Keywords – search terms that are used to find webpages, videos, images etc related to those keywords – are the building blocks of SEO and video search engine optimization is just the process of letting the search engines know exactly what the focus of your video is so they can return it in the search results based on the user's query. Good video keyword research will help you develop a strategy for video content creation which will benefit not only the video itself but the rest of your SEO campaign.
Of course, there's usually little point in targeting really short-tail keywords like "credit cards", "shoes" or "silver rings"
-
that's a sure fire way of guaranteeing that your video gets lost on
page 68 of Google’s results. Unless you are Barclaycard or Jimmy Choo,
you are simply not going to be able to compete for those kind of terms.
On the other hand, focusing on keywords that attract only a handful of
search traffic per month is also a strategy to avoid. Keyword research,
whilst being a long and sometimes laborious task, is essential for find
the right balance between those high volume but less competitive
keywords and those that just won't be helpful for you.So, what do you do when you've found the right keywords for your video campaign? You should already know that you need to use them in your filename, title tag, description, tags and link text but there are also some tips that can help you take the next step to ranking success through keyword optimization.
Tip 1: Use Analytics to Discover Which Keywords Your Users Search
Keyword research is an ongoing process and it pays to keep an eye on the phrases that bring people to your site. All too often, a business or a brand will make the mistake of optimizing their website for keywords they think the user is searching for as opposed to the vocabulary that the potential client is actually using. Your average customer probably won't find you through industry jargon or insider terms so avoid those at all costs unless you are specifically appealing to a B2B market.
Google Analytics is a fantastic tool for uncovering customer search terms (even after the 'not provided' feature was introduced) and even better, you'll very often come across specific questions that users ask – what could be more perfect than creating a video to answer those questions!
Use the information from Google Analytics (or any other analytics package you have installed) and divide the search terms you find into:
- Those which match current content
- Those for which you don’t yet have any text or video content for.
Tip 2: Use a Max of 2 Keywords for Each Video or Landing Page
I don't mean just use one or two keywords like "London" or "briefcase" but I suggest constructing your title, content and description around one topic rather than several. For instance if you create a video to promote one type of kitchen appliance, make the focus that particular model and it's benefits rather than try and include every other model you produce. It's an old adage but one that's true – websites don't rank, web pages do and if you let the search engines know exactly what the specific focus of the page is, they are more likely to return it high in the search results for a user query rather than one than doesn't have a clear focus. Many site owners make the mistake of uploading their videos to their home page, which is just about OK if it's a microsite based around one subject but more often than not, the video has to compete against the brand, the other models, company info, the latest…….Don’t try to optimize the video or video page for several keywords at once. Keep it simple and clear and you will be rewarded. Which brings us onto tip 3:
Tip 3: Surround Your Onsite Video With Content
So, we know that search engines love relevant, fresh, original, focused content. We also know that we need to help search engines like YouTube, Google & Bing recognise and understand what our video content is all about and the very easiest way of doing that is to add copy to the video landing page. This is actually a lot easier than it sounds especially if:- You've created the video script using the keyword targets found via your keyword research. Just use the transcript for instant, relevant content!
- Without keyword stuffing, you make good use of the header tags on the page
- The URL includes the main target keyword (and the word video – see tip 4).
- Comments are enabled (if applicable). Not only does this send the right signals to Google that the page is 'active' and encouraging user engagement, but the comments themselves may also include variations of the keywords you are targeting.
- You link out to related target elsewhere on the site
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