SEO is all about keywords, right? How can videos be of any use there?

You might ask yourselves these questions, but the simple answer is that SEO is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing. While keyword research is still important, it is secondary to audience engagement.

No matter what your niche is, online competition is pretty tight today, and you need to do everything in your power to be sure you get ahead in your marketing efforts and get to that sweet, sweet first page of search results.

Harnessing multimedia

Having multiple content formats will improve the quality of your content and make user experience much more enjoyable. The sheer volume of formats available allows you to be as creative as you want. Videos, podcasts, infographics, presentations, and whitepapers can – and will – expand your audience retention which can greatly increase how often your content is shared across social media channels.

Sure, this sounds like a pain, but it is well worth the cost. Simply put, using different formats and different approaches to your content will increase your outreach. You can widen your target demographic and increase overall audience engagement. After all, different people have different habits and use the internet differently.

Some users might like a quick read on their smartphones while they are commuting or waiting, others might prefer to download e-books and read them at their leisure or in-depth, well-researched articles to read on their desktops, laptops, or tablets. Last, but not least, some might prefer video content as it is a complete experience, and it can get way more information across in a short amount of time.

Another often overlooked, but extremely useful, aspect of creating content in multiple formats is that it’s reusable. One well-researched, in-depth article can be the basis for a video (or video series), infographics, whitepapers and so on. Of course, it could go the other way, and you could expand on that short video or infographic by making an article or a longer video.

Video marketing and SEO

Of all the content types mentioned in the previous section, one that can have the most impact on audiences is video. First of all, it should be noted that YouTube is an independent search engine, which means that creating content both in video and text format, allows you to compete in two different SERP [search engine result pages] for the same topic and keywords.

In the past few years, there was a shift in search engine algorithms from keywords and other technical metrics to more social ones, like user experience and engagement, typically measured by the time spent on page, the length of the content, how often it’s shared, and the more typical metrics like bounce rate and CTR.

Several surveys have shown that video content can outperform other types by a wide margin if utilised properly.

First of all, pages with video content have been shown to hold viewers’ attention two minutes longer than picture-and-text pages.

If that wasn’t enough, CTR is also increased – by 41% percent, to be exact. Video listings that are found in the universal SERP’s have shown increase if tags and copy have been properly optimised.

Lastly, having a good video marketing strategy has been proved to increase your chance of ranking on the first page of Google search results up to 53 times.

In light of these numbers, there are some key points to be made of what a good video marketing strategy should include:

• Short videos do better. Videos that are under four minutes work best – people’s interest starts to wane after four to five minutes, and engagement rate drops significantly. That’s why explainer videos are so popular nowadays.
• Rich-video snippets are a must. These allow your audience to see a thumbnail of the video, along with some information on it, which can increase the CTR.
• You need to transcribe your video. While Google has vastly improved its ability to recognise the context of the video and images, it is still a good idea to add a video transcription for SEO purposes – it makes it easier for Google to crawl through and index it. Luckily, this is going to be completely unnecessary in a few years’ time.
• Videos need to be above the fold, ideally. The fold is an imaginary limit of what your visitors see before they need to scroll down your page.

Finally, you have to decide whether you would like to put up your video on an independent service like YouTube and Vimeo, or whether you prefer to embed it on your site. Using independent services increases your reach, but it reduces your traffic as part of it trickles to those same services. You need to balance this according to your needs.

UNITED NATIONS China warned on Friday that the situation with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs is at a « critical point » and said dialogue and negotiations are the only « practical » way to end tensions.

Speaking at the United Nations before a Security Council meeting on North Korea – to be chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged that Beijing would fully implement all U.N. sanctions on North Korea.

« Due to the recent efforts by the DPRK (North Korea) to accelerate missile and nuclear development, China agrees to the international community to step up efforts of non-proliferation, » Wang told reporters.

« A peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and negotiations represents the only right choice that is practical and viable, » he said.

Tillerson, in his first visit to the United Nations as secretary of state, will press the 15-member Security Council to further isolate North Korea by swiftly imposing stronger sanctions in the event of further provocations by Pyongyang, including a long-range missile launch or sixth nuclear test.

The ministerial meeting comes after U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Thursday that a « major, major conflict » with North Korea was possible over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The United States, which is president of the Security Council for April, urged members – in a note outlining Friday’s meeting – to « show their resolve to respond to further provocations with significant new measures. »

Diplomats say further provocations are considered a nuclear test or long-range missile launch.

The Trump administration is focusing its North Korea strategy on tougher economic sanctions, possibly including an oil embargo, a global ban on its airline, intercepting cargo ships and punishing Chinese banks doing business with Pyongyang, U.S. officials told Reuters earlier this month.

The United States has been urging China to use its status as North Korea’s only major ally to help rein in Pyongyang.

Washington is also stepping up pressure that began under the Obama administration against Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia, which have diplomatic and financial links to Pyongyang, to downgrade or cut diplomatic ties with North Korea.

TALKS SEQUENCE

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is due to brief the Security Council at Friday’s meeting, which will include foreign ministers from China, Britain and Japan. Tillerson met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts before the council meeting and will meet Wang afterwards.

China has long promoted dialogue to resolve the « Korean nuclear issue, » and the United States says it is open to talks, but the two countries disagree over the sequence.

« The U.S. require (North Korea) to take some actual action to curtail their nuclear program, which could then be followed by talks, and the Chinese position is talks first, action later, » said a senior U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Since 2006, North Korea has been subject to U.N. sanctions aimed at impeding the development of its nuclear and missile programs. The council has strengthened sanctions following each of North Korea’s five nuclear tests.

Traditionally the United States and China have negotiated new sanctions before involving remaining council members. It took the council three months to act after the last nuclear test, in September, and diplomats said Washington appears to be laying the groundwork with China for faster negotiations next time.

(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Frances Kerry)

President Trump has signed an executive order that could open large parts of the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans to new oil and gas drilling, creating yet another clash with California, where leaders are vowing they will do everything in their power to block new drilling off the state’s shores. 

Trump’s move, which is certain to face legal and political challenges, could undo a plan finalized late in President Obama’s second term that sought to limit fossil fuel development and fight climate change by not including new drilling leases off the coast of California or Alaska during the current five-year federal offshore plan, which extends through 2022.

Many leaders in California have long sought a permanent ban on new leasing offshore, and they reacted swiftly to the possibility that drilling could expand.

Trump promised the directive “will make America energy secure” and “create greater prosperity and security for all Americans.”

“It’s going to lead to a lot of great wealth for our country, a lot of great jobs for our country,” he said.

SEO is all about keywords, right? How can videos be of any use there?

You might ask yourselves these questions, but the simple answer is that SEO is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing. While keyword research is still important, it is secondary to audience engagement.

No matter what your niche is, online competition is pretty tight today, and you need to do everything in your power to be sure you get ahead in your marketing efforts and get to that sweet, sweet first page of search results.

Harnessing multimedia

Having multiple content formats will improve the quality of your content and make user experience much more enjoyable. The sheer volume of formats available allows you to be as creative as you want. Videos, podcasts, infographics, presentations, and whitepapers can – and will – expand your audience retention which can greatly increase how often your content is shared across social media channels.

Sure, this sounds like a pain, but it is well worth the cost. Simply put, using different formats and different approaches to your content will increase your outreach. You can widen your target demographic and increase overall audience engagement. After all, different people have different habits and use the internet differently.

Some users might like a quick read on their smartphones while they are commuting or waiting, others might prefer to download e-books and read them at their leisure or in-depth, well-researched articles to read on their desktops, laptops, or tablets. Last, but not least, some might prefer video content as it is a complete experience, and it can get way more information across in a short amount of time.

Another often overlooked, but extremely useful, aspect of creating content in multiple formats is that it’s reusable. One well-researched, in-depth article can be the basis for a video (or video series), infographics, whitepapers and so on. Of course, it could go the other way, and you could expand on that short video or infographic by making an article or a longer video.

Video marketing and SEO

Of all the content types mentioned in the previous section, one that can have the most impact on audiences is video. First of all, it should be noted that YouTube is an independent search engine, which means that creating content both in video and text format, allows you to compete in two different SERP [search engine result pages] for the same topic and keywords.

In the past few years, there was a shift in search engine algorithms from keywords and other technical metrics to more social ones, like user experience and engagement, typically measured by the time spent on page, the length of the content, how often it’s shared, and the more typical metrics like bounce rate and CTR.

Several surveys have shown that video content can outperform other types by a wide margin if utilised properly.

First of all, pages with video content have been shown to hold viewers’ attention two minutes longer than picture-and-text pages.

If that wasn’t enough, CTR is also increased – by 41% percent, to be exact. Video listings that are found in the universal SERP’s have shown increase if tags and copy have been properly optimised.

Lastly, having a good video marketing strategy has been proved to increase your chance of ranking on the first page of Google search results up to 53 times.

In light of these numbers, there are some key points to be made of what a good video marketing strategy should include:

• Short videos do better. Videos that are under four minutes work best – people’s interest starts to wane after four to five minutes, and engagement rate drops significantly. That’s why explainer videos are so popular nowadays.
• Rich-video snippets are a must. These allow your audience to see a thumbnail of the video, along with some information on it, which can increase the CTR.
• You need to transcribe your video. While Google has vastly improved its ability to recognise the context of the video and images, it is still a good idea to add a video transcription for SEO purposes – it makes it easier for Google to crawl through and index it. Luckily, this is going to be completely unnecessary in a few years’ time.
• Videos need to be above the fold, ideally. The fold is an imaginary limit of what your visitors see before they need to scroll down your page.

Finally, you have to decide whether you would like to put up your video on an independent service like YouTube and Vimeo, or whether you prefer to embed it on your site. Using independent services increases your reach, but it reduces your traffic as part of it trickles to those same services. You need to balance this according to your needs.