Video Hosting, Embedding, and Integration
There are three main elements regarding the technical implementation of your videos that must be considered prior to just putting a video on your website. Depending on the style of the content you are creating and your goals, you should decide on which platform you want to serve your content, how your videos will be displayed and played on your webpages, and where the videos will be placed. These decisions can ultimately determine the success or failure of your web videos.
Video Hosting
There are two primary options for hosting web videos: using video networking sites like YouTube or Vimeo, or securing the content on your site through third party hosting or self-hosting. Hosting your videos on community sites will often result in more views, shares, and overall engagement, while hosting directly through your website will result in more search traffic and SEO benefits. Video networking sites like YouTube should be viewed as an avenue for building brand awareness and helping good content go “viral.” Third party hosting services like Brightcove, Wistia, and Vidyard often offer more customizable player features, and ways to securely host video content without requiring development of a player or cloud delivery system. You can choose where videos are embedded and drive traffic to your own site, instead of your YouTube channel. You can also create and implement a video sitemap to help create video rich snippets and improve your search results.
Video Embed Location and Integration
When choosing the location and on-page integration for your videos, consider the following:
1. Only embed one video per page. Using one video will help search engines determine one image they should use as a thumbnail for search engine results, and will also allow you to target many keywords for rich snippets, spreading your content across numerous pages.
2. Put videos on pages that are already ranking well organically. Make sure you supplement the pages that are already driving traffic for keywords relevant to your business. Also, include a company web video on the home page of your website. Using Google Analytics and other software, you can determine which pages drive traffic and which may benefit from having video content.
3. Make sure your landing pages with videos are designed to convert. When placing videos on your landing pages, make sure each page is a suitable entrance point for your conversion funnel. This may vary based on the structure of your website and your business model, but these pages often include product/service pages with a clear call-to-action or form to fill.
4. Place the web video prominently on the page. Make sure your video is above the fold and at least 320 pixels wide. Ideally, you want the video to be right at eye level, where your customer is most likely to see and click on it.
The best way to get rich snippets for your videos is to keep your content unique to your site, giving the search engines only one option for ranking the correct page for your unique video. Making your web video content only available on your company website will ensure users are watching videos only on your domain, making it easier to convert viewers into leads and sales. For more information about company web videos, contact the experts at In Focus Studios. We’re happy to help you with all your video needs!
