Friday, October 24, 2008

How to Optimize your Videos for Search Engines

By Mark Robertson

If you perform a simple search on video search or video SEO, you will be bombarded with numerous articles that try to explain this technique. Video search optimization, or Video SEO (VSEO) is a new bug that has bitten the world recently. Though it's a new technique, still many companies have started using it aggressively to earn high ranking and more business.

In order to successfully optimize your videos for search engines, it is important that you have some knowledge regarding the various aspects of search as well as the difference in techniques with regard to video.

There is misconception that, keyword research for video content is same as standard organic search or other search verticals. This is not true and moreover, till now there aren't keyword research tools to determine and measure video search results. Before you begin with your actual video search optimization, put together your keyword list. The list can be based on standard search results; however, they should be supplemented with results from news search engine results pages for more appropriate content. At this early phase of online video revolution, video searches at this point tend to be shorter keywords as opposed to "long tail" searches. More than any other piece of advice, make sure you include the word "video" in your keyword list. Examples - car videos, car video, racing video, automotive videos, etc....

The next step after you have generated a keyword list is to take a good look at the video search platforms to see which channels and categories, tags, etc... tend to get the most views, as well as to look at which platforms have the highest performance in views, ratings, etc... You will certainly want to submit your video to multiple sites but you will want to make sure that at the least, you submit your video to the more popular engines.

Well, as you know with keyword research, it is an ongoing process. It is important to pay attention to the feedback, comments, and links to existing related videos to find related keyword terms that you may have missed in your original keyword list.

Studies show that people who regularly provide user feedback tend to take frequent action on your uploaded video. This even includes visits to your actual website and end-point conversions.

It is much easier to get your video optimized and seen on search engine results pages when you are choosing a theme that does not already exist in mass. Dont make the mistake of creating videos that repeat videos already out there. Instead, choose fresh ideas and find a "content space" for your theme/keyword.

Another important factor to know is that typically, users do not watch videos that are long and drawn out. Instead, users want quick snacks of video content, usually viewing no more than a few minutes of a video. If you have a video that is many minutes long, consider creating several shorter clips for your video ranging from 1-3 minutes in total length.

You can even put the actual branding inside the video, such as text or domain name or specific URL as a graphic in the video. Of course, getting users back to your website or business is one great result for doing video SEO in the first place.

So if you wish to succeed in search engine optimization's mad frenzy race, video search engine optimization is an incredible new way to get exposure, and you have the opportunity right now, to get in the ground floor. - 15275

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