Optimising Video on Youtube

 

We all know the importance of SEO on websites, using social media, driving external traffic, and site content & ‘freshness’. However, with the rising importance of video in the marketing arsenal, how can this also be optimised to drive traffic to your website, and ultimately to your business?

Great content.

 

This surely is the place to start. Your video needs to be relevant to the business, and the purpose. Perhaps you are showcasing a new project, service, or product. Or maybe you are introducing yourself, and your team. Or, maybe you are showing some customer testimonials to build credibility.

Where possible, use someone from the business to present or voice the video if this is needed. However, professional voice-over artists can be hired for as little as £15.

Whatever the purpose, professionally made titles, HD footage shot on professional cameras, well lit, and well ‘sounded’ video is critical to portraying your brand in a positive light. The staging of the video is important too. If you’re a crafts expert, then maybe presenting in a business suit might be all wrong. Videos have to be believable. Set them in a way that makes them so.

Remember, that using copyright music on your video will almost always result in restriction on viewing the video, as well as adverts being placed on the video. A turn off to viewers.

 

Inbound links – ie hits

Probably the top influencer when Google / Youtube list vides will be the number of views. Generating these hits will be the result of hard graft, and innovative thinking. How do you get people to watch your life’s work?

• Links on social media, shared by others, and placed on well read pages, placed from your business page (not your personal page).
• Links from your website, other people’s websites.
• Embed video onto your website. It’s easier than you might think.
• QR codes on printed material directing people to the video.
• Offers / discounts linked to the video

 

Your own Youtube page / channel

Your youtube page should be intricately linked to your website, your social media pages from the start. Your page should include your logo, and branding. This will be the base from which you launch videos.

Alternatives exist, such as Vimeo. However, many people publish on both for maximum effect.

 

Optimised video ‘metadata’

 

Here’s where it gets really useful. Your metadata is the video’s name, description, and tags. You can edit these during or after video upload. Place relevant keywords & phrases in here to maximise search results listing your videos

• Title: 140 characters including spaces – more than double the amount with web based titles. This is what Youtube will recognise. Google will strip out the first 60 characters for it’s searches.
• Description: 160 characters – the same as for Google web listings.
• Metatags: These are words or phrases – like keywords in the old days for websites. Don’t have hundreds, but half a dozen may help. These are becoming less important though.

 

Clear relevant video thumbnails

Your video may well appear on PC, mobile, embedded on websites, shared on social media. Your video thumbnail may well appear at the end of ‘similar’ videos. Youtube will default to a selection of stills from the video uploaded. Create and load a bespoke thumbnail image so that people are tempted to click on the video.

 

Video Annotations

Use annotations to highlight offers, product names, your web address during the video. Use them carefully, and place them towards the edge of the video.

Consider multi language annotations for international viewers.

If you operate across international boundaries, either consider getting the voice translated, and voiced, or at least video captioned with translations.