Everyone who practices SEO understands how difficult and unpredictable Google ranking is. So why is it worth placing an emphasis on video in promotion?
Video promotion is a very effective technique. It allows you to increase the number of clicks on your resources significantly. Video content is a real hacking in the search engine, and there are two reasons for this. Video is much easier to navigate than regular text materials. Moreover, in such a way you get more clicks. It's definitely a victory!
Forgotten Third
Focusing on Google and Facebook with perseverance, many users forget about Youtube. And in the meanwhile, this is the third most visited site in the world that receives over 3 billion views a day. Not using such a powerful source of traffic is an unforgivable error in promotion. Using video promotion, you can easily forge ahead to the top places in the search engines. Below there are the impressive data that prove the effectiveness of this technique:
- The chance to move forward to the first page in Google search is increased 53 times for video content;
- In search results Video has a clickthrough rate (CTR) 41% higher than normal text results.
This is a proven fact that people trust to videos, especially to sound videos with a presenter in shot, much more than text materials. Follow this guide, and watch the growing traffic flow!
Step 1. Decide On The Keywords That Are to be Used for Promotion.
Keywords for video are the keywords that are used to display video content most often in Google search results. Here is a list of the keys that usually have video results:
- Reviews,
- Guidelines,
- How (to do something),
- Fitness and sports,
- Funny video.
Long Tail or Broad Match?
It is worth deciding how you will promote the video - on demand with a long tail or with a broad matching. Under the long tail we understand narrowly-directed queries, for example "a small black dress with rhinestones to buy," while a broad-match query will look like a "black dress". If you can combine these approaches, you will get quick results with a long tail keys. Moreover, you will be able to promote with broad match key phrases.
Step 2: Download and Optimize
Video Optimization
Replace the file name with the key phrase before downloading. For example, "chernoe-platje.mp4"
Video Title
- The first 55-60 characters of the title are displayed in Youtube and Google search results, so it will be right to place the key phrase at the very beginning, and if possible to place a call to action a little bit further.
- If your business is purely local, use a phone number! The user does not even have to watch the video to call you in case he is interested in your products or services.
- Create a title that will serve as a user promt. You can find examples by typing a keyword in Google search and reading the advertisements.
- Use primary and secondary key phrases, if possible.
Do Not Repeat Keywords
- Use the available number of characters for the title.
- Do not add irrelevant keywords, but do not hesitate to add the right keys and extra words to make the title reasonable and contain appeal for an action.
Description
- If we speak about Youtube, the more words there are in your video description, the higher your chances of being found in the search. There are 5000 characters available to compose the description. Use them to the full.
- It is necessary to add 300-600 words (with a frequency of 1-2 keys per 100 words) to the main description before any links are revealed. Using mid-frequency and long-tail queries, place the keyphrases under your video. Do not overuse repetitions, as it can lower the video's rating due to overspam.
Tags
Add as many relevant key phrases and words as the tags can contain. Do not forget to browse Youtube search results to find out more about competitors, especially about those ones that get a lot of views.
Category Selection
Choose the category that best suits your video and in which your competitors are barely represented. Do not reinvent the wheel, trying to cram the video into those categories where it will be out of place.
Step 3: Channel Optimization
Create a separate Gmail account for each niche and use it for the channel. In order for accounts to look real, it's important to do the following:
- Subscribe to several mailings so that your Gmail's email looks active.
- Add several calendar events to Google Calendar.
- Create or upload several documents to Google Docs.
- Fill out the Google+ profile and add an avatar that looks real, add some description to complete the image of an ideal user.
- Publish all your Youtube content in your profile. This feature is available when uploading videos, so you do not even have to go to Google+ to make a post.
- Subscribe to 30-50 people at least representing the audience to which you appeal in the videos.
- Include the main keyword in the channel name.
- Fill in the channel keys.
- Optimize the channel description.
- Add a photo that corresponds to your niche.
- Add links to your sites and videos.
- Create a welcome video (it is your most important content).
Step 4: Work on Backlinks
The complex approach provides with the best results in promotion. This approach consists in the following: you work not only to get standard links from various sites, but also to distribute embedded videos. Promote with the help of:
- blogs,
- web2.0 (social networks),
- press releases,
- social bookmarking,
- catalogs of articles,
- question and answer services,
- thematic forums,
There are other resources as well. The more sources of backlinks you will cover the better.
Step 5. Do not Forget About Other Ranking Factors on Youtube
Do not forget that nowadays the quality of content plays an increasing role. And, of course, the criteria for text materials and for videos will differ.
Viewing Time
- Create high-quality content that will keep the user's interest. The quality bar is different for different niches (for example, for a channel oriented to a local audience, and for a channel about high technologies).
- Add annotations to your videos with links to other videos related to yours.
- Use in your video functions that will allow the previews of other channel videos with their links to appear. It is better to place such links at the moment where half of the viewers usually decide to close the video (you need to collect the statistics of views and analyze it).
Number of Views
- Send a video by e-mail to all contacts that may be interested in this.
- Embed a video in the sites with thematic traffic.
- Promote your video in social media.
Number of Playlists to Which Your Videos Were Added
- Create playlists on your channel and group existing videos there.
- Ask your viewers to create playlists with your videos.
- Hold a contest, in which the users will create playlists with your videos, stimulate subscribers` activity with prizes.
Subscriptions, Comments and Video Sharing
- Put some questions to subscribers in your videos.
- Ask them to leave feedbacks, subscribe to the channel and share the video with friends and acquaintances.
- Do not forget to ask for it in the e-mail newsletter if you distribute the video in such a way.
- Respond to comments as users are very fond of it.
Additional Hints and Life Hacks
Ways to Get More Views
- Watch your video yourself using all available devices such as a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone and tablet.
- Place your video in social networks and ask for some feedbacks.
- Use fraud clicks, but do not overdo with it. A small help at the start will be appropriate, but the excessive number of views received too quickly, will signal search algorithms about a dishonest game, and your money will be spent in vain.
- Add a link to your most recent video to the signature in your personal mail. People with whom you correspond, are likely to treat you kindly, and will be interested in watching your video.
- Does Youtube have a channel that is dedicated to your topic? Use its name as a tag to your videos, so that they can get in the category with similar videos.
Special Techniques
- Use Hangouts for video whenever it is possible.
- Use Google's Keyword Planner service. It's easy to use it, just copy the url of your video and paste it into the planner field so Google scans your video.
- Record a lot of videos using the right keywords that will allow you to dominate the chosen topic.
- When people comment on your videos, you should answer them. It will pick the users` interest.
- Fight against marks about unacceptable content. If your video has been flagged, contact technical support and clarify the situation so that the mark is removed.
- The user-defined length of the videos is constantly changing, so keep your hand on the pulse and try to create content with an optimal duration. Of course, if you are able to make very interesting videos that can catch viewers` attention for 20-30 minutes or more, you do not have to follow this recommendation.
By following these tips, you will be able to attract additional traffic to your website, blog or online store. Of course, this is not a full list of actions that help in your video promotion, but it contains the main points that will provide you with success.
