Vickers and Dan’s story

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is important.

SEO video optimization gives search engines like Google clues about how to categorize your website, and in turn, SEO makes it easier for potential clients to find you. Videos are a great way to engage your visitors. For private practice physicians adding SEO video optimization to your site can set you apart from your competition. Some users prefer watching a video to reading a blog post. That visual stimulation adds a dynamic element to your website.

Here are some tips on SEO Video Optimization to help you choose quality videos that are attractive to users and search engines.

1. Choose a Useful Video Think of what your potential patients want to know. Don’t add a video just to have one; select a relevant, helpful video that will teach your viewers something new or interesting. How-To videos are popular for several reasons. First, your viewer is trying to solve a specific problem, and your video has the answer. Second, many users instinctively use the phrase “how to…” when typing a query into Google. A How-To video is a great set-up for a keyword, such as “How To Find an Egg Donor” or “How To Choose A Fertility Clinic.” You can also use videos in a Q-and-A format or to introduce your doctors and nurses.
2. Include the Video Transcript Videos are wonderful additions to your website, but Googlebots can’t interpret videos. What are Googlebots? Googlebots are software programs that search and index your website. You may have heard them referred to as “spiders”, and you may have heard that they “crawl” websites. There are some parts of a website that Googlebots can’t read, such as images and video. Include a video transcript to make your video worthwhile both to your readers and to search engines. That way you’re providing useful information through a video without losing the keyword-rich information embedded within the video.
3. SEO Video Optimization Optimizing your video’s HTML behind the scenes will allow search engines to better categorize your video. Google’s Webmaster Tools is a rich source of SEO information. Google provides tips to optimize your video for search engines, including video sitemap submission and video mark ups. Most of their suggestions are simple enough for a novice to pick up, and they provide step-by-step directions to follow. Give your videos relevant titles, descriptions and tags to help search engines index your content. Put your potential clients first, and gear your video content to them. But remember that your users find you through search engines, so SEO video optimization makes it easier for search engines to bring clients to your virtual doorstep.

If you want to dig deeper into video SEO, visit Reel SEO, a site dedicated to video optimization.

How has your practice used video to entice its audience? Have your videos elicited comments or spiked your traffic?

Catalyst Healthcare Marketing specializes in web design and optimization for healthcare fields such as fertility, urology and obgyn. Contact us to learn more about SEO video best practices for your practice.