As a follow up to my last article, Using video as a Call to Action, here are some tips you can use to optimizing your online video for a high level of audience engagement.
To get your video towards the top of the search results, make sure your content is labeled in such a way that the search engines can find it easily. To start, be sure that all of your uploaded video has the basic title, descriptions and tags filled out with something relevant. Use resources like YouTube’s Keyword Tool or Google’s Search-Based Keyword Tool to help you understand which keywords you should be using. Be sure to use the same set of keywords throughout your title, description and tags.
Let’s break down the basics of video optimization with YouTube:
- Title. Try to be elaborate and succinct, using keywords and adjectives to describe your video’s content. If there’s a high-profile person or recognized company name attached to the video, mention the name with the first few words of your title. You may also experiment with the word order and phrasing to see if you get more views. For example, you may get more views by listing your title as ‘Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon – Best Kung-Fu Fight Scene Ever’ instead of ‘Best Kung-Fu Fight’.
- Description. Here’s your chance to give your viewers the juicy details of your video, including the who, what, where and when. Include any keywords and descriptive phrases that will help your viewer stay intrigued if their eyes wander from the video. You may want to include your company’s mission or the mission of the video. Also include a Call to Action, such as visiting your website or connecting with you on a social network.
- Tags. Think of tags as a set of keywords that your view might use to try and find your video online. Search engines prioritize keywords or tags by relevance (how many times it has been used, searched and found) and by the order they are attached to your content. Therefore, it makes a difference if you list your tags ‘performance, dance, New York, 2010′ as opposed to ‘New York, Lincoln Center, 2010, dance, performance’. Recognized locations and especially recent dates may already have a high search rankings that will help your content appear in search results.
Already set and ready for the next step? If your video is narrated, use YouTube’s Captions and Subtitles tool to give the search engines a more in-depth understanding of your video. For intermediate users, try out the Video Annotations tool to insert links, notes and other elements within your video after it’s been uploaded. Ready to advertise? Check out YouTube’s Promoted Video program and get your Google AdWords account connected to the Video Targeting Tool.
You may also embed your video on a web page or blog that also has relevant text content to match the keywords attached to your video. Those of you on Facebook and Twitter, share your video links, encourage link exchanges and provide the embed code so others may embed your video on their site. Search engines will recognize the amount of links and embeds attached to a video and prioritize those that have been indexed the most.
Be sure to check YouTube’s Help Forum for a full range of topics, articles and discussions.
Affiliate marketing is tough business; no wonder countless affiliates struggle to make mere pennies. This is a great post with excellent tips for newbie as well as established affiliates.