Tag Archives: keywords

IF YOU MADE VIDEOS IN 2018, FOLLOW THESE STEPS RIGHT NOW

Video As Content, Video SEO and Optimization, You Tube for Business, , , ,


Frankly, I hate resolutions. I resolve to be different. How’s that?

But the new year is a time of renewal, and if you have videos that you’re hosting on YouTube, there are some Start-Of-The-Year chores you should do to keep your content relevant.

1. Review and update the titles of your videos. Your video titles should be engaging, include keywords, and reflect your message and goals. If your marketing strategy has changed in the past 12 months, maybe you should reflect that in your video titles. Titles are easy to change from within your YouTube video manager. Try something to get visitors to click. Some of the words that show up big in search include: How To, Steps, Tutorial, Best and Funny. Can you include or re-write a title to include those?

2. Review and update your video descriptions. Start with your website in the description field. Make sure it’s a page that reflects the subject of your video. It may not be your home page. YouTube allows 5000 characters for a video description – that’s about 800 words. Be sure your keywords are towards the beginning of the description. And yes, you can add hashtags here.

3. Review and update any tags. Tags don’t show up when the video is being played, but it definitely helps in search. Use one word keywords. Use multiple word key phrases. And don’t leave out generic tags, like your city.

Time to get some fresh eyes on your content. These steps can engage more viewers, and make your videos show up in front of more of your prospects.

–that’s a wrap

Ron Harper is the founder of Videos On Your Website, a Cincinnati digital marketing firm specializing in video web content for businesses. Get a FREE Video Buying Guide at Videos ON Your Website – Cincinnati and Dayton Video Production Guide.

How To Add Captions And Transcripts To Your Videos

Video As Content, Video SEO and Optimization, Video Web Series, You Tube for Business, ,

If you’re new here, I create videos as web content for small business in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Northern Kentucky. And I help both my clients, and non-clients understand video’s powerful impact. A lot of that is knowing what to do after the video is created. Where do you put it? How do you put it there? What else can you do to make sure folks see it? This video series was born from that. I’m going to give you the tips you need to make your videos work for you. Don’t have any videos yet? Call me. I’d love to talk with you.

Here is Episode 4. I upload a new one about twice a month. I’m really interested in your comments, so leave one, or connect with me.

Watch Time (3:39) Link to transcript

YouTube? You Should!

Uncategorized, Video As Content, , , , ,

Every January, Las Vegas hosts the Consumer Electronics. Show. The CES is where new and just thought of gadgets make their debut. It is also a lively conversation on current trends. Here are some facts about YouTube that came out of a session at this year’s CES.

>>YouTube now reaches more adults than any network. ANY network. So says Neilsen whose job it is to measure things like that.

>>100 hours of new content is uploaded to YouTube every minute. That’s more than four days every sixty seconds.

And the most watched videos? Authentic. Content that is about something very specific. If you have a niche, you should be telling your story with video. And you should also put that video on YouTube.

It’s watchable, it’s searchable, and its shareable.

Yes you should YouTube. Because if you don’t, your competition will.

–that’s a wrap.

How To

Video As Content, You Tube for Business, , , , ,

I’m really amazed at the number of videos out there that are not taking advantage of the words and phrases folks are searching for. If you want your video, and ultimately your website, to be found by people who are searching for what you do, then use one of the most powerful phrases in search engines: “How To…”

Whether you are creating new products and services, or updating existing ones, make it easy for your customers by showing them How To… select the proper (fill in the blank), How To Use… (your product) Correctly, How To Troubleshoot….(what they currently have). The list is endless, literally. Then, be sure you have that magic phrase in your title, in your tags, and (if you’re embedding the video on a separate page) in your page title.

If people buy from people they trust, you can turn yourself into a ally with compelling and credible “How To” videos. Just remember to keep it simple, use numbered steps when possible, and aim for a recap at the end of your video that wraps everything up neatly. Studies have shown that it takes just three videos for a website to raise their credibility score to Expert by their viewers.

— That’s a wrap.

How To Make You Tube Work For You

Behind The Scenes, DIY ?, Uncategorized, , , ,

Many businesses who use videos don’t have the time or the tools to host their videos on their own server, so they opt for loading their productions on You Tube and using the embed code. If you really don’t have any other options, it’s still better to have something on You Tube than nothing at all. So here’s a list of tips and tricks. The more of them you can accomplish, the better off you will be in placing your content where the search engines will find and display it.

GIVE YOUR VIDEO A GOOD TITLE. Use keywords. Make it compelling. No one will watch, nor will they search for “October video.mp4” But they will watch “How I Saved Money and Solved My ——- Problem In Three Steps.” Get the picture?

PAY ATTENTION TO THE DESCRIPTION FIELD. The very first thing should be http:// and your website. Not just your homepage, but a page that gets the viewer closer to doing business with you.

UPLOAD A TRANSCRIPT / CREATE CAPTIONS This is a relatively new feature, but it is possible now to upload a transcript of your video to You Tube. There is also a feature that will let you create captions so the video can be watched, instead of heard. There is an entire list of best practices for these actions themselves, so ask for help, or search for tutorials. Big hint: don’t use WORD to create your files. Use WORDPAD so you can save them as .txt files without all the format encoding. Or, if you understand video time code, create a .srt file and you’re able to more precisely control your captions. The ability for the search engines to read videos due to transcripts is really a game changer.

CREATE A NEW PAGE FOR JUST THE VIDEO If you can whip up a single page on your site, and embed the video, surrounded by keywords and phrases that would be great. Then you can put THAT URL into the You Tube description field. If you have one video optimized for a key phrase, and a different video optimized for a different key phrase, you have increased your chances of being on top of a search and having that search lead back to you.

TELL EVERYONE. Put the You Tube Share code on every social network you can. Your promotion needs to run like a good ad campaign. Maybe not everywhere all at once, and maybe some places more than once. But get it out there and create some talk. Ask folks to share. Ask for comments. Ask for subscribers.

BRANDING. FYI, as part of it’s newly launched “In Video Programming”, you can upload an image that You Tube will use as a “bug” in the corner of your videos. You can also pick which corner of the video it appears in, and for how long. There is also a seldom used workaround for the You Tube embed code that removes You Tube branding.

Some folks don’t want to be associated with You Tube because of its “pedestrian” image. But You Tube is the second largest search engine. It’s a great place to put your videos. And by following some simple steps, it can be another tool in your arsenal for getting noticed.
–That’s a wrap.

Change Your FAQ

Uncategorized, Video As Content, Who Uses Video, , ,

What does your company have in common with Sears, JC Penneys and Ikea? It could be a lot more than you think. All three of those retailers use video to explain, to demonstrate, and to educate.
If your customer has questions, you can provide the answers in videos. As someone told me recently: if I answer a customer’s question in an email, I’m talking to one person. But if I answer a question in a video, I could be talking to hundreds of persons at the same time.
Do you sell something that requires assembly? Why not put the instructions online in a video. Are there modifications the customer can make? Do a video. One of the more popular categories in retail is the “unboxing” video where everything in the box is explained and examined. Those are particularly helpful with electronics.
If you can answer all of your customer’s questions this way, or provide the helpful information they need, would they see you differently? What do you think their perception of your expertise would be?
How many persons can you reach with a video on your website…and how much easier could you be found? I can help you find those answers.
-That’s a wrap.

What To Do When The Competition Starts Using Video

DIY ?, Who Uses Video, , , ,

Hopefully, you do some sort of competitive intelligence on companies that are in the same business as you. . That means among other things, checking their website with about the same frequency as you look at yours.   So what happens if one day you go to the competition’s website, and they have a video?

A marketing and SEO expert commented in an article just last month: “If the competition is using video and you’re not, the competition wins”  That’s pretty straightforward. That video will start showing up in searches in a matter of hours.  Probably before that even happens, they will blog, and Twitter and do whatever else they can to spread the word and get it watched.

Ok, so what if the competition starts to use video, and you’ve had one for awhile?What then? First – take a really critical look.

  • Who’s message is more clear?
  • How’s the sound quality and the lighting of the video?
  • Is it just a self-shot talking head, or Are there compelling images that move the story along?

Production values do count. But what it really comes down to is: Who is telling the better story? Who is more likely to be found in the search engines? With the proper keyword tagging and placement, even if your competitors rank higher in a Google Search, YOU CAN STILL HAVE THE UPPER HAND WITH VIDEO.

Now the score is one and one. You each have a video. Here’s where you step up the game: Do more. Really communicate. Put your customers, your staff even your vendors on video and post them everywhere.  Once you start building that library strategically, the competition won’t know what hit them.

 

That’s a wrap.

 

30 Days To Success With Website Videos

Behind The Scenes, Who Uses Video, , , , , , , , ,

I am very pleased when one of my clients tells me about something that’s happened as a direct result of putting videos on their website. Consistently, something positive always happens in the first 30 days.

I produced a video for an executive recruiting firm. They had recently doubled their staff, and wanted to share their unique point of view, as well as getting more quality leads. They were thrilled with their video, and it went up immediately on their website, blog, Facebook page, and about a half dozen other social sites.

Within two weeks, they were contacted by a local TV news crew who wanted to do a story on them. They were perceived as a leader in their field, which is exactly where they wanted to be.

I did another video for a company who was already showing well in the search engines for “expert” in their specialized niche. In the first month, their website traffic had increased by 60%. To top it off, not only were they showing up on the first page of results for their keywords, but so was their video. And the views on their YouTube channel skyrocketed.

I started working with a new company just three months after it had been founded. We began producing a series of video blog posts. I have just learned that as a direct result of the videos, they landed $8000 in new business within the first 30 days.

These stories are not extraordinary. Not only does video jumpstart search engine results, but it also gives your prospects a reason to remember you.

In the future having videos on your website will be as commonplace as having buttons for navigation. Right now is the perfect time to start. By jumping in with both feet and using compelling, engaging video messages, you can lead the way in your category. It will garner results now, and the equity you build as an innovator, will pay off in the future.

–That’s a wrap.

Put Cool Linkable Transcripts on Videos

Who Uses Video, , , , , , , ,

I have watched Search Engine Optimization experts try and explain what they do to a room full of non-technical folks.  Many small businesses who have websites can tell you why SEO is important, and maybe a handful can tell you a little bit about how it’s done.

Now that using videos on your website is exploding across all small business categories, I’m getting asked: “Is there such a thing as SEO for video?”  Yes, there most definitely is.

Although Video SEO is still in its infancy, here’s something that’s going to help a lot.

Take a look at this video of Cincinnati Internet Marketing Czar Rob Bunting.  Notice anything?

Pretty cool, huh? Transcribing text from video is just one of the new tools that are starting to pop up on the digital landscape.  There are tools for adding captions to YouTube videos and your OWN videos. That’s the good news.  The better news is that captions are searchable by Google.  That will give you an added dimension to your video library and one more thing to worry your competition.

–That’s A Wrap

How Video Helps Your Website SEO

Who Uses Video, , , , , , ,

Everytime I talk with someone about using Videos On Your Website, the conversation invariably turns to Search Engine Optimization.  A lot of folks hear the term SEO, and they know it has something to do with keywords, but after that, they’re lost.

SEO is kind of like trying to put a bowtie on a fish.

The guys who do this for a living twist and pull and tweak their websites so they can in some measure figure out what the search engines are looking for.  Nobody’s supposed to know for sure.  But we do know that titles, headlines, and what you write on the page all get the attention of the search engine robots. We also know that a few of the right tweaks will get your ranking up, but with time, that ranking begins to fade as something newer takes its place.

There’s another fish analogy – if you turn your back and forget about it, it will start to smell.

That’s why constantly updating your website makes those search engine robots very happy.  Because a changing site is a fresh site.  And a fresh site must be more relevant. That means content.

If content is King, then having videos on your website should at least be Prime Minister. Videos can, and should be optimized with keywords.  They should not only be on your website, but distributed to as many of the video sharing sites as you can with a URL pointing back to your main page.  Everytime you do this, even if it’s the same video, it is fresh content in the hearts and minds of the search engines.

Ultimately, a visitor might share your video with a link, or a recommendation to a friend. That builds credibility, and that’s the other thing that feeds the search engine’s ranking machine.

To put it another way: having videos on your website can make you up to eight times more likely to land on the first page of Google results than if you just have text.

How are folks finding YOU?  What are they doing when they get to your site?  How long would you like to keep them there?

I’d be more than happy to talk to you about it.

–That’s A Wrap