Video Search Tactics

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Video Search Tactics

• Drew Hubbard, Senior Linking Analyst, SEO
• The Search Agency

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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

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Notes

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

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Content What Google Sees
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vpv5zWaTEVkI
Google (for all practical purposes) doesnt see
the video on the page. The box to the left shows
Googles cached page for OK Gos Here It Goes
Again video. This illustrates how important the
surrounding content is to the way search engines
interpret your video pages.
Worldwide English Sign Up QuickList (0) Help
Sign In Loading... UploadVideo File Quick
Capture Search 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.netAlso visit
myspace.com/okgo and bigbadtrish.com Category 
Music Tags  okgo  ok  go  treadmills  dancing 
here  it  goes  again  hereitgoesagain 
threadmills  URL Embed Customize
5
Content What Google Sees
http//www.motortrend.com/av/roadtests/112_0804_co
nclusion_luxury_sports_sedan_video/index.html
This text is spiderable
This video is well-optimized with spiderable HTML
text
This text is spiderable

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

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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

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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.

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Content YouTube Subtitles Options
URU Works Subtitle Workshop (freeware software)
can help you create subtitles. http//www.urusoft
.net/products.php?catswlang1 Subtitles may be
uploaded in any language. They can also be
automatically translated to an available
language of the viewers choice.
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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.

ltmeta name"title" contentadtech San Francisco
Video"gt ltmeta name"description contentHi
adtech San Francisco! How is everyone today? I'm
a little tired but otherwise I'm great. Im
definitely looking forward to cocktails
later."gt ltmeta name"keywords" contentadtech
San Francisco, video search, seo"gt
HTML example
Note YouTube curiously still uses the keyword
meta tag. Vimeo does not.
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Content Naming Conventions
Note This applies only to hosted, on-site video

• Categorize all video files and directories with
  keyword rich names
• Video File Names A video file name about adtech
  San Francisco should be named adtechsanfrancisco.w
  mv 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.wm
  v

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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

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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.

Quicktime
YouTube
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Social Participation
YouTube
Vimeo
Regardless of the video sharing site, allow for
full interaction with your brand by encouraging
participation. Remember that moderation might
be necessary.
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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/b
  in/answer.py?hlenanswer80472

Note This applies only to hosted, on-site video
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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

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Thank You!
Drew Hubbard Drew_at_TheSearchAgency.com www.twitter
.com/DrewHubbard