Video Marketing SEO
When video is compelling, people tend to pay more attention compared to reading a static article. A video can capture someone's attention longer than any other form of advertisement.
YouTube, being the second largest search engine in the market, has made video marketing a viable path to drive tons of traffic to any website. Why does it work so well? When the video is compelling, people tend to pay more attention compared to reading a static article. A video can capture someone’s attention longer than any other form of advertisement. Super Bowl ads are a perfect example.
Amazing Video Marketing Statistics
Here are just a few statistics regarding the efficacy of video marketing:
- Videos increase people’s understanding of your product or service by 74 percent.
- More than 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube – that’s almost an hour for every person on Earth.
- More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month.
- Seventy-five percent of executives watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week.
- Website visitors are 64 percent more likely to buy a product on an online retail site after watching a video.
Self-Hosted vs. Video-Sharing Websites
One of the biggest discussions regarding video marketing is where to host the videos. In order to answer this question, it is necessary to consider the following:
- What is the main goal of your videos?
- What type of videos will be produced?
- What audience will watch the video?
- What is the budget for producing and hosting the video?
Content Matters
When considering where to host video, another aspect to consider is the type of video you will be producing. There are a great number of videos you can produce to achieve different results and that can affect where the video should be hosted.
Videos like interviews and webinars may work better if self-hosted. Content to be shared in video sites (YouTube) would be videos like how-to, event promotions, or recaps. Product review and testimonial would work for any case, either self-host or third-party sites.
Making a Case for YouTube: At first glance, it looks like YouTube should be the default choice to host videos. It is considered more powerful and complete than any third party or self-hosted competitor. It also provides features that don’t require a lot of coding.
It’s straight-forward to optimize key elements of a YouTube-hosted video in order to help the video rank for targeted keywords. Plus, YouTube is owned by Google. So the largest search engine on the planet has a direct line to performance data surrounding videos hosted here.
The Argument for Self-Hosting Videos: There are some advantages to hosting video on your own website. Primarily, if optimized well, hosting the videos is a good idea because it means your website can show up in the search engine results pages (SERPs) instead of YouTube. Additionally, by self-hosting you have the flexibility to brand it any way you want to.
On the other hand, the cost to host the videos can put a dent in your profits. Also, there are a lot of issues with video formats and complex coding. For many, YouTube is simply the more efficient answer.
The Rundown
Third-party and self-hosted advantages:
- Shows up in the SERPs for your own domain
- Brandable video player
- Powerful way to acquire back links through video sharing and embeds
Third-party and self-hosted disadvantages:
- Expensive to maintain
- Convert the file into different formats
- Possible limited exposure
Video sharing sites advantages (YouTube):
- Extremely easy to manage the videos
- Massive audience
- Bigger chance to rank in SERPs
- Cost-free
Video sharing sites disadvantages (YouTube):
- Hard to target the right audience
- Issues with copyright and piracy
- Regional restrictions
- Advertisement (sometimes form competitors)
Conclusion
Video marketing is a very powerful tool for any online marketing campaign. Not taking advantage of video marketing is a significant missed opportunity for any business.
Videos are a very powerful tool to increase sales and leads. They are easier to recall and can be very influential in a user’s decision-making process. Higher engagement rates, higher click-through rates, and higher conversion rates are all common for businesses that effectively utilize video marketing. The question is why would you leave all that value sitting on the table?
What successes or challenges have you had with video?
Image via Shutterstock.
