Consumers are hungry – for good content, that is. And that content is not always in the form of web pages and copy anymore. The release of Google’s Universal Search Platform now gives search engine visitors more than just a web page, but the option to click on a Map, News, Images or Video. In fact, a study done by iProspect revealed that 17% of search engine visitors recall clicking on a video link when brought to a blended SERP (Search Engine Results Page). And according to eMarketer, ¾ of internet users use online video. �
.
Online video has the ability to break through the clutter and connect with potential customers by leveraging sight, sound and motion to evoke emotion. Online video advertising coupled with search engines presents many opportunities for small businesses to communicate their brand story through another channel, launch a special promotion, campaign or new product, create a product demonstration, release testimonials from brand advocates – and much more. It’s not just for posting every TV commercial you have up on the web.
.
So you have your video, now what do you do with it?
.
The traditional rules of Search Engine Optimization apply to Video Optimization, too. Focusing your video on a theme, and utilizing keywords around that theme will make your video relevant to the search engines, and ultimately, your customers. Here are some steps for ensuring your video is search engine friendly:
.
Allow the spiders to crawl your video – and that means no Flash. The most common file compressions for crawling and indexing are MPEG-4, Quick Time, Windows Media, and AVI.
.
Name video files using keyword-rich, catchy phrases and with hyphens or some other form separating characters between keywords.

1. Utilize in-file metadata to describe your video content. This includes the Title, Description and Keyword tags. Your video publisher should have access to these tags, or you can download a free tool like Windows Media Encoder.
2. Optimize your website. This will give you better chances of appearing in the SERPs. Make your site easy for spiders to crawl your video files by creating an easy navigation to a directory or subdomain where only your videos are stored.
3. Add a video-only sitemap to your website for optimial spidering and indexing.
4. Each video should have its own page on your site with optimized Title, Description and Keyword tags, like your video metatags. Create a text description of the video in the content of that page and utilize anchor text by linking to other videos on your site with similar topics.
5. Avoid pop-up players by using embedded video players so visitors do not navigate away from your page. YouTube offers an embedded video player that just entails you dropping in a piece of html code on your site.

Promote Your Video
.
Now that your video is optimized, it’s time to share it with the world. Manually submit your video to search engine video portals and sharing sites like YouTube, AOL Video, Blinxx and Dabble. Some search engine portals like YouTube allow you to add Meta data on the site as well to ensure you show up in their video results. Many of the larger ones also allow you to submit your MRSS (Media RSS) feed. �
.
Start by emailing the video link to internal employees and allow them to spread the word. Add a Send to A Friend option to encourage others to share it. Use social bookmarking tools to help your video go viral.�
.
As with any internet marketing strategy, online video is in its infancy and will continue to progress with changes in technology and growth in popularity. Check back for posts often, and we’ll do our best to keep you up to date on new video and other search engine marketing enhancements!