Video Search Tactics

Drew Hubbard, Senior Linking Analyst, SEO

The Search Agency

Contents

• Content

– What Google Sees

– Transcripts and Synopses

– YouTube Captions and Subtitles

– YouTube Meta Data Example

– Naming Conventions

• Thumbnails

• Watermarks

• Tagging

• Social Participation

• Video Sitemaps

Notes

• Most of the examples in this presentation will concentrate on hosted video upload sites. Two, in particular, are featured– YouTube because it’s the biggest

– Vimeo because it’s my favorite

• Recommendations apply across the board, even when a specific service is used as an example

• EXCEPT: A couple of the examples will only be relevant if the videos are hosted on your own site. These will be clearly indicated

Content: What Google Sees

Worldwide English Sign Up QuickList (0) Help Sign In Loading...UploadVideo FileQuick CaptureSearch Home Videos Channels Community

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player. Channel Icon Subscribe Unsubscribe OkGoJuly 31, 2006(more info) (less info) Want to Subscribe?Sign in to YouTube now! Sign in with your Google Account! OK Go on Treadmills, Dancing. okgo.net Also vi... OK Go on Treadmills, Dancing. okgo.net

Also visit myspace.com/okgo and bigbadtrish.com Category:  Music

Tags:  okgo  ok  go  treadmills  dancing  here  it  goes  again  hereitgoesagain  threadmills  URL Embed Customize

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

Google (for all practical purposes) doesn’t see the video on the page. The box to the left shows Google’s cached page for OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again” video. This illustrates how important the surrounding content is to the way search engines interpret your video pages.

Content: What Google Sees

5

This video is well-optimized with spiderable HTML text

• This is what the search engines see• Well optimized text that makes it clear what the video is about

This text is spiderable

This text is spiderable

http://www.motortrend.com/av/roadtests/112_0804_conclusion_luxury_sports_sedan_video/index.html

Content: Transcripts and Synopses

• Transcripts and synopses are great opportunities to further add content and optimize the page on which your video resides

• They provide keyword opportunities and more content for the engines to spider

Content: YouTube Captions and Subtitles

Video transcripts can be uploaded to YouTube in order to make closed captioning available.

YouTube and Google will likely increasingly use video captions for more accurate searching and ad-serving.

An opportunity to connect with the hearing-impaired can also result in positive PR.

Content: YouTube Subtitles Options

URU Works Subtitle Workshop (freeware software) can help you create subtitles.

http://www.urusoft.net/products.php?cat=sw&lang=1

Subtitles may be uploaded in any language. They can also be automatically translated to an available language of the viewer’s choice.

Content: YouTube Meta Data Example

HTML meta data for each page is collected directly from the information you enter for each video. Note the YouTube information and its HTML counterpart.

•YouTube title = meta title tag•YouTube description = meta description tag•YouTube tags = meta keywords tag

Be sure to include keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and tags for this reason.

<meta name="title" content=”ad:tech San Francisco Video">

<meta name="description“ content=“Hi ad:tech San Francisco! How is everyone today? I'm a little tired but otherwise I'm great. I’m definitely looking forward to cocktails later.">

<meta name="keywords" content=”ad:tech San Francisco, video search, seo">

HTML example

Note: YouTube curiously still uses the “keyword” meta tag. Vimeo does not.

Content: Naming Conventions

• Categorize all video files and directories with keyword rich names

• Video File Names: A video file name about ad:tech San Francisco should be named adtechsanfrancisco.wmv rather than H38lLWRS6I.wmv

• Video Categorization: Videos should be kept together in a separate “video” directory– http://www.thesearchagency.com/video/keywords.wmv

– http://www. thesearchagency.com/video/keywords2.wmv

Note: This applies only to hosted, on-site video

Thumbnails: YouTube Selection

YouTube captures stills at the ¼, ½ , and ¾ points of the video and makes them available as selectable thumbnails. Branded or visually-appealing frames can be positioned at these points to control the appearance of thumbnails.

Thumbnails: Choose Carefully

Thumbnails have been proven to greatly influence click-through. In this example, these two YouTube videos are virtually identical except for the thumbnails. Note the numbers of views.

Vimeo allows much more flexibility, even giving you the option to upload your own.

Watermarks

Videos can be edited to include a translucent, branded logo that appears for the duration of the video.

This is particularly beneficial if the video is embedded on another site.

Tagging

• Use all opportunities to tag videos whenever reasonable• The more spiderable content that accompanies a video,

the better chance it has to rank for its terms• Tagging can be done…

– Within the ‘tag’ areas (YouTube, Vimeo)– On the page (video that you are hosting)– In video file names (YouTube and video that you are

hosting)• Different video venues provide differing opportunities for

tagging• Seek out and utilize these opportunities

Tagging Examples

• Most video formats allow opportunities for tagging. Use your primary keyword first and then move down the list toward your secondary keywords until the list is complete.

YouTube

Quicktime

Social Participation

Regardless of the video sharing site, allow for full interaction with your brand by encouraging participation.

Remember that moderation might be necessary.

YouTube Vimeo

Video Sitemaps

• A video site map is a modified version of the XML sitemap standard

• XML sitemaps make it easier for the engines to index your video content and increase the chances of your videos appearing in universal search results

• Make sure to submit your video Sitemap to the search engines and reference it in robots.txt

• How-to: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=80472

Note: This applies only to hosted, on-site video

Summary

• For now, we assume that video is invisible to search engines. Good, spiderable content is the key to good rankings

• Use the word “video” in titles and URLs• Always carefully consider video thumbnails• Watermark your videos to protect branding• Take advantage of video services’ tagging options in

order to create keyword-rich content and meta data• Allow others to interact with your videos• Include XML video sitemaps when appropriate

Thank You!

Drew Hubbard

Drew@TheSearchAgency.comwww.twitter.com/DrewHubbard