Boost Your Site’s SEO With Video

Videos are amazing at driving conversions. From product demos to testimonials, videos can be incredibly persuasive and help allay buying concerns. So much so that 76% of consumers report they've purchased a product or service after viewing a video.

But a lesser known benefit of video on your website is its ability to boost your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) performance. Engaging high-quality video can provide a significant boost to a website’s SEO score. 

Here’s how to maximize the opportunity for your website.

How video benefits SEO performance

1. A video that engages website visitors will increase dwell time on your site. A key metric tracked by Google.

2. The higher the quality of your content, the more likely you are to get backlinks to your website.

3. It doubles your chances of appearing in search results. Pages with video have the potential to appear in both standard search and video search results. 

Discover more detail below.

Increases dwell time

Studies show that people spend over twice as long on a page with video than without. And when it comes to SEO rankings, the longer a website visitors spends on your site, the better. 

If they spend time reading and interacting with your content, they’re less likely to ‘bounce’ and it’s a clear indication to Google that you are creating something valuable, and that other people will enjoy.

Of course you still want to keep videos short and snappy. Uploading long videos in the hope that they keep a user on your page for hours could have the inverse effect. Aim instead for relevant, high quality video that keeps your visitors engaged and answers their search queries.

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Builds more backlinks to your domain

According to a Moz study, blogs that include videos will attract almost three times more In Linking Domains (ILDs) than a plain text post. And posts with videos, images, and lists will attract almost six  times more ILDs than a plain text post. That’s huge! 

Backlinks are valuable if you’re trying to increase organic traffic to your site because they’re another signal of quality content and authority for Google. If another site finds your content worthy of a banklink, it must be good. As your backlinks grow, so too will your discoverability, providing they are coming from reputable sources. 

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Doubles your SERPs appearances

Pages with video have the potential to appear in both standard search and video search results. This doubles your chances of appearing on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

If you use a Vouch Embed to add video to your page (more on that below) then Google could place a video thumbnail next to the search result. Thumbnails only appear on a quarter of results, so this is a great way to make your page stand out and drive more clicks.

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Unique SEO benefits of Vouch embeds

When you use a Vouch embed to place video on your website, you’ll get all of the benefits listed above - and sidestep a number of pesky limitations from platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. These include:

• Search engines will always attribute any SEO benefit from a YouTube or Vimeo embed back to the respective provider, not your website, restricting the value. 

• In some cases the video on the other networks will actually compete against your site, potentially pushing down your site in results. 

• Users who are watching YouTube videos on your site could get distracted by video suggestions, automatically provided by the platform, impacting conversions.

Using Vouch on your site means that any SEO benefits are attributed to your site and there are no competing links. Even if you use the Vouch Playlink, you can personalize this in your own domain, again providing the SEO benefits back to your domain. More on that here.

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How do you get Vouch videos on your website?

Our embed options are the easiest way to showcase video on your website and look great on both desktop and mobile. Each also has configuration options that help you personalize the look and feel of the video on your site. For example, showing or hiding the questions asked, customer’s name and captions. 

Simply design the look of your embed within the Vouch platform, copy the automatically generated code, and paste it into your website.

Vouch has eight embed styles giving you plenty of options to showcase video in every page and format. You can see how they all look here. 
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FAQs

What Is Video SEO and Why Is It Important for Search Engine Ranking?

Video SEO involves optimizing video content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engines like Google and YouTube. By using relevant keywords, video titles, descriptions, and video transcripts, you can enhance search engine crawlers' ability to index your videos, leading to higher search engine rankings, more organic traffic, and increased visibility to your target audience.

How Can I Optimize My Videos for Better Click-Through Rates (CTR)?

To optimize videos for better CTR, focus on creating engaging video thumbnails, writing compelling video titles and descriptions, and using relevant keywords. Custom thumbnails and meta descriptions can significantly enhance a video's appeal, encouraging more users to click and watch, which improves both CTR and user engagement.

What Role Does a Video Sitemap Play in Video SEO?

A video sitemap helps search engines discover and index your video content more effectively. It provides search engines with information about the video’s title, description, URL, thumbnail, and other metadata, making it easier for your videos to appear in search results, including rich snippets and video snippets.

How Can Video Transcripts Improve Video SEO?

Video transcripts improve video SEO by providing text content that search engines can index, making your video more accessible to a broader audience. Transcripts can also be repurposed into blog posts or articles, which further enhances your content's SEO strategy and increases opportunities for organic search traffic.

How Does YouTube SEO Differ from General Video SEO?

YouTube SEO is specifically focused on optimizing videos to rank higher on YouTube's search engine. This involves using relevant keywords in titles, descriptions, and tags, as well as encouraging user engagement through likes, comments, and shares. YouTube SEO also emphasizes the importance of video thumbnails, video chapters, and regular content updates to maintain visibility and attract prospective customers.

What Are the Best Practices for Using Video Thumbnails in SEO?

Best practices for video thumbnails include creating custom thumbnails that are visually appealing and relevant to the video content. Thumbnails should have clear, high-quality images with minimal text, and should align with the video's target audience and search intent. Effective thumbnails can increase CTR and improve overall video rank on search engines.

How Can I Use Video Content to Drive More Traffic to My Website?

To drive more traffic to your website using video content, embed high-quality videos on your site, optimize them for SEO, and share them on social media platforms. Use relevant keywords, video titles, and descriptions to target specific search queries, and ensure your videos are hosted on video platforms that support SEO, like YouTube. Additionally, include a video sitemap and leverage tools like Google Analytics to track traffic sources and refine your video marketing strategy for better results.

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Like to try Vouch?

Loved by companies like Canva, Nike, Cisco, Stryker, HubSpot, Amazon and more, tools like Vouch make leveraging video in your business remarkably easy.

Be sure to book a Vouch demo today and chat with a video content expert.