More than a year and a half ago Google began blending results from its specialized channels, like Video, Images, Local and more, into one universal search engine. What this means for today’s Google users is (hopefully) a selection of more relevant results. A search for “inauguration” for example, now returns a blend of News, Images, Video clips, Blog posts and Website results all on the first page and ranked in order of relevance.
What does this mean for a company looking to gain more visibility in search engines? On one hand optimizing web pages for organic visibility in Google has gotten more and more difficult, particularly in cases where the much-sought-after real estate of the first page results has been divvied out into some of these other categories. On the other hand, blended search results mean there are now more opportunities for visibility. To take full advantage of all blended search has made available, today’s search marketing strategy must be all-encompassing, from claiming your Local Business Listing in Google Maps to optimizing press releases and more.
Of these opportunities, online video is predicted to show huge growth in 2009. According to a survey by PermissionTV, 67% of US Marketers plan to focus their online marketing budget in online video in 2009.
Online video major focus for marketers in 2009
Adding video to your marketing strategy or repurposing existing video for increased online visibility could be the right move for your company. For one, adding videos to your website can help increase conversions and convert visitors faster. In addition, videos actually stand a much better chance of ranking in the top ten than any given web page. When done right, adding videos to your website can even make your site more relevant to users, which helps you rank better in Google. The sooner you can get started the better.