How can I optimise the SEO of a Video? (2024)

Through our SEO Agency Optimize 360

As online video continues to gain ground, thevideo SEOis crucial if you want to reach your target audience and stand out from the plethora of content on offer.

Your SEO Agency Optimize 360 gives you the keys to help you optimise the SEO of a video and give your content every chance of ranking well in search engine results such as Google.

Understanding the importance of video SEO

Video is an integral part of our daily lives on the Internet. Streaming platforms such as YouTube have changed our habits and given rise to a new form of content that is highly effective at capturing attention.

But in the face of this growing competition, maintaining thevisibility for your videosmust be at the heart of your concerns. This is where SEO comes into its own.

How video SEO works

• • Indexation :If you want to appear in the top results of search engines, you need to work on indexing your videos. Search engines need to index your videos before they can offer them to Internet users.
  • Traffic :As with traditional search engine optimisation (SEO), the popularity of your video will determine its ranking on search engines. So it's crucial to attract as many users as possible to your video.
  • Placement :Positioning in the search results will also depend on the choice of keywords and their relevance to the proposed content. The quality of the video, its informative content and the time spent on it by users will also be taken into account.

Optimising your video for natural referencing: the essential rules to follow

To optimise the SEO of a video, several steps need to be followed and adapted according to the content and general philosophy of the site or broadcast channel concerned.

The choice of keywords

The choice of key words is crucial to ensuring that your videos are indexed in a relevant way. To do this, you need to draw up a list of terms related to the main subject of your video. Don't hesitate touse free online toolsto find out how popular a particular keyword and related searches.

Once this list has been drawn up, the most appropriate keywords need to be selected on the basis of their relevance, as well as their level of competition, i.e. the number of results displayed when a user types this term into a search engine.

Work on the video title and description

The title and description are the first elements that catch the eye of the web user in the list of results. They must therefore be eye-catching and enticing, while being sufficiently explicit about their content.

Your title must includethe main keywordThe description should include secondary keywords, organically integrated into the sentences in a natural way. It is also good practice to intelligently decompartmentalise the vocabulary used in order to improve semantic richness while avoiding the phenomenon of "overexposure".

Meta tags

Video search engine optimisation cannot do without meta tagsbecause they are essential for giving search engines context for your video.

These tags include :

• • meta title :it corresponds to the title of the web page hosting your video and must contain the main keyword.
  • meta description :it represents a short, informative summary of your video and should include a number of well-chosen keywords.
  • meta keywords :Although Google no longer uses this tag for its rankings, some search engines, such as Bingstill pay attention. So don't forget to include keywords related to your video.

Technical optimisation of video for high-performance SEO

As with a website, it is important to optimise your video technically for SEO, paying particular attention to a number of key factors.

The file name and URL

We need to giveexplicit nameto your video file. This name should contain the main keyword, separated from the other elements of the title by underscores or hyphens. The URL of the page hosting this video should also be structured according to the same logic: clear, precise and containing the right keywords.

Video format

The choice of video format will influence the quality and speed with which your video loads. The .mp4 or .webm formats are preferred for their compatibility with most browsers and broadcast platforms, such as YouTube.

Responsive video

A responsive video is important to ensure that your content is readable on all media (desktop computers, tablets, smartphones). The use of HTML5 tags automatically adapts the size and resolution of the video for different screens.

Subtitles and transcriptions to improve your video ranking

Adding subtitles and transcripts can be a significant asset for optimising the SEO of a video. This enriches the textual content associated with the video and makes it easier for search engines to understand.

Subtitles

Subtitles are the texts that appear at the bottom of the screen while the video is being broadcast and correspond to the words of the speakers or their translation into another language. They improve the accessibility of your video and increase its reach to a wider audience who do not necessarily master the language used in the video.

Automatic transcription

To further optimise the SEO of your video, it may be worth including a text file containing all the spoken content of the video in the form of sentences written in due and proper form. This will help search engines to better understand the content and improve indexing.