Tag Archives: search engine results

In 30 days . . .

Video As Content, Video SEO and Optimization, Who Uses Video, , ,

30 days
A lot can happen in 30 days after posting a video to your business website.

  • One of my clients booked a contract that paid him over 25 times what he had paid me
  • Another client received a 5 figure grant to grow her business
  • still another client was the subject of a local TV news story, AND won a Cincy Innovates award
  • And let’s not forget the million-dollar condo. We did a feature video, and it sold in 59 days. (ok, it was a slow market.)

Where will YOU be 30 days from now? I’ll keep saying it: If you’re using video, and the competition isn’t, You Win.

— that’s a wrap.

Website Advice From Cincinnati Marketing Experts

copywriting, Video As Content, Video SEO and Optimization, , ,

Cincinnati is lucky to have so many website and marketing experts. I have asked some of the best to give you easy tips to improve your website and make you stand out in a competitive online environment. In this new video series, we’ll get right to the useful information. In just two minutes, you’ll find out some of the secrets these folks use. I don’t know of an easier way to keep your website and marketing fresh. The experts I will be interviewing are extremely helpful and easy to talk to. They would love to hear from you if you’ve watched the video and found some useful tips. Contact information is right at the end of the video.

My first guest is Beverly Richards of LDR Interactive Technologies. Beverly and her team not only make websites pretty, they make websites that work. Beverly is a wealth of information when it comes to marketing your business online. In this video, three tips for fixing your ABOUT US page. Every website should have one. Take advantage of these tips now to better connect with your customers.

How To Use Videos To Sell Products

Video As Content, Who Uses Video, , , ,

You have a website that sells products. It could be three or three hundred. Most e-commerce sites operate the same way: a database of products and a page for each product. But when videos are added, sales skyrocket. Here’s how it works.

VIDEOS ON HOME PAGE  Here’s where you can capture new customers and hold on to old customers too. Offer new products, stage demos talk to staff, or feature customer shot video. It will engage and you’ll keep visitors on the site longer.

VIDEOS ON PRODUCT PAGES   Show different views. Show how the item works. Show testimonials.

MAKE IT SOCIAL   Don’t forget to cross-post your videos to Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to grow the brand.

NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS USE YOUTUBE   You can host your video there and share it or you can host anywhere else. But, yes, upload to YouTube. It’s still the number two search engine. It will positively impact your visibility and search engine rankings.

BLOG    Every time you post your video somewhere new, it counts as fresh content. Google ranks video higher than other content.  Put video on your blog sang give visitors a reason to come back.
— that’s a wrap.

Client Spotlight – Bed Bug Shield

Behind The Scenes, Video As Content, Who Uses Video, , , ,

Product demos are one of the most effective uses of online video. Customers can see the product in action, learn best practices, and see effective uses while they seamlessly slip from discovery mode to buying mode.
I have been fortunate to have worked with a number of inventors and innovators with Videos On Your Website to produce targeted and compelling demos that work. Bed Bug Shield is one of my favorites.

This area has long been on the top of the list nationally for bed bug problems. There are scores of exterminators who deal not only with primary infestations, but also with folks who inadvertently bring the little critters home from a trip. Bed Bug Shield deals with both of those problems.

When they first contacted me, one of the issues we had to solve was location – since they wanted to show the product using LIVE bed bugs. Of course, there would be absolutely no risk, since bed bugs cannot fly, and we would have a little “corral” in which to shoot them and the product at work. As it turned out, that was the least of my worries. The morning of the shoot, I developed an abscessed tooth, and made the drive to the location in more than a little pain.

After a quick set up, we started shooting footage. We got great shots of the product, closeups of the bed bugs, and easy to follow demonstrations of how it keeps bed bugs from hitching a ride on clothes, or in a suitcase during a trip.

They recently contacted me with an update on their progress:

We have picked up a contract for 8 surrounding counties with the Area on Aging not to mention a few large name exterminators refer to us on a regular basis, so things are going well. We would always like to be busier but we have tripled our volume just in the last 6 months. The video is on our website and people love it!!! We have had a good response to it

It’s always nice to hear things like that. Videos DO work, whether it’s product demonstrations, customer testimonials, or answering customer’s questions.

Here’s the Bed Bug Shield video.Bed Bug Products – Business Video

–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.

Advertising Or Engagement?

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

Last week I was talking with a small business owner when the subject of videos for websites came up.
“We’ve talked about doing some videos, but we don’t need to do any advertising”, she said.

Website visitors and customers already understand what advertising is and what it isn’t. Unfortunately, most businesses do not. For example: some fervently believe that their website is advertising, and they pay for it out of their advertising budget. But even Amazon – one of the largest e-commerce websites isn’t advertising, for they also inform and entertain as well as sell. This is engagement.

If your website is nothing more than an online brochure for your business, then you’re losing the battle.

Business coaches advise that it costs more to get a new customer than to keep a customer. If you can convince an existing customer to buy more, your profit margin is higher. You can do that through engagement. Actually, you can also qualify and close more new customers that way. And there’s part of the difference.

While advertising implies a direct offer, engagement is more about establishing and building a relationship – one that, over time, will lead to sales, brand loyalty,  and a perception of expertise in the marketplace.

Video is the quickest and the most affordable vehicle to drive engagement.  Video for websites should not be advertising. People don’t search for commercials. Your visitors want to be engaged. Those businesses that provide that engagement will win. I hope you’ll be one of them.

–that’s a wrap.

Don’t Hide Your Videos

Behind The Scenes, Video As Content, , , ,

I’m starting to see a few websites with a YouTube logo in one corner or as part of the site menu.  I take that to mean there’s a company YouTube channel linked to it.  But you shouldn’t stop there. If you make YouTube your sole source of video traffic, you’re missing the boat.

Here’s how:
1. Videos hosted on your own server get “liked” by the search engines quicker.
2. If you don’t show some of your expertise – in the form of videos – on your site, you’re asking your audience to jump through another hoop in order to get them.

Instead:
Post your best – the ones that answer questions or solve problems – on a page or pages that are dedicated to solving that problem.
Use your YouTube embed code to play your videos in email newsletters, and other communication tools.

Put your videos out front, and let them work their magic.

— That’s a wrap.

The Videos On Your Website Exercise Program

Who Uses Video, , , ,

Tired? Overworked? Let’s get you and your business moving with the Videos On Your Website exercise program. Ready? 1 – 2 – aaand 3

Stretch (your budget) Unlike advertising, videos don’t vanish after they are consumed. They’re right there working for you 24/7. Not only that, but they can get passed around to others who may not be familiar with you. Sharing is why you want a compelling video with a message.

Crunch (the numbers) Internet Retailer says ecommerce sites that use product videos sell  45% more product. And 73% of email marketers say using video has increased their clickthrough rates.

Heavy lifting (made easy) When it comes to getting to the top of search engine rankings, nothing is better than video. Forrester reports that websites with video are eight times more likely to make it to the first page of search results.

Kick (your marketing plan into high gear) Use videos on your website, on your blog, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn. Did you know you can create a QR code that will lead your prospects straight to your video page!

Jog (your prospects’ memory) Nothing is better than video for building trust, loyalty, and telling your story. 80% of American consumers head to the web when researching a product or service. If your competition has video and you don’t; the competition wins!

Don’t  Sweat. We’ll help you develop some great ideas to make your video tell the story your customers are looking for. We write, shoot, edit, do all the post production – like adding graphics, music, and voice, if needed – and we can show you how and where to upload your video for maximum response.

And relax.

-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.

 

5 Lines From Field Of Dreams That Explain How To Use Video

Uncategorized, Who Uses Video, , ,

Yeah, it’s a classic baseball movie. Ray Kinsella learns a great lesson. But if you listen closely, the Voice may also be telling you how to increase your sales and your expertise in the minds of your customers with video.

1. Voice: “If you build it, he will come”

Especially now, after the Google Panda update, content will get you noticed. Using videos makes websites more likely to show up on top of organic searches. Not only that, but when a visitor lands on a small business’ page with video, the 2nd most popular behavior is to click the video.

2. Ray: “Don’t we need a catcher?”
Shoeless Joe: “Not if you get it near the plate, we don’t”

You know that when a website has a video, the conversion rate is higher than a website with no video.  But that video doesn’t even need to be watched. Just the fact that it’s there makes a difference in the conversion rate.

3. “This is my corn. You people are guests in my corn”

In the movie, it’s Ray speaking.  For this instance, it’s your website visitor. Your video is a guest in his browser. So, get rid of the auto-start, and make sure your message isn’t sales-y. Most likely the visitor got to your site because he is trying to solve a problem.  It makes no sense to show your latest TV commercial.

4. Mark: It is true. You don’t know the first thing about farming.
 Ray: Yes I do. I know a lot about farming. I know more than you think I know.

Show off what you know. The more your show your expertise, the more your visitors will consider you the authority in your field. Studies show that websites with at least three videos are considered authorities.

5. Voice: “Go The Distance”

See above. And don’t stop. Keep updating and upgrading your videos.

 

That’s a wrap.