Video Blogs: Yay or Nay?
It might sound crazy, but people on the Internet love watching videos. We know, it surprised us too, but after mom sent us another cute wiener dog video, we were convinced that videos are here to stay. But what about video blogs? After all, we don’t all have an adorable animal that will do funny things on command!
It’s really time to consider upgrading your blog with video content that’s original to you and your website. Video blogs can enhance your website, add a professional look, and express your thoughts in an interesting way.
The SEO Benefits of Video Blogs
In case you need an answer to the title question, when it comes to vlogging, we’re definitely a big “yay”! Video blogs are a great way to create original, shareable content that can live on just about every social media platform. A video on Twitter or Facebook doesn’t require a link that people have to follow; they can just watch it while browsing, removing a step and making people more inclined to view your content.
Not only are your audiences more inclined to stop and look, Google might be, too! Giving an appropriate title, file name, description, and thumbnail will help search engine optimization, and this metadata can help boost the ranking of your blog. Throwing in the right keywords is not just important for your written blogs, it’s also great for your videos.
The sitemap of the video is also important. A sitemap is a text file describing your video, telling search engines the relevant information (time, title, subject, etc.) and giving it a clearer picture as to what your video is about, and how it’s relevant to the intended subject. This can improve your position on returns!
Engage
Videos enhance your site not only for SEO purposes, but for audience purposes, too. While we know people still like reading (author’s note: for my sake!), videos can capture attention and draw people in like nothing else.
Think about how you read even serious news stories online. You’ll skim the article, maybe flit over to something new after a few paragraphs have given you the gist of it, and sometimes you won’t read anything but the headline! Videos are passive and require little work on the part of the audience.
For this reason, videos see a lot more engagement – if they’re done right, of course! Site visitors are more likely to watch than not, they’re more likely to stay on the site, and they’ll engage when it won’t take up too much of their time. Blog posts with video are also more likely to attract inbound links! This also lifts your SEO prospects and makes you more authoritative on your chosen subject.
Video blogs have never been easier or cheaper to make yourself. They are an inexpensive way to lift your profile, engage your audience, and generally market your content in an appealing way.