Everybody loves online video. Incorporating video into your web site can enhance the user experience and increase the rate of visitors turned into customers, but did you realize how dramatically the presence of video content could increase your exposure in Google?
Google has pioneered the principle of “blended search,” or “universal search,” which means that search results from a variety of content categories – including video, news, images, shopping results and more – are brought together on a results page in an attempt to bring the user the most relevant possible matches.
A search for something like “landscaping” in Google will return not only regular web pages, but also images of landscaping ideas, local business listings pinpointed on a map, related news articles and more.
If you search for something more specific like “growing a pumpkin patch” videos will appear as thumbnails directly in the results page. See how it stands out on a results page otherwise dominated by your basic blue links and black preview text.
Although it is possible to earn a thumbnail spot like this from any online video service, you’re likely to see better results if you host your videos on YouTube. Google tends to rank YouTube videos more favorably over Hulu, Metacafe, etc. Google also tends to favorably rank web pages with embedded video content. Notice the top results for our search for “landscaping” all have embedded video content on their page.
Signal has found excellent results from adding and optimizing online video for numerous clients. YouTube specifically outperforms the rest. It’s easy to use, it offers cool ways to embed and share your videos online, and it greatly amplifies your chances of being found by web searchers. Not too shabby a deal.