How Video Can Help Your Website Rank Higher
Embedding video content on your pages can actually help your website rank higher in the search engines. Why? Studies show that video increases the average time spent on your page, and Google loves it. This is because the time spent on the site indicates the quality of the site.
The quality score
Google’s algorithm can track the amount of time a visitor spent on your page, and uses this time as an indicator of the overall “quality” of the page. If a user spends more time on your site, your quality “score” will increase, and you end up ranking higher. Google defines quality score as “a dynamic variable calculated for each of your keywords. It combines a variety of factors and measures how relevant your keyword is to your ad text and to a user’s search query.”
The goal of a search engine.
The goal of a search engine is to provide the most relevant results pertaining to a specific search query. If you type: “How to make visitors stay on a website” in the search bar, they want you to be able to find a relevant answer to your question. If you click the first result, and it doesn’t answer your question, you will naturally click the back button and continue searching for your answer.
Back is bad.
When you hit that back button, it tells Google (or any other search engine) that the page you clicked did not provide you with the information you were looking for. When enough people do the same thing, it will indicate that the page is not relevant to that particular keyword string, and the page will eventually be demoted due to a lower “quality score”.
If you click the page and spend 5 minutes on it, and continue to click within that site for even more information, it will indicate that you probably found what you are looking for. Therefore, that page becomes more “relevant” in regards to the algorithm’s result for that keyword string.
How can video help your quality score?
Countless studies have shown that visitors spend more time on pages that offer streaming video. An study by Comscore in August 2010 shows that on average people stay on a website two minutes longer when a video is included on the page.
“Retail site visitors who view video today stay two minutes longer on average, and are 64% more likely to purchases than other site visitors.” -Comscore
Aside from the increase in conversion rates, video helps increase the time spent on a website. It doesn’t take a scientist to understand how this can happen. We are naturally drawn to moving images and enjoy the convenience of being “fed” information. A video will keep visitors on a website longer than text alone in most cases.
The longer a visitor spends on your site, the more valuable it will appear to the search engines. Adding video will dramatically increase your average time spent and ultimately make your site rank higher in the search engines.
