Thursday, January 8, 2009

How to Optimize Video Content for Search Engine Indexing

By Mark Robertson

Online video and video search is HOT! You have surely seen all the buzz on the internet about sites like youtube, blinkx, etc... With this, bloggers have been writing posts about how to shoot video, how to upload videos to these sites, etc... However, few have provided information on how to get these videos seen and discovered. Here enters Video SEO.

To ensure that your video gets seen and discovered on these search engines, it is important to first learn some of the technical aspects that are important to online video as well as search.

As with Search Engine Optimization for webpages and text content, keyword research is an important first step. Prior to optimizing your videos, you will want to obtain a keyword target list. There are however, some difference with regard to how users search for videos vs. website and webpages. Namely, most users include the word "video" when doing a search. Make sure that your keyword list contains several variations with the word video, Examples - car videos, car video, racing video, automotive videos, etc....

The next step after you have generated a keyword list is to take a good look at the video search platforms to see which channels and categories, tags, etc... tend to get the most views, as well as to look at which platforms have the highest performance in views, ratings, etc... You will certainly want to submit your video to multiple sites but you will want to make sure that at the least, you submit your video to the more popular engines.

You should also keep a track of the audience already searching for your targeted terms. In case you fail to find the same, find the closest related terms being searched. In video search engine optimization user feedback plays a very vital role.

You will want to encourage readers to submit feedback as studies show that users who provide feedback tend to be more active and easier to convert. In other words, those users that provide feedback, typically are more likely to call, email, visit your site, etc...

If your video is popular in the video SERPs, you get the opportunity to submit fresh content. Many websites make a common mistake by providing the same content again and again. Don't make your video content to simply repeat what's already out there, instead, finding a fresh "content space" for your target keyword term.

Nobody is interested in watching long and boring videos. Shoot or create short clips from your longer version of the video. This will make your video more interesting and crispier. People usually like to watch short clips online ranging from 1-3 minutes, as they are short and takes less time to download.

You can even put the actual branding inside the video, such as text or domain name or specific URL as a graphic in the video. Of course, getting users back to your website or business is one great result for doing video SEO in the first place.

So if you wish to succeed in search engine optimization's mad frenzy race, video search engine optimization is an incredible new way to get exposure, and you have the opportunity right now, to get in the ground floor. - 16747

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