Let’s face it, video is absolutely everywhere now. It’s not some fancy add-on or “nice to have” for marketing anymore. It’s fundamental to how people consume information and make buying decisions online.
I’ve seen this play out firsthand working with all kinds of clients over the years. When I was supporting the Olympics with their video strategy, we saw how video content dramatically outperformed text-based content for engagement and sharing. And at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, when working with B2B printing companies, videos demonstrating the machinery in action became essential parts of the sales process.
The reality is that video has become a rich media format that’s now just as important as text, if not more so, in how people consume information online. This omnichannel approach to SEO is absolutely crucial, with video playing a starring role.
But here’s the thing that many businesses get completely wrong: they think “Video SEO” is just about ranking YouTube videos. That’s missing the bigger picture entirely.
What I’ve learned from supporting all sorts of businesses with their video strategy is that regardless of where your video eventually ends up, it needs to be an integral part of your overall marketing approach. Whether it’s product reviews, service demonstrations, or educational content, video has become critical to how people make purchase decisions.
That’s why any brand starting out or revamping their marketing strategy needs to put video front and center from day one. It shouldn’t be an afterthought or something you bolt on later.
When most people hear “Video SEO,” they immediately think about optimising YouTube videos. And sure, that’s part of it. But that’s like saying regular SEO is just about your Google title tags.
Video SEO in 2025 has to be platform-agnostic. It’s about making sure your video content performs well everywhere it exists, not just on one platform.
Think about it. Your potential customers might find your videos through:
Each of these discovery paths matters, and limiting yourself to thinking only about YouTube is leaving opportunities on the table.
I see this narrow thinking all the time when talking to businesses. They’ll ask, “How do we rank our YouTube videos?” But that’s starting with the wrong question. What they should be asking is, “How do we make sure our video content reaches our audience, regardless of where they’re looking for it?”
This broader approach means thinking about how your videos work across your entire digital ecosystem. It’s about creating content that serves a purpose beyond just racking up views on a single platform.
The biggest shift I’ve noticed over my years working in digital marketing is how deeply video now influences purchase decisions. This isn’t just theory or marketing speak, it’s something I’ve seen repeatedly across wildly different industries.
People simply don’t buy things the same way they used to. The modern buyer wants to see products in action before purchasing. They want visual proof that something works as advertised. They want to learn how to use products through visual demonstrations rather than reading text instructions.
This behavior spans both B2C and B2B purchasing. In fact, for complex B2B products like printing machinery, video becomes even more crucial. When customers are considering spending tens of thousands of pounds on equipment, seeing that machinery in action through video becomes a non-negotiable part of their decision process.
I’ve seen conversion rates double or even triple when businesses add product videos to their pages. Not because the videos are particularly fancy or high-budget, but because they answer questions and reduce uncertainty in ways that text and images alone simply can’t.
This is why thinking about video as just a “marketing tactic” misses the point. It’s now a fundamental part of how people make buying decisions, which means it needs to be integrated into your entire approach to connecting with customers.
Let’s get practical. Based on my experience working across different industries, here are the approaches to Video SEO that consistently deliver results:
The foundation of good Video SEO isn’t that different from regular SEO – you need to understand what your audience is actually searching for.
But there’s a twist with video. Not all topics are equally suited to video content. Some information is better consumed through text, while other topics practically beg for visual demonstration.
The best topics for video content typically involve:
How-to guidance: Anything that’s easier to show than tell. I’ve seen simple tutorial videos rack up thousands of views while similar text content barely gets noticed.
Product demonstrations: People want to see how things work before buying. This is obvious for physical products but applies to software and services too.
Complex concepts: Video is brilliant for simplifying complicated ideas. One client of mine transformed their conversion rate by creating a 2-minute explainer video that clarified their service offering.
Emotional topics: Where connecting on a human level matters, video outperforms text every time. Customer testimonials on video carry significantly more weight than written quotes.
When researching potential video topics, I’ve found these approaches particularly effective:
This last point is especially important. If Google is already displaying videos for certain searches, that’s a clear signal that users want video content for those queries.
Creating videos is one thing. Creating videos people actually watch all the way through is another challenge entirely.
What I’ve learned over the years is that engagement metrics like watch time and audience retention have become far more important ranking factors than keywords or tags. Both Google and YouTube algorithms are increasingly sophisticated at measuring whether viewers find your content valuable.
From my experience, several factors consistently lead to better engagement:
Start strong and get to the point: Viewer drop-off in the first 10-20 seconds can be brutal. I’ve seen videos lose 40% of viewers in the first 15 seconds simply because they took too long to deliver value. Skip the long branded intros and get straight to the content people came for.
Structure content clearly: Use a logical structure that viewers can follow. For longer videos, consider adding chapters or timestamps to help people navigate to the sections they care about most.
Focus on solving one problem well: Videos that try to cover too many topics typically perform worse than those with a clear, singular focus. One printing equipment client saw vastly improved results when they switched from general overview videos to specific videos addressing individual features or problems.
Match content to search intent: If someone searches “how to fix a paper jam,” they want a quick solution, not a 10-minute brand history. Understanding what viewers actually want from each video is crucial.
What’s interesting is that production value matters far less than most businesses think. I’ve seen smartphone videos outperform professionally produced content simply because they answered questions more directly and efficiently.
The technical aspects of Video SEO vary depending on where your video lives. Here’s what I’ve found works best across different environments:
YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine, so proper optimisation here is crucial:
Titles that balance keywords and clicks: Include your main keyword early in the title, but make sure it’s compelling enough that people actually want to click. I’ve seen click-through rates double simply by reworking titles to be more engaging while maintaining keyword relevance.
Front-loaded descriptions: Put the most important information and keywords in the first 1-2 sentences of your description, as that’s what appears in search results and “above the fold” on YouTube. Use the rest of the description (aim for at least 200 words) to add context, links, and additional keywords naturally.
Custom thumbnails that demand attention: Custom thumbnails can increase click-through rates by 30% or more compared to auto-generated ones. The most effective thumbnails I’ve seen combine clear imagery with text overlays that complement (not duplicate) the title.
Captions and transcripts: Always add proper closed captions, not just for accessibility but because they help YouTube understand your content better. I’ve seen ranking improvements of 10-25% after adding accurate captions to videos.
Cards and end screens: Use these features strategically to guide viewers to related content, extending their engagement with your channel. The best approach I’ve found is to recommend highly specific, related content rather than generic channel promotions.
When embedding videos on your website, additional considerations come into play:
Strategic placement: Position videos where they’ll have the most impact, typically above the fold on key landing pages. I’ve found that placing videos prominently on service pages can increase time on page by 2-3x compared to burying them further down.
Schema markup: Implementing VideoObject schema is absolutely essential if you want your videos to appear in Google search results. I’ve helped clients achieve video rich snippets that dramatically increased their click-through rates from search.
Supporting text context: The content surrounding your embedded video provides crucial context for search engines. Make sure this text reinforces your target keywords and provides additional information.
Page performance: Videos can slow down your pages if implemented poorly. I always recommend lazy loading techniques that only load the video when a user scrolls near it, preserving core web vitals scores.
Video sitemaps: For videos hosted on your own site, creating and submitting a video sitemap significantly increases the chance of Google discovering and indexing your content properly.
Each social platform has its own quirks for video content:
Platform-specific formats: Each platform favors different video dimensions and lengths. I’ve seen the same content perform dramatically differently when properly reformatted for each platform versus using the same format everywhere.
Native uploads: Directly uploading to each platform almost always outperforms sharing links. Native Facebook videos, for instance, get about 10x more engagement than shared YouTube links in my experience.
Caption optimisation: Since up to 85% of social videos are watched without sound, captions aren’t just an accessibility feature, they’re essential for engagement. I typically see 40% higher completion rates for captioned social videos.
Platform-specific discovery features: Understand how each platform surfaces content. For example, YouTube heavily weights watch time, while TikTok’s algorithm seems to favor completion rate and engagement velocity.
The key insight I’ve gained over years of implementing these approaches is that while the specific tactics vary by platform, the core principles remain consistent: create valuable content that serves a clear purpose, optimise it appropriately for each environment, and focus on driving meaningful engagement.
One of the biggest mistakes I see businesses make with Video SEO is focusing on vanity metrics rather than meaningful outcomes. Raw view counts might feel good to report, but they don’t necessarily translate to business results.
Instead, I recommend tracking these metrics:
Audience retention: What percentage of your video do people actually watch? This is a much stronger quality signal than view counts alone. I’ve seen videos with modest view counts but 70%+ retention rates drive far more business value than viral videos with poor retention.
Engagement actions: Comments, shares, and subscriptions indicate that your content resonated enough for viewers to take action. These engagement signals also feed back into algorithmic ranking.
Traffic to website: For most businesses, the ultimate goal isn’t YouTube fame but driving interested prospects to your website. Tracking how many viewers take this journey is crucial.
Conversion metrics: The real measure of video success is often conversion-related. This could be direct sales, lead form submissions, or other valuable actions taken after video exposure.
Search visibility: Track how your videos rank for target keywords across platforms and how often they appear in Google’s video results.
The most valuable approach is connecting these metrics to understand the complete picture. For example, a video with modest view counts but high website click-through and conversion rates may actually be your most valuable asset, even if it’s not your most popular content.
Based on everything I’ve seen working with businesses across different sectors, here are my key recommendations for integrating Video SEO into your broader strategy:
Before diving into video creation, get clear on your strategic goals. Ask:
This strategic foundation ensures your video efforts align with business priorities rather than chasing trends or vanity metrics.
Too many businesses treat video as a separate channel or initiative. Instead:
This integrated approach creates a more coherent experience for your audience while maximising the efficiency of your content production.
Video doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does require planning and resources. Based on what I’ve seen work for clients:
Consistency typically beats sporadic bursts of activity, so design an approach you can maintain long-term.
The video landscape evolves quickly, so regular measurement and adaptation are essential:
The businesses that see the most success with Video SEO are those that treat it as an ongoing process of refinement rather than a one-time project.
The search landscape is evolving rapidly with AI-generated results like Google’s AI Overviews becoming more prominent. This evolution has significant implications for Video SEO.
From what I’ve observed so far, AI search systems appear to be incorporating video content into their responses, particularly for queries where visual demonstration adds significant value. For example, searches for how-to topics often include video content within AI-generated summaries.
This suggests several strategic priorities for forward-thinking businesses:
The rise of AI in search reinforces something I’ve been advocating for years: focus on creating genuinely valuable content rather than chasing algorithmic tricks. The businesses that prioritise solving real audience problems with their video content will be best positioned regardless of how search interfaces evolve.
Let’s wrap this up with some real talk. Video isn’t some fancy extra anymore, it’s fundamental to how businesses need to operate in 2025. I’ve seen this play out time and again with everyone from massive organisations like the Olympics right down to specialised B2B printing machinery suppliers.
The businesses crushing it today aren’t treating video as some separate marketing channel. They’ve woven it right into the fabric of everything they do online. Their product pages have videos. Their how-to guides have videos. Their email campaigns feature video. It’s just part of how they communicate, not some special initiative with its own separate strategy.
What I find pretty interesting is that many businesses still overthink the video production side of things. You don’t need Hollywood budgets or a dedicated studio to create effective video content. What matters far more is that your videos genuinely answer the questions your potential customers are asking. A straightforward product demo shot on a decent smartphone will outperform a glossy brand video that doesn’t actually help the viewer solve a problem.
I’ve been banging this drum for years now, but it bears repeating: video has fundamentally changed how people make buying decisions. If you’re not showing your products or services in action through video, you’re making it harder for customers to choose you. It’s that simple.
The businesses that get this right aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the fanciest equipment. They’re the ones who understand their customers, create content that genuinely helps them, and make sure that content is discoverable wherever those customers are looking.
So if you take away just one thing from all this, let it be this: stop thinking about video as some optional extra or specialised marketing tactic. It’s an essential part of how you need to communicate with your audience in today’s digital landscape. The sooner you embrace that reality, the sooner you’ll start seeing the benefits.
Whether you’re just getting started with video or looking to improve what you’re already doing, I can help you develop an approach that delivers real results.
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