The Impact of Video on SEO

Many brands know video is a great way to engage and inform their audience, but few realize just how powerful it can be for SEO. For midsize brands competing for visibility online, video is an opportunity to improve your search rankings, drive traffic and get your content in front of more eyes. 

Creating a great video is one thing, but optimizing that content for search is where you really start to see results. With the right optimization, videos can increase dwell time, reduce bounce rates and even boost keyword visibility, all of which are signals that tell search engines, “Hey, this site knows what it’s doing.” By making your videos easy to find and engaging to watch, you’re keeping both your audience and Google happy. 

Why search engines (and your audience) love video  

Search engines have a soft spot for video, and it’s easy to see why. For starters, videos keep users on your website longer; in fact, users are 88% more likely to stick around on a website with video content. The longer people stay on your site, the more likely they are to consider your content valuable. This increased dwell time signals to Google that your website is offering quality content, which can ultimately improve your rankings and reduce bounce rates. Pages with videos are also more likely to land in Google’s video carousel, helping your content stand out in search results.  

Optimized videos also perform well on platforms used as search engines, like YouTube and TikTok, expanding your reach far beyond Google. The more places your video appears, the more opportunities you have to engage new audiences and strengthen your SEO game across the board. 
 

How to get the most from video for SEO 

If you’re investing in video, make sure search engines can actually find it. Optimized videos improve search visibility, increase engagement and generate more organic traffic. Here’s a few areas to think about: 

Rich snippets & schema markup 

Rich snippets make your videos more visible in search results, displaying thumbnails, durations and key details that drive clicks. Google’s algorithm loves these visual cues, which help videos capture attention and improve click-through rates. 

Schema markup is a form of structured data that helps search engines better understand the context of your content. By adding video schema to your videos, you're telling Google exactly what your video is about and how it should be displayed. This extra context can lead to your video appearing in rich snippets, video carousels and other premium placements in the search results. 
 

Keyword visibility 

You wouldn’t post a blog without optimizing it for keywords, right? The same goes for video. Titles, descriptions, tags and transcripts are prime real estate for targeted keywords, helping search engines better understand and rank your content. 

To ensure the best results spend time on keyword research to identify high-ranking terms relevant to your video. Make sure these keywords appear not only in the title and description but also in your tags and transcript.  Just be careful not to overstuff your video with keywords—after all, at the end of the day it’s for real people not search engines.  Keep it conversational and user-friendly to pull in more viewers who are looking for your type of content. 

Backlink opportunities 

Video content is highly shareable. When your audience shares a video on social media, blogs or other platforms, it creates valuable backlinks that boost your site’s domain authority and attract more visitors. More shares mean more visibility, showing search engines that your content is worth ranking. 

The more engaging and valuable your video, the more likely it will be shared. Focus on creating videos that encourage users to share, whether through emotional appeal, entertainment or solving a specific problem. Once your video starts to gain traction, people will naturally link back to it on their websites or blogs. 
 

Mobile optimization 

Google’s algorithm favors mobile-friendly content, and video is built for mobile users. Instead of scrolling through walls of text, they get a quick, engaging experience that keeps them on your site longer, strengthening your SEO performance. 

To optimize for mobile, start by making sure your videos load quickly and are easily viewable on small screens. Since many users watch without sound, adding subtitles or closed captions can improve accessibility and engagement. Keeping videos short and to the point also makes them easier to scroll through and more likely to hold viewers' attention. 

Hosting strategy 

Where you host your videos can directly impact your SEO performance. Whether you opt for a third-party platform like YouTube or host the videos directly on your site, each choice has its pros and cons for search rankings and user experience. 

Choose YouTube if you want to expand your reach beyond your website. With YouTube’s massive audience and searchability, you’ll gain more exposure. Be sure to optimize everything from video titles to the description, and don’t forget to add relevant links back to your website to draw in visitors. For on-site hosting, embedding videos directly on your website gives you an advantage in terms of engagement. It allows you to control how the video is presented, making it easier to maintain your branding and reduce distractions. 

A hybrid strategy—hosting on YouTube while embedding the video on your site—offers the best of both worlds. You get the SEO and discoverability benefits of YouTube while keeping users engaged on your website. This approach also helps distribute your content across multiple channels, boosting visibility, engagement and backlinks. 
 

Leveraging video SEO without a Hollywood budget 

You don’t need a studio, a director’s chair or a massive budget to make video work for your SEO. What you do need is a strategic approach that maximizes what you already have. Here’s how to keep costs low:   

• Repurpose existing content: If you’ve got a strong blog, case study or FAQ page, you’ve got the foundation for a great video. Summarize key takeaways, visualize complex topics or turn customer testimonials into engaging clips. This not only saves time but also gives search engines multiple ways to index your content. 
  
  See how we transformed a blog post into a quick, shareable video on LinkedIn: 
   

• Match video length to the platform: Short-form videos (like TikToks, Instagram Reels or quick how-to clips) grab attention fast and boost engagement. Long-form videos (like tutorials, webinars and interviews) build authority and increase dwell time. Both formats serve different SEO purposes, so mix them strategically depending on where your audience is most active. 

• Take an omnichannel approach: Your video’s impact isn’t limited to your website. YouTube is the second-largest search engine, and social platforms reward video content with better visibility. Posting your videos across multiple channels increases brand exposure and helps to build backlinks. 

• Know when to DIY and when to go pro: A well-lit, well-edited video shot on a smartphone can be just as effective as a professionally produced one—if the content is strong. DIY videos work great for quick insights, social clips and behind-the-scenes content. But if you’re creating high-stakes videos (like brand explainers or polished product demos), investing in quality production can pay off with better engagement and credibility. 
  
  For example, we worked with Higley Construction to create a polished, high-quality video for their 100th anniversary. By blending archival photos with modern footage, we captured their legacy and future vision, making it a long-term asset for their evolving brand: 
   

   

Integrate video into your SEO strategy 

There’s more to SEO now than just blogs and backlinks. Video is a major ranking factor, and it’s not just for consumer brands. B2B companies, SaaS providers and even niche industries are using video to boost rankings, build authority and increase conversions. Incorporating video into your SEO strategy helps you stay ahead of the competition, offering a richer, more dynamic experience for your audience while elevating your digital footprint. 

If your brand isn’t optimizing for video SEO, you’re leaving visibility and leads on the table. Let’s fix that. Our video marketing  t::team can produce videos that not only look good but also nurture your SEO.