Author: Atiba de Souza
Video content has been fundamental for engagement strategies for years—but, as we look into the future, they’ve also become a cornerstone of visibility strategies for more and more brands. Combined with strong SEO practices, videos are a powerhouse for businesses that want to build stronger connections with their audiences and get seen across digital platforms.
In this article, discover how my agency, Client Attraction Pros, combines video content and SEO strategy to capture audience engagement. From creating captivating stories to understanding the subtleties of search algorithms, this article is your guide to unlocking the true power of video for search.
Table of contents:
Before you get started: Steer clients away from vanity metrics
Before you start planning, let’s deal with a common ‘issue’: clients often prioritize views and other vanity metrics. You must help them understand which metrics actually put dollars into their pockets by educating them on the long-term benefits of SEO-driven video content (beyond immediate views, likes, and shares).
Emphasize the following as key metrics of success for your client(s):
YouTube click-through rates
Average percentage viewed
Website traffic from YouTube
These metrics help you attribute the success of your efforts and provide the client with tangible results.
Search Generative Experience & video’s evolving role on the SERP
In the ever-evolving world of SEO, the introduction of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) marks a significant shift as it presents direct answers (via artificial intelligence) at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). These AI overviews fundamentally alter user interaction on Google by providing instant, relevant information without requiring a click-through to a website (not unlike featured snippets, except generated by data from potentially numerous websites).
As SEOs, some of us break into sweats and panic attacks because ‘Google is stealing our clicks’. When we measure the world by yesterday’s SEO standards, then YES, Google is stealing clicks from websites! But, when we open our minds to the reality that the world of SEO and user experience is changing, we can identify an even greater opportunity now to help our clients grow their brand.
Google’s inclusion of video content in AI overviews not only enriches search results, it also directs users to YouTube videos for detailed explanations.
By pinpointing the exact timestamps within videos where answers are addressed, Google facilitates efficient content consumption directly from its platform.
Our role as SEOs is always changing, and now it’s time to recognize that getting content to the top of search does not always mean getting web pages or blogs to rank well—a huge proportion of consumers want to start their purchase journey with a video on YouTube.
If so much of your target audience wants to watch videos on YouTube, why are you still measuring SEO results in the old ways? Consumers want to watch and then visit a website. It used to be the other way around.
How to craft an effective video SEO strategy
Videos play a crucial role in modern SEO strategies, particularly on Google Search. The format offers unique benefits that written content alone cannot match, including increased user engagement and higher click-through rates.
Google has prioritized video content since 2012, often showing video features prominently in SERPs. This trend continues as Google seeks to enhance user experience by integrating diverse content formats.
Ultimately, this all spells out more opportunities for businesses that embrace video SEO. Agencies can set their clients up for video SEO success via a meticulously planned approach.
These are the four critical stages that agencies must master to deliver impactful video:
Video content research
Video production
Video editing
Strategic positioning
Stage 1: Video content research
The foundation of any successful video SEO strategy begins with comprehensive research. Unlike traditional keyword research for written content (which is more topic-centric), video SEO research delves deep into understanding the client’s target audience, their pain points, and their customer journey (i.e., more user-centric).
This initial phase sets the stage for crafting content that resonates deeply with viewers and aligns seamlessly with client objectives—I’ll get into more specific details a little later.
Stage 2: Video production
Video production has evolved significantly, especially in response to challenges like COVID-19. During the pandemic, my company took ALL of our video production virtual by innovating and figuring out how to direct videos from remote locations.
Today, virtual and hybrid video production environments are the norm, and they all require different skills and present different challenges in planning and client management. Here are a few points to consider if you plan to offer virtual or hybrid production:
Assist clients in setting up virtual studios and producing high-quality content remotely.
Plan to rely on more B-roll in your editing to make the video more dynamic.
Double-check your scripts to ensure that they’re clear and error-free, as it may be harder to troubleshoot or make changes on the fly in remote recording environments.
Use virtual recording studios. We have used Riverside for three years and love it!
Stage 3: Video editing
Video editing goes beyond mere post-production; it involves creating a distinct visual style that embodies the client’s brand identity. Whether handled internally or outsourced to specialized professionals, editing plays a crucial role in maintaining consistency and enhancing viewer engagement.
To that end, create a style guide to ensure that every video reflects the client’s unique brand and resonates with their target audience. This also helps you scale and add more editors later on without sacrificing consistency.
Stage 4: Strategic positioning
You can plan the right ‘keywords’ (more on this in the next section) and master production and editing, but if you fail to position your video content well, it will flop.
Consider the following elements when optimizing your video content.
Title: Integrate your target keyword within the first 60 characters (oftentimes, this is simply the question that your video seeks to answer for audiences). Craft titles that naturally include relevant keywords and span 60–70 characters. Avoid clickbait or misleading titles.
Descriptions: Write keyword-rich descriptions, starting with the target keyword in the first 200 characters. Include links to resources mentioned in the video for natural promotion (e.g., affiliate links).
Tags: The jury is out on the effectiveness of tags in your YouTube description. Many marketers say that tags are ineffective, but you can still search for them. Utilize exact and relevant keywords/tags concisely. Avoid misleading tags.
Chapters: This is perhaps the least used and most impactful video optimization for ranking in Google. Chapters allow you to define sections of your video with appropriate keyword phrases. Google uses these chapters to take a viewer from a search result to the exact spot in the video that they need.
![A Google search result listing for [how to water mums]. The result is on YouTube from the channel Abundant Houseplants. The video, titled The Best Way to Water Mums that are in Containers, has a carousel of ‘key moments’ below it with timestamps.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a484d4_799aed04d85d4690a262a5a19742127b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_80,h_43,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_avif,quality_auto/a484d4_799aed04d85d4690a262a5a19742127b~mv2.png)
Transcript: Manually uploading your 100% correct transcript ensures that Google ‘reads’ your entire video and interprets it correctly. This can be especially important if your videos include a lot of niche or industry-specific terminology.
Thumbnails: Use high-contrast images with bright colors and incorporate close-ups of faces. Maintain consistency with your brand’s fonts, colors, and iconography. Ensure readability across all devices with a 1280x720 JPEG, GIF, or PNG image. Thumbnails do not directly affect a video’s ranking, but they do affect the click-through rate, which affects the ranking.
Traditionally, in SEO, most of the above would have been considered metadata and not true ranking factors. In video SEO, they are the ranking factors.
If you have been in the SEO game for more than 15 years, you remember the days when metadata mattered. Video SEO takes us back to those days. Here’s the caveat, though—if you fail to build congruence between your metadata’ and the actual video content, it will rank initially but then fall out of ranking because viewers won’t watch your video.
Keyword research for video SEO is not the same as for blogs
Remember, keyword research for video is not the same as keyword research for text-based content. There are several factors at play:
In written content, we consider keyword clusters and internal linking strategies—these don’t exist for video. Videos are standalone entities that must each carry their load. This creates interesting opportunities where you can create multiple videos that rank for the same keyword.
![Google search results for [physio adelaide for back pain at night]. There are three youtube search results from the same channel (adelaide physio).](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a484d4_7f30ea41cb274d04906a22d419ecf698~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_47,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_avif,quality_auto/a484d4_7f30ea41cb274d04906a22d419ecf698~mv2.png)
Despite videos being standalone, consumers tend to consume them in batches (that’s why binge-worthy content is a thing). When we think about video content strategy, we must think bigger than just the initial ranking and consider how we can entice the viewer to watch the next video.
People don’t use keyword searches to find videos—they ask questions.
Understand the types of videos you want to rank
For marketing purposes, there are two main types of videos.
‘Why’ videos: These are videos that aim to establish deeper connections with viewers by articulating a brand’s values and philosophies. These videos resonate on a personal and emotional level, fostering trust and credibility. They’re crucial in the initial stages of the buyer’s journey, where establishing rapport and conveying purpose is important. Here’s an example of a ‘why’ video on hormonal imbalance by VYVE Wellness.
‘How’ videos: These are videos that provide practical solutions and actionable insights. They cater to viewers seeking specific information or instructions. This allows you to position your client as a go-to source of knowledge. These videos are effective in the consideration stages of the buyer’s journey, where potential customers are evaluating solutions and looking for detailed guidance. Here’s an example of a ‘how’ video on communicating effectively with patients by Dr. Ariana DeMers
Conduct SERP analyses for superior video SEO
Where do you want the video to rank, YouTube or Google Search?
For our clients, that answer should always be Google Search. Google is the #1 intent-based search engine in the world—it’s where consumers generally go first.
To truly understand the opportunity/challenge of ranking for any given keyword, conduct a SERP analysis with an eye on SERP features—the video pack, in particular, can help you identify the right keywords for your client.
Keyword volume is a secondary metric for video SEO (relevance being the primary consideration). However, there are times when very relevant question keywords lack good volume. In such cases, you must make an informed decision regarding the video content your clients should produce.
In addition, you could also encounter relevant keywords that do not show a video pack. My company has tracked hundreds of question keywords that initially did not show a video pack and have observed that, over time, Google started ranking videos for these keywords. While there isn’t a definitive science to predicting which question keywords will eventually rank videos, our research has led to some interesting observations.
Predicting whether videos make it into future keyword rankings involves making strategic bets on:
Placement of tabs in Google Search — The search for [Is HubSpot worth it] returns no SERP features and low volume (according to Dragon Metrics). However, when we search on Google, we find that the second SERP tab is the video tab. Google reorders these tabs to match the type of content it believes the user wants to consume. I’ve found that the placement of the video tab in the search results is a great indicator of the likelihood of videos getting added to the video pack in the future.
![A screenshot of the data output for the query [is hubspot worth it] in dragon metrics, showing no SERP features. Another screenshot below it for the Google search results for the same query, showing a video tab.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a484d4_2abe13d68dbb422295ecdd84a8174e4b~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_138,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_avif,quality_auto/a484d4_2abe13d68dbb422295ecdd84a8174e4b~mv2.jpg)
Content in the video tab — If you know your keyword is 100% relevant and an important question for your client to answer, then investigate the current content in the video tab. In doing this, I have observed two things:
If the videos listed in the video tab are NOT on YouTube (but rather links to websites with embedded video), then you have a good chance of creating a YouTube-hosted video that outranks all the websites. A word of caution before you proceed—if the sites with embedded video are all high DA sites, I would not expect your video to rank.
If the content on the video page is hosted on YouTube, but the quality is poor, then there’s an opportunity for your client to create more useful content.
Measure your video SEO’s impact on website growth
User behavior is changing, so our approach to driving traffic to websites must change as well. For decades, the focus has been on ranking web pages and blogs on page one. However, in this post-COVID era, where users are increasingly consuming video content, the importance of a web page’s ranking has diminished significantly.
The landscape has indeed shifted. As you strive to give your clients a competitive edge, it may be time to embrace driving traffic to YouTube, which can subsequently redirect traffic to their websites. This shift also implies a change in what you measure.
While measuring success in SEO tends to be a tricky subject, video actually helps us simplify it. In order to get there, we have to emphasize the importance of aligning video metrics with client objectives and understanding the nuances of viewer engagement. Below are some of my best practices that can help you get started.
Distinguish between ‘views’ and ‘ideal customer views’: Delineating between mere views and views from your ideal customers is crucial. Instead of focusing solely on maximizing view counts or channel monetization, your goal should be to drive growth in high-value sales. This mindset shift ensures that every view is aligned with the target audience’s interests and needs.
Align metrics with the client’s goals: By aligning video performance metrics with client objectives, such as lead generation or brand engagement, you can ensure that each video serves a strategic purpose.
Set clear expectations and KPIs: I started this conversation with three key KPIs that we track for our clients. Understanding and analyzing these KPIs are paramount to driving relevant traffic that converts to sales.
YouTube click-through rates — YouTube CTR reflects how well your thumbnail and title resonate with viewers. When analyzing this metric, note that YouTube breaks down CTR based on where engagement occurs on the platform (search, suggested, etc). Additionally, there is no way to measure CTR from Google Search. Target a CTR of 6% or higher (may vary based on your industry).
Average percentage views (APV) — APV is the most crucial stat that describes whether people want to consume your content. I have seen videos with CTR above 10% but APV below 10%. For my clients, the minimum acceptable APV is 30% (although educational content tends to have a much lower APV). One tactic I like to use is aggressively tracking APV and inserting Call To Action Branded Commercials in the videos before the APV percentage (these are the brand’s own commercials placed within their videos).
Website traffic from YouTube — Every link in the description of a YouTube video should use UTM parameters. Building UTM parameters into every link gives your client complete visibility into which videos and links drive the most traffic. In SEO, attribution is generally a dirty word, but links with UTM parameters help us prove attribution.
The bottom line is understanding the relationship between these three metrics (and the sub-metrics that affect them) allows you to effectively manage your clients’ video strategy.
Video isn’t just about the ‘now’—it’s about future-proofing your brand
By aligning video strategies with client objectives and dispelling fears around video adoption, agencies can not only drive growth for their clients, but also differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Embracing video isn’t just about staying relevant—it’s about future-proofing client engagements and paving the way for innovation in digital marketing strategies.
Those who fail to embrace these strategies risk becoming obsolete in a landscape where video content increasingly dominates consumer attention and search engine results.
Atiba de Souza - CEO at Client Attraction Pros Atiba de Souza is a prominent figure in the digital marketing industry, known for his expertise in video content marketing and search engine optimization. He is the founder and CEO of Client Attraction Pros, a video marketing agency based in Rockville, Maryland.