The phrase Content is King has been repeated so many times that it is now considered almost cliche in the way it’s being touted in every single piece that ever mentions SEO, content, or digital marketing in general. Sure, most people associate the royalty of Content with a new direction in Google’s approach to search engine algorithms - but not many know that the Content is King dictum had been repeated over and over again before Google as well. In fact, one of the first to ever say it was none other than Bill Gates - and he did it back at the end of the 90s.
Old or new, overused or not, Content is King stays as true today as it ever did. It doesn’t even matter which segment of the digital marketing spectrum you work - content will always rule the online world. And it’s not just written content that is king over the digital marketing industry, but video as well! Why is video content so important and how can it contribute to SEO?. We have some tips for you - so read on and find out more.
According to the latest studies, the rate at which video consumption is growing is of no less than… 100%. That means that twice as many people are watching online videos in 2019 as compared to 2018. And studies also show that video will make for more than 80% of the entire online traffic by 2022. That’s just 3 years from now - so you really need to jump the bandwagon and join the video marketing club now, as it’s still hot. And here are other staggering statistics about video marketing as well:
Why is it that video marketing has grown to be so important?
There is one simple reason: it’s easier for everyone to watch videos, as opposed to reading articles, whitepapers, or any other written marketing materials. Don’t get us wrong: written content is still very much useful - but you need to complement it with video if you want to engage people and make them stay on your pages.
Wondering why videos are easier to “digest” than written content?
We are wired that way. The human brain can process information a lot faster when it is visual - and this is not just an assumption, it’s actual science.
What does that have to do with SEO?
Well, the more time people spend on your page, the more Google (and all the other search engines) will “rate” your pages. The fact that people don’t just bounce off your pages means that your content is qualitative - and there’s nothing search engines love more than quality content, right?
Video Helps You Go Viral
Going viral is pretty much every marketer’s dream - and while text content might be able to do this, video is much more likely to achieve it. From creating educational videos that have an entertainment value to them to simply curating images and bringing them together in a way that connects to your brand, there’s a myriad of possibilities here - the only limit you have is your own creativity.
Take, for example, this campaign launched by Android back in 2015, which featured nothing more than a series of well-curated video clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbHszDDdle8
This cute video went viral really fast and it was shared by more than 6 million people - now, if that’s not exposure for a brand, we don’t know what is!
Going viral is not a matter of fame and pride only - it is also amazing for your SEO because it will send hundreds, thousands or, like in the case above, millions of users back to your site and back to your brand - and all those link-backs will act as “votes” for the quality of the content your site offers, helping Google rank you higher in the Search Engine Results Pages.
When it comes to guest posting opportunities and backlinking, good videos can be a win-win situation. Even when it’s not viral, video marketing makes it easier for your potential guest post hosts to include your content on their site. Sharing videos of the products and services are like a backlink generator activity.
When looking for guest posters, site editors want to make sure they will get genuine quality in exchange for their link-back - and video does just that. Not only does it enrich the experience of the user who lands on that respective site, but it also helps them keep readers on their site as well.
When you associate a blog post with a video, you are more likely to be found.
Why?
Because a well-optimized video will pop at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages, leading directly unto your page. The more people click on your page, the better-regarded you are in the “eyes” of Google and other search engines.
DO keep in mind that optimizing your videos for search engines is slightly different than optimizing written content, but the basics are still the same:
You need a good keyword (high searches, low competition) You need to use said keyword in the headline, as well as in the video description The more links send to your video, the more “juice” and “authority” your video will get
Furthermore, do keep in mind that simply tossing a random video on your page will not help (at all - in fact, it might do the exact opposite). You need to make sure your video:
Provides quality information( plagiarism free content) Is not very long, but not very short either Looks good (so that it keeps visitors watching)
Videos Increase Conversions. This is not connected to SEO per se, but to the results SEO can bring into your business.
Doing SEO is all fine and well - but if you are simply attracting people to the top of the funnel and you are never converting them, you are just spending a lot of energy (and money!) on something that might not generate the kind of results you are aiming for.
Video marketing comes in to complement your SEO efforts and helps you convert people by:
Making them trust you Building an actual relationship with them Offering them in-depth examples of how your product can be used
So, aside from the actual SEO benefits video marketing can bring into every business, it can also help you push all of your Search Engine Optimization efforts even further by actually helping you convert visitors into users and buyers.
Conclusion:
Video marketing can be a complete game changer for pretty much every business out there -- both from the point of view of SEO and the results it yields and from the point of view of many other aspects of one’s business: customer service, loyalty, retention, and so on.
Some might be tempted to think video marketing is an expensive tool only large companies can afford - but that is completely untrue, actually. In fact, with online video making tools, you can easily create business videos that are engaging, look really good, and provide you with all the benefits of video marketing without the high-costs usually associated with video production.