Because of the increasing influence that video has in search results and because more and more Internet searchers are watching videos returned in results, video can be a great driver of local traffic for small, local businesses. Consider these facts recently released by SoMedia Networks:
- Videos in universal search results have a 41% higher click through rate than plain text search results – ReelSEO
- Video increases the chance of a front page Google result by 53 times!!! – Forrester
- 60% of people prefer watching video to reading text – Forbes
- People remember 50% of content from a video compared to 22% from reading text –Wharton Business
What does this mean for your small business?
It means that video offers you a new way to level the playing field against your larger competition. Plus – you have the added benefit that over the years video has become relatively inexpensive to produce. Using a professional web video company is highly recommended in order to get your branding message across in the all-important 60-second time frame.
Once you have a branded video be sure that the video tags, titles and descriptions are all written with strong keywords. While Google loves video – video content is not (yet) searchable by Google’s bots – so you have to be extra thorough when picking tags, titles and descriptions so you can give the search bots a little extra help in deciding when to show your video to people searching the web.
Still not sold on the importance of web video?
We would recommend that you try and shoot your own video and see what happens in terms of search results. Why not? You have a phone? You have basic editing tools (they come with most computers nowadays), otherwise we are fond of the online video software provider Camtasia (which lets you easily film what is on your computer screen in case you want to walk people through a site, or use an animated PowerPoint as part of your video).
Once you have shot a short video (remember 60 seconds to a minute and a half is ideal, after that, unless you are a highly skilled comic or you have mesmerizing good looks you risk losing people’s attention and interest.), make sure you have it up on your site and on a YouTube channel that is linked to your website. Here’s an SEO Hint: Make sure that you list your town, your county and your state in your description and add a link to your website.
Then, follow your YouTube Analytics and your own site Google Analytics to track how much traffic your video is bringing to your site.
Once you see video driving more traffic to your site you may decide to introduce a video blog, or have short videos that you create to highlight different products in your store. Worried that there is nothing for you to talk about? Just remember you are an expert at what you do, you have amassed lots of information – and that information would make for great video content!
Recycling Your Web Video Content
Make a video? You’ve gone to a lot of hard work to put it together, or you have paid a web video specialist to put together content for you, and now you want to you’re your money’s worth out of it. There are numerous places where you can use it.
Did you know that video in email marketing has been shown to increase email click through rates by over 96%
If you are using a system like MailChimp (we love) or Constant Contact – then it is easier than ever to send out an email with a video link (and one that looks great on mobile!).
You can also share your video content with other people on other sites.
First and foremost make sure you social share it. Have it posted on your Facebook page and link it to your Google plus page. Use the button image on Pinterest and link to it there. Stumble it! Share it in all of your networking groups on LinkedIn.
Do you know anyone that writes about your industry? Send them a link to your video and invite them to use it in one of their posts. Have you shot a video about something original to your town? (For example, an event that your store helps to promote, or something that you sell that nobody else in your area sells). Think of an angle that might be interesting for your local news and send your video to your local online newspaper (Patch.com or something like it) or to your local news website station in case they might share it or use it.
Between sharing sites and emails, your web video should be promotable for several weeks if not months after you produce it. And, if properly tagged and keyworded, it will serve you well as a high ranked local search result for many months to come. For more information on video content for your small business, contact the experts at Premiere Creative and feel free to call (973) 346-8100.