Pin It

RSS and Marketing Services

Remember when Flash was the big new thing on webpages? And we’re not just talking about Flash as it is most often used today, sometimes in ways that are so low key that you barely notice them, but flashy Flash.

Suddenly, previously static webpages had balls bouncing across the screen and main titles zooming in. They were veritable thunderstorms of activity, but everyone knew it was a novelty. Bells and whistles that were nice to have, but weren’t really necessary.

In the beginning, web video was like that too. Companies could have it, and it would be a nice distracting novelty. But you certainly didn’t need video to enjoy a website, and no one ignored or looked down on sites that didn’t have any.

But a funny thing happened around the time Google started separating their search function into web, video, images, shopping, and so on. Your site was no longer ranked solely on views of your written content, but also individual pieces of media like pictures and videos.

In fact, one great video could launch you to the top of Google’s search for that term in the video category. And having a combination of hits to your written content, videos, and images gave you a higher chance of moving up in the overall search rankings, meaning that even more people would see your site.

In short, video went from being a nice frill to an essential piece of the SEO puzzle. Why is it so great to add video to your site?

Increased traffic

This is kind of a cheat because we already mentioned this above, but due to how search engines now offer “video” as a search function, your web video can bring more – and different – traffic to your site than you’d get with written content alone.

Videos are passive

Yes, you have to click on the link, but oftentimes people are more likely to sit through a video than they are to read a web page or blog. This means that you can convey your message to more people and hopefully win more converts.

Seeing is believing

As cheesy as they are, there’s a reason that infomercials are made – because watching people do something and witnessing their reactions is more effective than simply using words to tell your audience how amazing your product or service is.

With a video, visitors can’t help but engage emotionally with the people on screen. This makes them more likely to buy whatever you’re selling, whether it’s an actual product or just your brand identity.

Fewer click-aways

Just getting your site high in the search engine rankings is no guarantee that it will translate to a larger, continuing audience. One of the biggest problems is getting people to stay once they click on your site.

Video can help with this because it’s a lot easier for someone to get caught up in a video and stick around than it is for them to be so engaged that they read through your entire site. This is called increasing a site’s “stickiness.”

You can repurpose it

If you write a blog or copy for your site, it’s not always easy to find other venues where you can reuse that content. Generally speaking, written content is tailored for one particular thing and that’s it. If you want similar content in another kind of medium, chances are you’re going to need to rewrite it – or worse, pay someone to do it for you.

Videos, on the other hand, are easy to transfer from medium to medium because there are so many ways that we watch them. Need a TV spot? Maybe your web video fits the bill. Want content for your company’s mobile app? Again, web videos.

BlogEngage

Be sure to add me as a friend, bbrian017

Twitter, bbrian017

About

Pat Walton is a respected and award winning freelance writer with over two decades of experience writing for the technology industry. When Pat isn’t reviewing internet video production companies who are great resources for web designers like www.actinwebvideo.com, he’s busy training for his cross Atlantic solo sailing trip.

Tags: ,