Busting The Video SEO Myth

There is a lot of marketing myth surrounding video and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). While video is undeniably a powerful tool that enhances user engagement, it isn’t the all-encompassing SEO solution that many claim it to be.

Video is Popular

Make no mistake, video content is incredibly impactful. It’s not just popular with desktop users; smartphones have made it easier than ever to watch video content on the go. According to research by the Local Search Association (LSA), video is projected to account for nearly 80% of all internet traffic by the end of the decade.

Busting The Video SEO Myth

Marketing expenditure on video content is on the rise, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and around the globe increasingly embracing this form of media. However, many SMEs still face challenges. The LSA poll indicated that nearly half of small businesses cite budget constraints and a lack of technical expertise as barriers to utilising video content effectively.

The phrase “a picture paints a thousand words” is widely quoted in marketing and for good reason. If an image paints a thousand words, then moving pictures (video) can captivate us completely, particularly when set to play automatically. Consumers are naturally drawn to visual material and often engage with it more frequently than they do with written content.

SEO and Video Content

Video can indeed benefit your site’s organic ranking, but simply uploading a video will not immediately catapult your page to the top of search engine results. Including video content suggests to search engines like Google that your page has high-quality content, but search engines can only “see” limited data from video files. They can detect when a video is played and how much of it is watched, which can positively impact a page’s ranking if users stay engaged and don’t immediately navigate away.

Video is expected to remain an important factor in SEO algorithms, so integrating it effectively is essential. Here are a few key tips:

• Keyword-Rich Titles: Ensure that your video title includes relevant keywords, positioned as close to the front as possible.
• Transcribe Your Video: This aids accessibility for those who cannot hear the content and provides search engines with text they can index.
• Avoid Uploading Directly: Video files are large and can slow down your site if hosted directly, which will negatively affect your SEO. Instead, host videos on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo.
• Geotagging: Tagging your video with location data can help search engines understand your geographical relevance.
• Meta Tags: Use a couple of relevant meta tags to enhance your video’s searchability.
• Meta Descriptions: Ensure that the page hosting the video has a well-written meta description with your chosen keywords.
• Social Sharing: Post your video on social media channels and link back to the page where it’s hosted on your website.

Making the Most of Video Content

Hosting: I always recommend hosting your video content on YouTube, which is owned by Google. This can give your SEO a helpful boost. By embedding YouTube video links on your site, you avoid the pitfalls of slow site performance. Speed is crucial; over half of users will abandon a page if it takes more than a few seconds to load on their mobile device.

Backlinks: Hosting your video on YouTube or other video platforms offers another advantage—creating backlinks to your site. Quality backlinks still play an important role in SEO and videos can help drive social signals when shared on platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, with links directing traffic back to your site.

Busting The Video SEO Myth

While video is a powerful component of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, it should be seen as an enhancement rather than a magic bullet for SEO. Your website’s foundational SEO must be solid for video to have any significant impact. If those basics are missing—such as proper keyword optimisation, site speed and content quality—video content alone won’t solve your ranking issues.

So, the next time you hear someone say, “Video is great for SEO,” make sure to ask them: “How so?”

For more advice on integrating video into your digital marketing strategy or optimising your site for SEO, contact The Last Hurdle at 01604 654545 or email hello@thelasthurdle.co.uk.