Have you noticed your search engine results looking subtly different lately?
A long time ago (in 2007), your search results were basically a list of text links. Optimizing for search was all about showing up as highly ranked as possible in one very, very long list. For example, searching for my name returns 3.3MM results on Google. And competition to be on that first page is intense for a product like a Tickle Me Elmo doll.
These days your results look a little different. Shopping and video are blended in, both in their own front-page sections. And video is particularly compelling as it shows with a thumbnail and a ‘play’ button. The competition isn’t quite as fierce for those slots, to put it mildly – my name returns 79 video results. Which would you rather try to be: first out of 3.3MM or first out of 79?
Nate Eliott and the team at Forrester Research did some research on the search impact of video. They found that using video gives you a 53 times better chance of making the front page of search results. As Nate points out, “so few interactive marketers focus on video optimization that most of the videos in Google’s index aren’t very well optimized — so if you optimize your videos well, your chances of success will increase even further.”
In other words, in the highly competitive world of search engine optimization, here is a high-impact traffic-driving lever that your competitors aren’t using – yet. Smart marketers will beat them to the punch. But in order for it to work, they have to have eCommerce-optimized video content. And they have to host video content in a way that gives their website, not YouTube or another host, the video search benefit. All things, if you’ll pardon the commercial interruption, that we specialize in here at Invodo.
How long before eCommerce video optimized for search becomes table stakes for interactive marketers? In the fast-moving world of online retail, I’d think pretty quickly. What do you think?
Online video continues to gain traction and popularity across the web. ComScore recently reported 170 million U.S. Internet users watched online video in November 2009, with a total of almost 31 billion videos viewed.
These are big numbers. 170 million people translates into 340 million eyes watching online video (give or take a few for all the pirates out there). The majority of these eyes, 39.4%, are watching video on Google sites such as YouTube, and others are entertaining themselves on sites owned by Hulu, Microsoft, and Yahoo.
To keep these people happy and watching, fresh content is needed. Based on the 31 billion online videos viewed, I’d say the demand is being met, and online video is being produced and pushed to the web quickly to satiate the video-hungry. My automatic thought is: With such a large and eager market, why has online video been so hard to successfully monetize? YouTube, for example, has millions of viewers and videos and is arguably the hub for online video, yet they still have not turned a profit.
When it comes to making video profitable, I like to think of online video as a unique engagement tool and NOT as a commodity. When effectively produced and distributed, video indirectly monetizes itself. Video is complex in the way it reaches, engages, and communicates with viewers, and the effect that video has on a viewer is where the value lies.
At Invodo, we see the benefits that video can have in the eCommerce space. A tool that conveys the features and benefits of a product, gives purchase cues to consumers, and solidifies a brand’s image all in one little player is an absolutely powerful thing. We produce, distribute, and manage video to help retailers and brands sell more, and it works. With 170 million US internet users watching 31 billion videos, video is without a doubt changing online behaviors and the overall eCommerce landscape. Don’t miss out!
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