The Benefits of Using Youtube for SEO

Youtube has become a powerful way of getting your business noticed on the various search engines. These days, search engines such as Google like rich content, so embedding Youtube videos on your site will earn you bonus points and boost your ranking. Youtube videos rank in their own right too, as can be seen from the videos that pop up in search results when you type in a query. To reap the SEO benefits Youtube has to offer, there are a few things you need to do:

• Title your video with a short description using keywords and include your business name at the start of the title.
• Tag your video with relevant keywords or keyword phrases based on the types of queries you anticipate users making.
• Write a description for your video including your business details and, once again, use strong keywords.
• Transcribe your video for people who are unable to hear the content. Google rewards content that provides an enhanced user experience, including transcription.
• Geotag your video in the ‘Advanced Settings’ area of the Youtube Video Manager as Google will save your location details which can be used as a relevant search criteria.
• Associate your video with your Google Places listing and your Google+ page for greater publicity and exposure.
• Embed your video on your site using the embed code, keeping the original video on Youtube so you continue to benefit from Youtube’s ranking factors on Google. You might also allow others to embed your video onto their pages, thereby creating valuable links back to the video.
• Promote your video across social media. The various views add up to help your video feature in search rankings and this will help promote your business in local search results too.

In a web climate increasingly focused on providing a good user experience, Google ranks videos in its search results because users like to see them, which means they have a big influence. YouTube’s a very powerful platform to use to drive traffic to your website and so, by following the guidance above, you’ll be able to harness the power of Youtube’s SEO.

Do you use YouTube for SEO? Please leave your comments below…