10 Ways to Win at Video SEO Without Technical Skills!
Jayna Patel
Published June 27, 2019
Read Time
Home » Blog » SEO » 10 Ways to Win at Video SEO Without Technical Skills!
Videos. You can watch them, listen to them and even read them (more on this later!)
They’re engaging, vary your digital marketing content and are hugely popular on social media and websites. In fact, we’ve written before about video SEO and how videos can help boost your website’s health and visibility in search engine results.
The Case for Investing in Video SEO
1) Wider Appeal
Videos can appeal to visual and audio learners alike, with tutorial and ‘how to’ videos being hugely popular.
According to VPN Geeks, in 2019 and beyond we can expect to see a 30% rise in the number of Google searches with the suffix “video”. Indeed, as time has progressed the keyword ‘YouTube’ has become the most searched for term on Google worldwide as of 2020, with a staggering 1,363,700,000 searches.
Bounce rate is a measurement expressed as a percentage that indicates what portion of your website visitors are exiting your website after only visiting one webpage. The lower the bounce rate percentage the better. SEO expert and Google partner Patrick Chemoul, believes that it is ‘excellent’ if you can lower your website’s bounce rate to between 26% – 40%.
“…While bounce rate doesn’t directly affect your page ranking, it is still something you should understand and be able to improve upon.
High bounce rates (when calculated correctly) are often symptoms of deeper problems like User Experience issues or poor targeting. These are the things you should worry about. If you work on the deeper problems like usability and customer targeting, SEO problems tend to improve as well.”
Creating Videos…When You Lack Technical Know-How
Now that we have convinced you why it’s worthwhile investing in video SEO for your website and business, you’re probably wondering where to begin (and what the video at the top of this blog post is about!) Well, so were we!
We know how to distribute video for clients, by uploading it to video galleries on their websites, incorporating them into blog posts, and maximising their social media channels to make sure the videos achieve the maximum reach, but creating videos is where we fell down. Being a small team with web design, SEO, copywriting and social media management skills already under our belts, creating videos was a gap in our skill set. That’s why Pivotal sent me to an insightful Smartphone Video Workshop run by First frame Production’s video expert Ryan Mulhern in Leeds earlier this month.
We had even had a client share with us recently that they had been deterred from continuing to produce videos as everyone else’s videos that he saw online looked like they were a lot more professional than the ones he was creating. The client in question also attended Ryan’s video workshop with me and we both learned that creating high-quality videos and editing them with just our smartphones wasn’t as hard as we thought! The video at the top of this blog post is a result of what I learned (we were challenged to put our newly acquired video editing and filming skills into practice after the workshop – it was by no means perfect but got me out of my comfort zone!).
Here are 10 tips for creating videos and mastering video SEO that I learned:
💡 Lights! 💡
Lighting – Try and make use of natural light and film outside where possible. If the weather is bad, film by a window but with your face looking towards the window rather than with the window positioned behind you. This avoids creating too much of a dark silhouette.
Framing – Film in landscape rather than portrait, especially if your video is intended for LinkedIn. Portrait videos can be acceptable for Instagram though. Practice the rule of thirds (position your face one third from the left of the frame and two thirds up in the frame so your head and shoulders are in the shot). Avoid getting too close to the camera and don’t leave too much space above your head. Hold the camera at eye-level (holding it too low will expose your double chin – if you have one! – and holding it too high will risk you looking small!). Be an arm’s length away from the camera/tripod.
Background – Make sure you have a nice or plain background. Be aware of what’s in the ‘negative background’ (the space in the frame that you’re not occupying). Make sure there’s nothing distracting in the background of the frame, for example, a tree that looks like it’s growing out of your head!
📱 Camera! 📱
Equipment – Try to use a tripod where possible to keep your footage steady. Using a tripod also frees your hands up so you can ‘talk with your hands’ and look more natural on camera. Tripods are made quite light and portable these days and you can buy a cheap but worthwhile smartphone adapter/clamp from Amazon to transform any tripod into a smartphone tripod. A Gimbal is another nifty device which is a cross between a tripod and selfie-stick and allows you to walk on camera whilst keeping your smartphone stable.
Sound – Ryan recommended a Rode Smartlav microphone is good if you’re filming in windy conditions. You can get an adapter for it, so it adapts for different phones. Leads are also available so you can stand further away from the camera when you film.
Filming – It’s a good idea to put your phone on airplane mode so you’re not distracted by incoming calls or texts whilst using it to film. Ryan advised making sure that something changed every 10-15 seconds in your video to keep your video interesting. For instance, some relevant ‘cutaway’ shots to show to break up your piece to camera/ footage of you talking. Also, keep your videos between 1-2 minutes long as people’s attention spans are short!
Being on Camera – It’s tricky, but try not to look at yourself in the camera whilst filming. Instead, look at the lens/black dot on your phone when filming in selfie mode and remember to look away from the lens occasionally, trust me, it’ll look more natural.
🎬 Action! 🎬
Smile! – Pro tip: sport a cheesy grin for a few seconds as you start recording and for a few seconds at the end of your video as it makes it easier to edit out the awkward bit of film where you are setting up and pressing the record button to start and finish recording.
Editing Apps – Ryan introduced us to a handy app called Quik on Android and iOS for editing videos. Remember to always save the edited video as a new video in the app so you don’t overwrite the original one, just in case you crop too much off the video and need to revert back to the original. Ryan revealed that 80% of people like to ‘read’ videos now, meaning closed captions are a must. Rev.com is an efficient website who caption your videos for you for $1 per minute of footage (that’s the site I used to caption my video above). Remember to opt for ‘captions’ and not ‘transcription’! Clips app is a helpful iPhone app that types the captions as you speak but records the videos in square and requires you to film your video within the app itself. Captions might not be 100% accurate so you might have to click onto your video within the app and edit the text, then press ‘done’ to export the video. Adobe Premiere Pro is a reputable editing software that allows you to edit and caption your videos all in one place but might require a bit of financial investment and time to learn.
Video SEO – As Moz advises: “If you’ve created a video for YouTube, make your blog’s URL appear at the start or end of the video. Include it in the description of the video and on the uploading profile’s page.” If you’re uploading a video to LinkedIn don’t link to your video on YouTube in your LinkedIn post. Instead, upload your video natively (directly) to LinkedIn as the LinkedIn algorithm prefers it if you don’t link away from LinkedIn, and increases the reach of your video if they are uploaded natively. Always add some supporting text when uploading a video as a blog post on your website. This gives the video context and helps tell search engines like Google what your video is about when it indexes and crawls the post. Make sure the blog post has relevant keywords you wish to rank for in the title, URL and meta description too.
If you have any questions about video SEO or digital marketing please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Jayna writes creative content for our clients, whether that be engaging web copy, or blog or social media posts, and keeps them informed of their online progress. Send an email or call us on 01484 290100
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
we have been using Pivotal marketing for a few years now. I am very happy with the overall service and support the team have given us, helping us set up our new website nothing was to much trouble. I defiantly would recommend this company for any marketing requirements you may need
Parkside Dental Care
27. November, 2023.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Pivotal Marketing has been great to work with. Phill and his amazing team not only built fantastic websites for us but also nailed the marketing game. Their friendly approach and genuine care set them apart. We look forward working with them and improving our online presence.
Simon Hall
18. October, 2023.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
We are delighted with our rebrand and new website for PWP Design Ltd. A complex brief asked Phil, Amanda and the team to visually bring together our side of the business with our sister company and provide greater clarity for our clients. As a fast growing landscape architecture practice the website needed to be highly graphical in style, showcasing our portfolio, identity and creative team. The website and branding now represents us as a design practice and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the team at Pivotal for their hard work and collaborative approach. Thanks. Simon Hall (Director)
Matt Birch
9. October, 2023.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
As a well-established charity in Bradford which supports vulnerable adults with a range of complex needs The Bridge Project recently needed a partner with the skills, experience and understanding required to help us redesign and securely relaunch our tired and out-of-date website. Pivotal were recommended by a colleague and from first contact the team at Pivotal have been excellent. They took time to understand our brief, suggested improvements, delivered quality design suggestions and managed our website launch faultlessly. Since then, they have been providing us with general support and whenever we have needed them the response is always timely and the resolution to any problem is found almost immediately. We also receive detailed feedback on website usage, updates and maintenance. Working with Pivotal has given us real confidence that our online organisational presence is of a consistent high quality, secure and well managed. We would have no hesitation in recommending the Pivotal team to anyone looking for a digital partner they can trust and rely on.
Andrew Norman
31. January, 2022.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
We approached Phil at Pivotal to build our new website following a recommendation from an industry colleague. He instantly understood our brief and target audience and immediately put us at ease with our decision-making process as to which provider to choose. We were dealt with in a friendly and professional manner throughout and the team made the process very easy. The site was built in a very timely manner to a very high standard and we are delighted with the result! We would absolutely recommend Pivotal to anyone.
Bernadette Goudy
31. January, 2022.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
When I needed a new web site Phil was the obvious choice for me and he has done a fantastic job. I'm really pleased with the clear navigation, great design and overlook and feel. Phil and his team are great to work with and a pleasure to recommend.
Kerry Leigh
10. January, 2022.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Phil and the tam at Pivotal Marketing have done an excellent job of building me a brand new website for my business. A family member recommended I use them and I'm really glad I did.
They were very professional throughout the process and the build took no time at all. I struggled with knowing what I wanted it to look like, but with guidance it really surpassed what I could have imagined.
Great service and fantastic job, worth every penny. Thank you! I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to leave a review.
Raffaella Hinchliffe
21. September, 2021.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Pivotal Marketing Ltd are an excellent team. They are professional, yet friendly, reliable and accommodating to the needs of our business. They are proactive and quick to respond to our calls. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
James Burgess
20. September, 2021.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
We was recommended to Pivotal by another of our customers as we wanted to refresh the website. What we finished with was beyond we we had hoped for. All the team have a professional but friendly approach and time frames managed excellently. Would highly recommend
R A Sidebottom Roofing Ltd
14. September, 2021.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Just had a full website refresh carried out by Pivotal Marketing Ltd and I’m very happy with the results.
As always, Jayna was very knowledgeable and professional, a pleasure to deal with.
I would highly recommend the team at Pivotal for the wide range of services they provide.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. View our full Privacy and Cookie Policies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.