The SEO Value of Embedded Video
Contrary to popular belief, SEO is more than adding a few words to a page and getting a couple links. There are literally 100′s of different efforts that should be included with any quality SEO effort.
One important effort that shouldn’t be left out is custom embedded video. So, what is custom embedded video and how can it help my SEO efforts? Let’s explain.
What is Embedded Video?
A custom embedded video is any type of flv, mpeg4 or universal video format that is embedded directly into a webpage on your website and hosted on your own server. This is different when compared to a YouTube video which has been embedded into a web page with the export feature. An actual custom embedded video has a few distinguished differences:
- A custom embedded video is hosted on your actual website, with the path referencing the main domain. An example looks like this: http://www.mydomain.com/videos/samplevideo.swf
- Custom embedded videos are controlled by the scripting that actually does the embedding. A true custom embedded video will have source code that looks similar to:
(note, there are many different types of embed scripts and code. The key is to identify and use one that provides detailed options.)
- Custom embedded video will not contain 3rd party branding (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
Why Use Embedded Video in an SEO Campaign?
The use of custom embedded video within a webpage provides definite advantages when talking about SEO. When using this type of embedded video as mentioned above, Google will then provide the option to have this video displayed as a thumbnail alongside your organic search listing. This is only available when the video is directly embedded (custom embedded video), not pulled from a third-party site like YouTube. Here is an example:
This is very powerful because with a video thumbnail next to your site’s SERP listing, typically you’ll see click-through rates (CTR) increase. When doing a search and looking at the results page, the listing with the video almost always stands out and gets a first glance or a little extra attention.
There are a few additional steps that need completed to make this effort work, which includes video sitemap creation, Google Webmaster Tools account creation, etc. These few additional steps are worth the reward. A custom, directly embedded video is a recommended effort that works well in any SEO portfolio.
