Michael Epps Utley 
The competition to get video content found on search engines like Google is fierce. Every business wants their videos to be the ones prospective buyers check out.
This article explains the four on-page factors you must address to get your videos found by more people online: the video content, platform, webpage, and engagement.
What to learn more about video SEO? Check out this in-depth article.
1. Video Content
The quality of your video content is the foundation of getting found online. Your video will get a leg up in Google if the information in it is better than similar videos. In addition, your video must serve the needs of a segment of online searchers. Before creating anything, take time to figure out the intent of potential viewers and ensure your final product meets it.
The quality issue doesn’t stop there.
You want to deliver high-quality files. Aim to shoot in 4K. Any images you use in your video should be high-resolution and easily viewable on any device. More importantly, your audio must be high-quality, even if it means renting or purchasing recording equipment — your audience may forgive you for lower-quality video, but they’ll turn away if the sound quality is poor. Ultimately, anything that makes people abandon your video (or not click on it in the first place) sends negative signals to Google.
You should also consider the quality of your thumbnail. Thumbnails are crucial because they’re how videos are represented in search and on other platforms. A clear, enticing thumbnail that reflects the value of your video content will get more people to click, another positive sign in search. Don’t mislead your audience with a thumbnail that doesn’t represent the video content, but don’t be afraid to get creative and flashy, either. Look at the thumbnails of videos you’ve watched recently to see what designs and words grabbed your attention.
2. Video Platform
You have many options when selecting a platform for housing your videos. However, the best one is still YouTube. That’s because the parameters and technical specifications Google uses to evaluate videos align with YouTube’s defaults. In short, posting on YouTube will make your life easier than being forced to make adjustments on other platforms to align with Google’s requirements.
Some of the other benefits of YouTube include the ability to add a significant number of tags to your videos and a meaningful description of it. You can also insert cards with links to different parts of your video (excellent for people who only care about a single section) or other videos, and links to web pages within videos. You can also add links to your website in your YouTube description, driving traffic to it. Leveraging all the customization tools available on YouTube enhances the viewer experience, increasing engagement and sending positive signals to Google.
3. Video Webpage
The webpage your video appears on must do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO).
First, you must get the technical aspects of SEO right. That means the page must be structured to generate data to inform Google. You must include a video schema markup (tools are available to help you with this) and meta tags. Using YouTube to house your video also makes data available through the platform that supports on-page SEO.
You should also add a video transcript to your webpage. This adds natural language to it that helps search engines understand what your video is about. Headers, subheads, and page content should communicate to visitors (and Google) what the video is about and the benefit of viewing it.
Also, you must consider where the video is positioned on the page. Google strongly prefers videos placed at the top of a web page. It’s the only way the content will rank. That’s because Google doesn’t want to force its users to work through a lot of material, especially on small smartphone screens, to find a video.
4. Video Engagement
Google closely monitors engagement with your video content. High engagement is the ultimate way to illustrate the value of the video. One way to demonstrate value is through user-generated content. You can gather it by encouraging comments on your video page or requesting reviews. Comments and reviews not only show people are engaging with your content, they can also help send signals about why viewers find value in it.
Get Seen By More of Your Audience
If you take the time to apply these four proven tactics to your website video pages, it will increase the chances that your video content will rank highly in Google and other search engines.
Learn more: Find out how to create the ultimate interview videos.
