Claiming top rankings with SEO? Start with YouTube content!
Why YouTube SEO deserves a key position in your marketing strategy
Together with the content team, you have been working on strengthening your brand position in Google for some time. You have a strong keyword research as a basis, a H1-H2-H3 hierarchy in blogs and you make good use of keywords on the dedicated SEO pages with which you want to rank. Well done, you would think. But why is the content of your biggest competitor at the top? With a video, even. What is going on? We’ll tell you exactly why you have to include YouTube SEO in your marketing strategy!
YouTube video content: the best answer to your questions
Google has been shifting its focus from copy to video for a while now. As the largest search engine in the world, it is Google’s goal to give you the best possible answer. And that answer is increasingly in the form of a video. YouTube (don’t forget: Google owns YouTube) is becoming the key figure in their new algorithms.
And marketers and brands are starting to notice this more and more, especially in the SEO landscape. How? Besides the fact that Google is putting more weight on videos, the results are also becoming more detailed. Especially if videos are well optimized. In that case we see them with explained chapters and even in the form of snippets!
Snippets are the coveted first positions in which the (possible) answer to the search question is directly and fully explained. See also: How Google’s featured snippets work.
What does a video search result look like?
Take, for example, the search for “‘kruipruimte isoleren”. On the first page, the results include this GAMMA video.
Not only does Google present the video itself as the relevant answer, but it also explains the chapters of the video for you. As a Google user, you can immediately skip to the part of the video that is relevant to you. Moreover, the search engine immediately makes suggestions for other relevant isolation videos.
In this example we look at GAMMA again, because they have claimed the topic ‘kruipruimte isoleren’ with a series of how-to’s. That looks good! Would you like to read more about how a brand can claim a niche with video content? Read more here.
But also a broader search query (around which a lot of content exists) is detected by Google and neatly presented. Take, for example, the search query ‘Volkswagen ID.4 review’.
This produces results from publishers and creators as well as the brand itself. In this case, video is even shown as the very first result. Because there is a lot of content on this topic, not one specific search result is shown but rather a series of videos (almost like a playlist).
Because the Volkswagen video is optimized and matches the search query well, it comes up prominently in the search results. It is clear: Google has given video and thus YouTube a prominent role in the SEO landscape. And as a brand, you can benefit from this!
It’s time to use video in your SEO strategy
But how do you go about it? Although scoring with video is similar to an SEO strategy based on keywords, there is a substantial difference. Creating ‘good scoring YouTube content’ goes much further than just including the keyword in the video. The concept, the editing and the story also play an important role. And it are precisely these components that we have managed to include. How? With the help of data! By analysing thousands of national and international videos, we have come up with a blueprint for the ‘Perfect YouTube Video’. And for each customer, we investigate which approach works specifically for their target group and goals.
Take Center Parcs, for example, where we deliberately choose content in which the presenters are behind the camera rather than in front of it. This so-called POV (point of view) content is very well received by viewers!
We always take into account those important factors that turn an ordinary video into a high-scoring YouTube item. Like the chapters that Google considers so important and that translate into search results one-to-one. Therefore, we do not do a keyword research, but a so-called video topic research. In addition to the most popular search queries, this type of research also analyzes relevant competitors and comparable content. We also take into account length, format, editing style and trends.
Because even the soft parts of content can be used to gain insight through data. Think of the choice of presenter and the style (such as a POV video or other kind of hands on review) but also the format of the video and even the edit style are trend sensitive. By means of trend research and creative concept development, this layer is also included in the creation of YouTube videos.
YouTube is the key figure
As a YouTube agency, we see and feel the landscape changing on all sides. The video platform is not only attracting more and more (Dutch) viewers every day, but creators and brands are also continuing to upload new content at a rapid pace (Adformatie, 2021). And where it was first difficult to see YouTube as a sales channel, the ROI is becoming better and more visible.
For example, with our series of isolation videos for GAMMA we managed to increase purchase intention by 88% (Adformatie, 2021). Admittedly, purchase intention is not yet a sale, but it is certainly a clear signal that video contributes to brand awareness, brand love and sales.
Want to discover what a YouTube marketing agency can do for you?
A dedicated YouTube marketing agency helps your brand to tap into a broad audience, engaging them with visually rich and relevant video content. A specialized YouTube agency can help you navigate this complex platform efficiently, ensuring that your marketing investment translates into measurable results. Click here to learn more about a YouTube marketing agency.
