URL on your own website.

Pay Attention to the URL

When hosting a video, ensure (where possible) that the URL reflects what visitors may be searching for. A strong URL is equally important for technical SEO as video optimization. Avoid naming your URL with a term that users aren’t seeking. This strategy only applies to your website because YouTube doesn’t permit you to create your own URL. However, you can still host your YouTube video on a blog page on your website. And under certain conditions, YouTube allows custom URLs based on things like your display name or username.

Optimize Your Video Title

Titles and thumbnails are the first things viewers notice when looking for videos. Make sure your title is catchy and employs targeted keywords. Put the most important information first, and use your keyword in the title (only if it makes sense). Try to keep your character count to 60 or less as long titles become condensed in a search and viewers miss important information. Refrain from using clickbait tactics as they might lead viewers to your content, but if the content is irrelevant, they won’t come back.

Create a Detailed Description

YouTube provides you with the opportunity to write a detailed description of your video. This is your opportunity to inform the search engines exactly what content your video contains. The best way to stand out from the crowd is with your description and thumbnail. Focus on your targeted keywords within the description box along with semantic or related keywords. Keep in mind to avoid keyword stuffing, which could negatively affect rankings.

Don’t Ignore Metadata

Metadata is essential for most content you add to your website because it is read by search engines and is the on-page version of the “description” option found on Vimeo, YouTube, or other video hosting platforms. So, don’t ignore this.

Choose Tags Cautiously

Let’s say your video is related to mobile phone technology, you could tag a well-known YouTuber tech reviewer who has a lot of subscribers. Viewers searching for content related to phones and electronics will be presented with content where the tags relate to the subject. As this YouTuber’s reviews and their channel are popular and, in this case, relevant – you may find yourself in a list of ‘recommended’ suggestions on YouTube. Just keep tags targeted and on-brand.

Choose the Best Thumbnail for Your Video

Thumbnails are highly important for getting clicks on your video. Titles and thumbnails are the first things people see when browsing for videos. The majority of the best-performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails. Research completed by YouTube Creator Academy states that adding a thumbnail with a person who is looking directly at the camera captures the most attention from viewers.

Add Captions or Subtitles

YouTube provides an option for automated captioning, but it often contains misspellings or errors. One of the best YouTube video optimization techniques includes uploading your own captions for not only optimizing your videos but also for Google and other search engines. Subtitles inform search engines and hosting platforms what your video is about and what it contains.

Encourage Longer Watch Times

YouTube always rewards videos with high audience retention. You can increase viewer engagement and satisfaction by creating a strong opening, adding cards to promote the video, playlist, or channel, link to an approved website, adding end screens to the last 5-20 seconds of a video to promote other videos, get subscribers, or encourage notifications, and creating playlists.

Connect Your Business

Use the link options to connect your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram accounts. YouTube looks at complete brand awareness and compares your ranking to your expertise and popularity on their site, and across other social media.

Engage with the Viewers

Engagement is a huge factor in YouTube video optimization. Likes and comments are the default engagement metrics to go for, but you should also create ‘conversations’ with your viewers and respond to their comments where possible. Don’t forget to promote your videos to existing audiences. YouTube ads are relatively budget-friendly and you can target by interest, keyword, and custom audiences. You may not be able to directly increase your views, but if you market your video in the right way, it’s likely that your views will increase.

Video SEO Marketing

Optimizing videos may seem challenging, but once you understand the process and do it correctly a few times, you’ll see better results. Employ the right steps to make sure your videos are relevant for both users, and searchers, and the sky’s the limit.

Thinking about getting a Video SEO specialist on board who can help your Videos grow and increase your business ranking? Get in touch with our social media experts today. We offer bespoke Video SEO marketing strategies to help you build more engagement and make your brand grow.