Did you know that SEO isn’t only about keywords in articles? It’s so much more – even animated videos are optimized to draw as much attention from your target audiences as possible. But how does video SEO work? Do you have to include the actual keywords in the script to get more views?
In this article, we’ll tell you all about the benefits of video marketing through SEO marketing and present the TOP 7 methods of optimization to increase your video search rank on Google. Animated videos can do more than showcase your brand.
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Why Do You Need to Optimize an Animated Video?
“If I have some text near the video optimized for focus keywords, why do I have to work on the video itself?”
Well, there are many benefits to incorporating media content into your optimization strategy:
- Online video content has become the most popular choice among users.
- More and more people search and look for answers on YouTube, thus YouTube SEO plays a crucial role.
- Snippets for animated videos allow for more organic visibility on search engines, which inspires more engagement.
- 83% of marketers confirmed video content prolongs the session time of users on the page.
- Videos are one of the best media to share, which means more backlinks for your website.
- It is a quick, creative, and engaging way to convey information, which makes it easier to generate qualified leads.
It’s important to have video content on your website. While your website will perform great with good web hosting for WordPress and additional plugins, videos are still a must. If you’ve already spent time checking out the best WordPress plugins, why not make it even better? It would be wise to consider a WordPress website development company that can help you get this done in a professional way.
How to Apply SEO for an Animated Video?
How to do video SEO? How to rank videos on Google?
We have seven methods for you that will definitely work if you apply more than one of them!
1. Focus on Users’ Intent to Get More Views
User’ search intent will bring more organic traffic to your pages, so focusing on this is a good idea. When you upload a video or plan to produce one, think about the intent your searchers have when writing a query.
In need of tips? We have some for you:
Research keywords properly
Do proper research before choosing keywords for your video topic and title. Target keywords get the biggest search volume of search queries. You can even use Google Search suggestions like in the screenshot below:
Use digital tools to get the best keyword list
When looking for keywords, it’s worth using digital tools that will show you not only the best KWs available but some stats about the phrases. Google Keyword Planner can be used for this, as well as third-party services. For example, SE Ranking has a keyword generator tool that will save you a lot of time and effort.
As you can see, it’s easy to find the right target keyword with such a tool. You can insert the initial test keyword you would use for your video title. The instrument will show you the most popular related KWs you can incorporate into the title, descriptions, video file name, etc.
2. Use Video Schema to Boost Rankings
When people ask “How to do video SEO?” they often mean the code alternations to help rank the content. And that’s when schema markup enters the game. Schema markup is one of a few ranking factors; simply put, it is the HTML code you can enter to explain what the video is about to search engines briefly.
If you haven’t heard about the markup, maybe you know the term “structured data”. Basically, it’s the same thing. This is an important step to ensure user security while you add a video on a landing page as well.
Optimize Rich Snippet for the Video for Higher Search Rankings
In video marketing, the ability to explain the sense of your video to search engines is as important as doing so to human users.
Schema markup will help with SEO communication. Google explains in detail how to optimize your video content to be visible in multiple sections of the results page.
Photo Credit: Google
3. Optimize Video Transcriptions
You need to optimize video transcriptions to aid visibility in video search results and improve your search ranking. That’s when the question “Do I have to say the actual keywords in the video?” gets asked.
You could.
But even if you don’t, you can add them as organically as possible in the transcription. There are several benefits to having text that matches the audio:
- You help hard-of-hearing people comprehend your content
- These texts are indexed by search engines, which offers you more chances to rank higher for long-tail keywords
- They are part of a great user experience
- There are lots of tools that will help you create a neat transcription
First of all, there’s YouTube. It creates subtitles automatically, which saves you a lot of time and effort. After the Auto-sync feature finishes its job, the service encourages you to proofread the text because the accuracy may not be perfect. The question words are highlighted.
Source: Business Insider
If you need such a feature to publish the script on your website or another service, there are third-party tools that may help:
- Happy Scribe – supports many languages and their dialects
- Rev – great accuracy (99% with human transcription, 80% with the machine one)
- Amberscript – supports 39 languages and is powered by AI (artificial intelligence)
4. Create a Proper Thumbnail
In video marketing, aesthetics are also essential. First of all, the video itself has to be beautifully made, with style and taste (and representation of your brand colors, animation style, etc.) For that, arm yourself with tools like Creativity 365 by Kdan Mobile.
With three plans and lots of tools, you can definitely create beautiful thumbnails easily with NoteLedge or Animation Desk from Creativity 365.
Like this one about the best tablets for content creation (including animated videos). You should, of course, choose great tech for animation. No SEO will work well for you if the video itself isn’t good.
A thumbnail should have an attention hook, some words explaining what the video is about (a key phrase will do, there’s a title right near the video, after all), accurate colors and all important elements should be the correct size.
This is the first thing people look at when seeing your video in the results. You can apply YouTube cover maker or other creativity tools to make it readable and understandable.
Source: YouTube
Buzzfeed is a really good example of how to create thumbnails, as well as content. They rarely create screaming thumbnails that draw attention to ‘blah’ programs, which helps build trust with the brand. We’re sure you have seen vloggers with thumbnails with “I WAS ROBBED!!!!” in all caps just because their dog stole a pickle from their table.
Don’t create such thumbnails.
Kind tip: Avoid clickbait! First of all, such titles don’t work anymore. Plus, you don’t want people to finish watching your video feeling utterly unsatisfied, right? That is what happens when you claim you’ve seen aliens and offer real proof and then show a picture of two birds in the sky that look like a blob.
As a result, people regret clicking on your video, and trust-building and positive brand awareness fall off the table.
Such an approach increases the bounce rate and decreases your authority as a trustworthy source of information.
5. Natively Include Keywords in the Title
One of the key recommendations for how to improve SEO is optimizing the title. It should be rich with keywords but not overcrowded. Long-tails are great for this purpose because they combine several keywords, including general high-competition ones and more specific ones.
6. Optimize the Description for Focus Keywords
Video descriptions offer more space for keyword optimization. Again, the rule is similar to the one in the title section – enrich but don’t overcrowd.
First of all, write a readable and interesting description. Then, wherever possible, add keywords (but avoid tautology) and LSI (related words and phrases). It’s possible to write them naturally as if you didn’t spend hours looking for focus keywords.
7. Upload Your Videos to Multiple Platforms
The world doesn’t revolve around YouTube. There are:
- Vimeo
- Flicks
- Dailymotion
- Tumblr
- Github
- Instagram IGTV and Reels
- Tiktok, etc.
You can upload a short version of the piece on social media (the two last points on the list) and full versions on video platforms. Make sure you don’t forget YouTube as a result, though.
Also, share the link with a catchy caption on other SNS (Twitter, Facebook, Insta Story, etc.)
The more shots you take, the more chances there are for success!
To Summarize
Our tip is to use a combination of all the above approaches. You can also use a landing page builder to do half of the optimization for you. Work on the markup and snippets, research keywords and optimize your content for them properly, and create high-quality, attention-grabbing thumbnails using professional tools.
Search engine optimization is a blend of actions. Build one that suits your brand, and there will be few obstacles on your way to popularity!