Benefits of Video on Your Website.

How to use video to drive traffic to your website‍

Whether you're a business owner or head of a marketing, having strategically placed videos on your website is essential for audience retention and search ranking visibility.

It helps to make sure that you always make a great first impression and keep potential customers away from your competitors website.

Like with most things, there is a right way and a wrong way to incorporate video into your website. Let's discover the best practice and key placements, so you can get the most out of your video investment.

Why Should You Use Video on Websites?

According to a study the average human attention span is 8 seconds. For context, that’s 1 second less than a goldfish. To put it into context, your website has exactly 0.05 seconds to make a good impression on your visitor. That's really not a lot of time. Which is why businesses and brands have been heavily investing in video content. It's informative, eye-cathcing, and long enough to entice users to stick around just a bit longer. 

Video on websites have come a long way since the early 2000. In fact, we've gone from autoplay videos to embedded videos to pre-roll ads on YouTube. Today, you'll find many types of videos on websites, from educational content, to product demos, testimonials, brand videos the list goes on!

Video marketing is just as important to your SEO (search engine optimization) and brand awareness as your written content on your website, according to the latest research. In fact, current trends show that video consumption is increasing every day, and the value it provides your business cannot be over stressed.

The key to making sure your videos are effective is to understand what type of video works best for each situation. Here's everything you need to know about the different types of videos on websites today.

By Using a Video on Websites You Can Expect:

• Increase website visitors — video users get 41% more web traffic from search than non-users (Aberdeen Group)
• Audience attention —72% of people would rather use video to learn about a product or service (HubSpot)
• Website Retention: A video on your landing pages can help keep visitors on your site for longer periods of time - thus reducing your bounce-back rate and helping your search ranking. 
• Improved SEO:  Search engines (like Google) favor websites that feature video content and rank them 53 times higher than those without. (Fixed)
• Increased Sales: According to research, having a video on your website has been shown to raise purchase intent by as much as 97%. (ReadWrite)

Where to add videos to your website 

Your website's homepage is a great place to start. Videos can be a significant SEO boost (search engine optimization) to rank in Google. Along with helping viewer decided if they came to the right place. A study conducted by Animaker.com confirms that visual communication is said to have an important influence on buying decisions. In fact, 88% of visitors prefer adhering to a website when there are videos posted on the home page.

Homepage videos are a great tool to help convert visitors into leads and sales. They allow you to quickly explain what your products or services are about, how they benefit your prospects, and why they should buy from you.

The most important thing to remember is that homepages are designed to help people remember you and your business. 

In fact, according to HubSpot research, homepage videos double lead conversion rates. This is due to the fact that homepage videos are able to capture attention within seconds, making it easier to understand the main points of your offer.

The next place you would want to add a brand video to your website would be your "about us" page. This is probably the second most visited page on your website as people are looking to find out more about your business. Another great video to add here would be a testimonial video, letting your past client speak on how great it was to work with you. 

Now if you offer different types of services or products, adding "Demo Videos" on each page will help customers have a better understanding of your offering. Let's use a dentist as an example, adding a video about the "teeth whitening process" to his page.

Anyone watching the video will make an instant connection with the doctor or the team member building instant rapport. With a properly optimized SEO video this will also boost that page authority with Google increasing their ranking against their competitors, especially if they're not utilizing video yet.

We always recommend embedding a video from YouTube to your website. #1 It will help keep your website faster versus uploading the video to your servers. #2 YouTube is the world's second-largest search engine owned by Google. 

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Engage Your Website Visitors

Custom videos offer a unique advantage over other types of content because they do not simply tell visitors about your company or brand; rather, they show them. They demonstrate what you do, how you do it, and why it matters.

This is the difference between passive engagement and active engagement. Passive engagement is when someone reads something online without taking any action. Active engagement requires interaction. When we interact with others, we learn and remember things better. In fact, studies suggest that learning occurs up to 80% faster when we are actively involved.

So, custom videos give you the opportunity to engage your audience in a meaningful way. You can use them to showcase your products or services, explain how you work, or educate your customers. And, since they don't require much effort to produce, they're perfect for small businesses looking to build relationships with potential clients.

Drive Traffic to Your Website

Search engines love new content, whether it be fresh copy, a new product launch, a new blog post or a press release. Every time you add content to your site, your search engine rankings are likely to see an uptick. But what about adding videos? Do they help boost your rankings? Yes, they do. In fact, every time you add a video to your website, your search engine rankings improve. Why? Because search engines love new content. They want to show relevant information to searchers, and videos are one way to accomplish this goal.

But there’s another reason why videos work well for search engines: Videos are different from text because they offer visual cues that don’t exist in written content. This makes them easier for people to consume and understand. And since search engines are looking for ways to better serve searchers, they like to reward sites with good quality content.

So how does adding videos to your site lead to better search engine rankings? Here’s how:

1. Add Video Content to Your Site

Every time you add new content to your site, such as a blog post, press release, etc., your search engine rankings will increase. Adding videos to your site is no exception. However, keep in mind that adding videos to your site doesn’t mean you should stop writing. On the contrary, you should continue to write great content. Just remember to include videos where appropriate. For example, if you’re launching a new product or promoting a special event, consider creating a short video to highlight the benefits of your offering.

2. Optimize Your Video Content

Making a video is one thing, making sure people see it is another. Take the time to properly optimize your video with descriptions, titles and tags. This is the information that Google and YouTube use. To understand who to show your video to. 

Improve Your Ranking on Search

The old saying, “content is king” applies to videos as well. While it might seem like you don’t need to worry about optimizing videos because they aren’t crawled by search engines, there are some things you can do to improve your rank on the search engine results pages (SERPS).

Although the footage in the video might not be indexed by search engines, the way the data on the video is optimized makes the difference. Keywords, including those found in the video title, description, and tags, help provide an additional SEO lift.

Additionally, Google owns YouTube, so it’s important to optimize your channel to make sure it ranks high in YouTube searches. If you want to learn how to optimize your YouTube channel, check out our guide here.

When it comes to search engines like Google, YouTube is one of the best ways to optimize your site. Not only does having videos on your site increase the chances that those videos will rank well, but it also increases the likelihood that they'll be included in search results. When you use keywords in your descriptions, tags, and titles, you're helping Google understand what your videos are about improving your video SEO. So, when someone searches for "how to build a deck," your video showing step-by-step instructions will come up high on the list.

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Can I use YouTube Videos on my Website?

YouTube is the world’s largest video sharing site, and it’s no wonder why. With over 2 billion monthly active users, there is always something interesting happening on this platform. If you want to make sure that your audience gets what they came for, you should definitely consider adding some YouTube videos to your blog posts.

There are many ways to do this, including embedding the videos directly into the post, creating a playlist, or uploading the video to your YouTube channel and linking to it within the post. Of course, each option offers different benefits, depending on how much customization you desire.

The best way to determine which method works best for your needs is to test out each approach. You can start by simply testing out the embed code. This will allow you to see exactly how the video looks on your site without having to upload the file. Once you find a look that you like, you can move on to the next step.

Once you have found a good-looking embed code, you can add the video to your post. Depending on the type of post you are writing, you might either choose to include the entire video or just the relevant portion. For example, if you are writing about a recipe, you could include the entire video, while if you are talking about a product review, you could show only the part where the reviewer explains his/her experience.

After you have included the video, you can link to the video on your YouTube channel. This will allow readers to go straight to the source, rather than having to navigate away from your site to view the video.

By incorporating a video link into your blog posts, you can increase traffic to your site and improve the overall quality of your content. In addition, since YouTube is owned by Google and is often used as a referral source, you can help boost your rankings in the search engines with video SEO. 

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Give your Business a Personality

A recent study found that people trust companies with personalities over impersonal brands. In fact, it turns out that people actually prefer to work for companies with personalities. So how do you give your company a personality? With a video. A good one.

Video marketing is powerful because it allows you to show off your brand’s personality without being too salesy. And while there are plenty of videos out there that don’t quite hit the mark, here are five ways to make sure yours does.

1. Showcase Employees

People want to see themselves working for a company. They want to see the office space, the dress code, the vibe. If you want to show off your company culture, showcase your employees.

2. Tell Stories

Stories are the best way to connect with audiences. People love stories. They love hearing about others’ experiences, whether it’s a funny story someone shared or a heartwarming tale of overcoming adversity.

Get ahead of the competition

Businesses are increasingly turning to video marketing to reach customers. But while it’s easy enough to set up a YouTube channel, there’s much more involved in making sure you stand out from the crowd. There are many ways to make your videos effective, including creating engaging content and building a strong brand identity. However, one thing that often gets overlooked is how important it is to ensure that your videos are optimized for search engines.

The good news is that there are some simple steps you can take to improve your chances of getting found online. Here are four things you should do today to start boosting your visibility:

1. Optimize your site for mobile users

If you want people to find your videos, you need to make sure they can easily access them. In fact, according to Google, around half of all searches now happen on smartphones and tablets. If you don't already have a responsive design, it's time to invest in one. A responsive design ensures that your videos look great on every device, whether it's a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone. You can use tools like Google's Responsive Design Checker to see what your current setup looks like.

2. Add metadata tags

Metadata is data about data. For example, if you upload a photo to Facebook, it'll include information such as where the picture was taken and who took it. Metadata helps search engines understand what your content is about. So, if you add relevant keywords to your images, you'll help your audience find them later.

3. Create a compelling video thumbnail

Thumbanail click through is a huge factor in how well your video will do. YouTuber Mr. Beast will spend day if not weeks working on a thumbnail before he publishes a video. Remember most people are viewing from mobile devices. Make sure your text is not small and that you're using a clear image. For our clients we have seen that text/copy on the left and a person's face on the right tend to perform better.

Bonus Benefits of Video on Your Website

Video is one of the most effective ways to communicate with customers. In fact, according to a study conducted by Brightcove, videos are viewed almost twice as often as text. This makes sense because people tend to consume information visually rather than reading it. So unless you want to lose out on potential leads, you'll want to consider adding some video to your marketing mix.

In addition to being easier to watch, videos are also engaging. People like watching things that entertain them. They also like seeing how products work. And since video is such a visual medium, it's easy to convey complex ideas simply and clearly.

But there's another reason why videos are powerful tools for marketers: they allow you to deliver your message quickly. If someone watches a 30-second video about your product, what do you think they remember about it? Probably the main points you wanted them to remember. But if you had just written those same points down, chances are they'd forget them within minutes.

So make sure you include videos in your digital marketing strategy. Not only will they help you tell your story, but they'll also give your prospects something interesting to look at and remember about your brand.

Video is the most popular form of online content consumption today. In fact, it’s become such a dominant force that we now refer to the web as the "video era." As a result, businesses across industries are finding themselves increasingly reliant on video marketing. But what does that mean for you? How do you use video effectively? And how can you leverage video to grow your brand?

The answer lies in understanding why people watch videos. People consume video for three main reasons: entertainment, education, and information. By focusing your efforts on one of these areas, you'll be able to reach your audience in a way that is simply not possible with traditional advertising.

Entertainment Videos - These are short clips used to entertain audiences while they wait for something else to load. They're typically humorous, lighthearted, and designed to make people smile. Examples include funny animal videos and music videos. Think of TikTok and Instagram Reels. 

Education Videos - These are long-form videos that explain concepts like history, science, art, and geography. They often come in the form of lectures, tutorials, and courses. YouTube

Information Videos - These are long form informational videos that provide useful tips and advice. They can cover topics like product usage, cooking, home improvement, and personal finance. Video is the most popular form of online communication today. As such, it makes sense that businesses are starting to use video to connect with customers. If you want to reach your target audience, you must start thinking about how to incorporate video into your marketing strategy. Here are some reasons why you should consider adding video to your site.

1. Engagement

People spend more time watching video than reading text. They watch videos on average for 9 minutes per day, compared to just 3 minutes per day spent reading text.

2. Conversion Rate

According to Hubspot, people who view a video are 30% more likely to buy something than those who read text alone.

3. Brand Awareness

When people see your brand name and logo embedded in a video, they are much more likely to remember it.

Conclusion

Video is one of the most powerful forms of communication out there. In fact, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, people are watching about three hours of online video every day. And while you may think that video isn't suitable for your small business, the truth is that it can actually do wonders for your website.

If you're looking for a video production partner to help you in the process. Feel free to reach out to us. We have helped dozens of businesses here in South Florida create high-quality videos that increase conversions; from script to screen we have you covered. 

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