Moderator: Mona Elesseily, Director of Marketing Strategy, Page Zero Media

Speakers:
Gregory Markel, Founder/President, Infuse Creative, LLC
Steve Espinosa, VP of Innovation, eLocal Listing, LLC
Amanda Watlington, Owner, Searching for Profit

Overview from SES Agenda: Conference Day 1 page:

According to comScore, YouTube is now the #2 search destination in the world. While the good old organic results pages still attract tens of thousands of experts probing the latest algorithmic quirks and optimization techniques, video search remains relatively uncharted waters. Panelists discuss the importance of optimizing for video search, and probe into tactics like keyword research, copywriting, reputation enhancement, and sponsorships and special programs.

Here are brief summaries of each presentation:

Speaker 1: A. Watlington

According to comScore Canada is a global leader in online video watching. Neglecting big opportunity if not optimizing for video for this market.

Ways viewers find videos: direct navigation to video site like YouTube comprises biggest percentage, at around 45%. After that, it’s search engines and social networks.

Social media helps drive views. Must optimize your YouTube videos if you expect to get more viewers. Only about half a percent of YouTube videos get more than 1 million viewers. Most get under 100 views.

Differences between how brand (creating personality through brand, engagement) and search marketers use and find value in video:

• Brand marketer. Use it as direct communication channel; adds new media outlet; creates engagement; humanizes relations; facilitates marketing communications
• Search marketer: consideration of video results in search rankings… YouTube pulled directly into SERPs

Two options for making video available:

1. Host it (on your own site). Challenge: no clear standard format; make users aware that you have video content. Benefits: generates traffic to site; can be combined with posted video for more traffic. Basically, if want more control over your videos, host it.
   Hosted video optimization in action: Make sure video has branding in it. Write clear titles and descriptions. Avoid pop-up players. Create specific landing page for each video. Do keyword research before video creation for maximum impact
2. Post it (optimize for video sharing sites [YouTube, MySpace]). ‘Seize the audience’. Loads of video sharing sites out there to promote video through. Less control than option of self-hosting videos

Steps for YouTube optimization: create an optimized channel (branded visually); socialize the channel; optimize each video; seek subscribers; seek ratings; aim to be on page one results (e.g.,  ‘featured’, ‘most viewed’, ‘most discussed’ videos).

Other tips for YouTube optimization: pick accurate titles/descriptions; use lots of descriptive tags; share it; embed videos on websites; experiment with annotations, video responses, thumbnails.

Five tactics for promoting online video beyond search engines: power of content; PR and word-of-mouth techniques; marketing communications to drive viewers; feature links; make it easy for viewers to share your videos.

Optimize video by applying SEO principles: good keyword research; careful tag development; focus on YouTube to build a real channel; socialize your video.

Second speaker: G. Markel

Stay aware of developments of Youtube. YouTube official blog

Keyword and tag optimization still very important; only two of the multiple ranking factors though. Lots of factors: view counts, rating, share, playlists, age, paid search

Two most common mistakes: people using wrong words in their titles, descriptions, tags; or placing them late in the phrase

Check our YouTube’s keyword research tool. Also, do keyword research on YouTube’s onsite search for search/popular search recommendations for a root phrase

Optimizing community factors:

1. Analyze the competition: check stats via ‘Stats and Data’ link on video watch page.
2. Meet or beat them

Do ranking analysis on different videos. Need to know what you’re up against (people linking back to that video; ratings; comments)… for competing with them

Tips for optimizing community factors: post video responses; ask for subscribe/favorite from users; use similar but not same keywords as in related popular videos; post new vids on Thursdays or Fridays to get visibility on the weekend when most people watching; use social media and websites within your; Tweetdeck/Tweetlater; link videos together to be more engaging (via YouTube annotations; playlists (easily overlooked); monitor YouTube insights to know what is and isn’t working

Ideal ranking referred to ‘1 box result’ by Youtube, internally; authority channel

Youtube ranking factors: Paid: adwords; private advertising deal; google tv (ad insertion); contextual video overlay

Third speaker: S. Espinosa

Don’t forget about Yahoo… about 20% video search results

Use GA to track time spent on page; this will tell you the average audience viewing time. Each threshold of attention is different

Use GWO to help determine which video works best; just change which video helped reach the goal

Rendering/exporting video: export videos as SWF file type; do not use Active X controls

Google Video Sitemaps for listing videos. Need to provide 4:3 aspect ratio for google thumbnail in result

Link building: YouTube adds “nofollow” to all video titles expect one in recent activity; building links to videos with video embedded on page is ideal; links to YouTube video channel with reputation mgmt. Link juice only goes to most recent video

Yahoo! doesn’t add ‘nofollow’ to video links. Link juice goes to all videos/links. Build up Yahoo! video page… Google will index this and then get ranked

‘Dofollow’ video sites: blip.tv/video jug/viddler/daily motion…. quick link building for your videos

Make sure use right thumbnail for video search results

Modify embed code that you distribute by adding line which links back to your video channel. Build link back with anchor text that works for you

Use Twitter to distribute videos… build links to Twitter site because twitter does not add a nofollow tag on the mobile profiles

Related posts:

• 6 Steps to Keyword Success
• Using Google Universal Search to Achieve Top Rankings
• Pubcon 2009 Live Blogging: Smart Keyword Research & Selection
• Ranking Tactics for Local Search Session at SMX East 2009
• Blended Search Optimization: Managing the Reputation of Your Brand

Tags:

PPC, Search Engine Optimization, ses toronto, SMO, social media, Viral Marketing