Four Search Engine Optimization Reasons To Start Video Marketing That You May Have Overlooked
“Why should I do video marketing?”
A great question from one of our clients the other day. It made us realize that some small businesses may not have had the opportunity to learn about some of the benefits of video marketing in terms of reaching their internet marketing plan goals e.g. 1) increasing visibility online 2) achieving higher search engine rankings 3) attracting new leads in new places 4) outperforming your competition.
To help demystify video marketing a little, here are four search engine optimization (SEO) related reasons to start video marketing:
1. Boost Google and other search engine “organic” rankings.
Did you know latest data shows that videos are fifty times more likely to show up on page one than a text-based html web page? That’s 50:1.
Google controls through its own algorithm which types of content on the web become more visible than others, and that algorithm evolves constantly. Right now, videos, news, social media sites and local listings are continually getting higher rankings than traditional online media like static websites. Video marketing is a booming, growing industry because of its unique impact on marketers ability to achieve their online marketing goals and its ability to solve a problem that a traditional website can not always solve: obtain exposure and visibility online immensely. Combine that with the viral potential of videos (through social media they can be shared easily and spread virally across the internet through networks) and you can quickly see why YouTube grew to what it is today.
2. Attract attention away from other listings with text plus a picture.
Bottom line: videos have great visibility and stand out in the search results. Where a website listing only shows text (the title of your website and description) in the search results, video also shows a picture or “thumbnail” in the search results, in color (see below image). This means with video you have a higher chance of catching someone’s eye, engaging them, and getting them to click on your video when they are deciding which web content to click on.
Plus, videos are most frequently found on page one results in top positions, and they can easily be searched for through Google’s updated search format which includes a “Videos” link in the left margin. If you are skeptical, type in “Decorative Painting” and you will see videos show up in high places online for those keywords. Would you rather look through every website or do think you are likely to click on a video? Now put yourself in the shoes of your prospects.
What stands out more, a video or a web page? Which would you click?
3. Videos show up in Google faster i.e. they tend to “Index” quickly.
Especially if you have a campaign that is on a short timeline or you just need to get your web presence significantly improved quickly, video marketing is a powerful internet tool.
When you make a promotional video and submit it to video marketing sites like YouTube, Viddler, etc. often the videos will show up in Google search results on page one within a matter of hours or less than a business day. With the exception of sites such a Twitter that allow people to search in real-time, getting this faster visibility and results is normally not possible unless you put up paid advertising, which can be very costly.
By contrast, when you make an update on your website or put up a new webpage, it often takes weeks for Google to visit your page, acknowledge updates and then present them to people in search results. Video = Faster Marketing.
4. Multiple listings on page one of Google means fewer for your competitors.
The more real estate you have on page one, the higher the chance people searching online will find your business first. With proper internet optimization, you could have your website, a local Google/Yahoo/Bing business listing, and a video, all on page one for your keywords. You could also have a press release and article show up as well, creating a dominating “all roads lead to you” effect.
Video marketing is one piece of this puzzle that can help you stand out from among your competitors, many of whom will have limited their search engine optimization strategy to optimizing their website only.
Bonus benefit: When you dominate the first page with several listings, you have the added benefit of moving your competitors down the page, or off the first page entirely.
Please stay tuned for upcoming posts on video marketing to complete our video marketing blog series.
Post 1: Why you should do video marketing
Post 2: How to make sure your video is found online
Post 3: How to do video marketing right learning from real, Long Island small businesses
Feel free to comment below to the Long Island marketing blog, contact our Long Island marketing consultants at Upside Business Consultants with your comments, or join up on Twitter @upsidebusiness.
Reference Terms: video marketing for small businesses, long island video marketing, why should I do video marketing, video seo, reasons to start video marketing, video marketing for the search engines, how to increase visibility with video marketing online.
