If a picture paints 1,000 words, how many words could an engaging video with words, photos, graphics, music, and other dynamic visual effects paint?

There is no denying that video content is a powerful tool. But have you thought about how you can use video to engage your website audience while also boosting SEO and other engagement metrics?

Here are the 5 Secrets of How Video Enhances Website Engagement and SEO:

1. Holds Your Viewers Attention
Video will engage your website visitors in a way that standalone text and images simply cannot. Video content can convey your message quickly and effectively, while also providing viewers with a more enjoyable user experience. When viewers on your webpage are engaged with your content, they are more likely to stay on your site longer, resulting in enhanced web engagement metrics.

2. Reduces Bounce Rates
Bounce Rate is a web metric that measures the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. Bounce rates negatively impact your website’s SEO rankings, as search engines interpret high bounce rates to mean that your site may not be providing the content users are looking for. Incorporating video on your website could mean reduced bounce rates since you will be engaging your visitors by providing valuable information that keeps them on your site longer. Then, if they like what they see, it could even urge them to explore other areas of your website.

3. Increases Dwell Time
Dwell time measures the amount of time visitors spend on your website before returning to the search engine results page. The longer the dwell time, the better, as this metric tells the search engines that your website is providing the valuable content the viewer is looking for. Video content is an effective way to give your viewers a reason to stay on your site longer, resulting in improved dwell time.

4. Improves SEO
Search engines prioritize sites that provide valuable content to users, and video content* is one of the most effective ways to do this. When you utilize video content to improve engagement metrics, you can signal to search engines that your site is providing valuable information to users. Video helps diversify your website’s media, leads to higher click through rates, and can be highly shareable across social media platforms – which can all lead to improved search engine rankings and increased organic traffic to your site.

*PRO TIP: Do not miss the tip below about Video Schema to ensure your videos are prioritized by search engines, further boosting your SEO!

5. Boost Your Visibility with Video Schema
You may be thinking, “OK, I’ve added my video to my webpage – now what?” … Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. While all the tips above are effective and true – utilizing video schema, or “Video Object”, is the final step to further maximize your video’s effectiveness and visibility. Video schema is a set of data that can be added to a website video’s html code to help search engines better understand the content within the page and video. Here are some resources to help you navigate adding this element to your website’s videos:

• Use Google’s Rich Results to test your website’s effectiveness. (HINT: if your video doesn’t show up in these results, you need to add Video Schema!)
• Use Google’s How To Guide for Video Schema
• Work smarter, not harder by utilizing a website plugin like Classy Schema or Schema Press that can do the video schema heavy lifting for you.

In short? When you effectively use video on your website, you’ll undoubtedly have better SEO and engagement metrics to show for it. If you haven’t already, consider incorporating video content into your website strategy to reap these benefits and improve the overall performance of your site.

If you need a marketing agency partner to craft and promote engaging video content that can effectively communicate your brand’s message, vLink Solutions is here to help. We’re your proud partner in the video marketing space.