Video optimisation is certainly not new, but hundreds of sites still fail to include their video content in their SEO plans. A smart site utilises all of its on-page assets to attract the attention of the search engines. Video content has proven so popular with internet users that you’d be a fool not to use it to the maximum when you SEO.

The basics – what you should know

Any time in the world of search engine optimisation will show you the video optimisation basics. Always place a title on the video, and ensure it contains keywords, place some tags at the bottom to maximise keyword space, label your videos using keywords, and place a brief description below the video to solidify its place in your SEO. All of these things aim to inform the search engines about the sort of content your video contains, and shore up its relevance to the keywords of that page.

Other techniques are not so well-known. Many sites overlook the content within the video, thinking that nothing inside the video footage can be ’seen’ by the search engines. Search engines do scan video content, notably with their flesh filter to detect pornography. Subtitles and titles can sometimes be detected, so these should be optimised as well.

Advanced video optimisation

An oft-overlooked area of video optimisation is the video itself. A short video in the right format will ease the page weight and download time. It is important to keep videos short and light for users as well as the search engines. It is known that download times have an effect on your ranking. It’s even more well-known that a long video won’t be forwarded by users.

Not every internet user has the same video software on their computer. At the same time, optimising five different formats of your video can present difficulties when it comes to the search engines. The answer is to feature one format prominently for the search engines, but have other formats available for users to download. Of course, you could choose to just feature the most common video format and not worry about the users who are unable to download it.

You can use your video content even further by adding tagging and rating features below the video. This increases the amount of user interaction on your site and provides constant content for your page. You can talk to our experts at SEO Consult about video optimisation.

Top user tips

Another part of video optimisation is in using the video’s user appeal to draw users further in to your site. Just as text content can be used to promote other pages with hyperlinks, your videos should include a list of ‘pages you might find helpful’ underneath. This further reinforces the search engine optimisation techniques you have laid down throughout your site, as well as providing handy paths for your users.

The search engines are paying increasing attention to video content. Most searches produce video and image results above the usual page links. If you have video, use it to manoeuvre your site further up in the search engine results.

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