What is video SEO?
First thing’s first. The literal translation for video SEO is video search engine optimization. In other words: optimizing your videos so they get a high ranking in search results. These engines do not yet ‘understand’ moving images, which means search engines need your help with ranking results.
How does video SEO work?
Similar to ‘regular’ search engine optimization, keywords are important for video SEO. The better your keywords fit the content, the better your content gets ranked in terms of relevance. With video you can take it to the next level. You can use video metadata, a video sitemap, closed captions, deeplinks and video snippets to clarify what your video is about. Follow these six steps to optimize your video for search.
1. Understanding Video SEO and why it's important
Just like text-based content, search engines also crawl the web for videos and rank them. But unlike blog posts or articles, search engines need metadata, transcripts, and structured data to understand the video’s content.
So… Why is Video SEO Important?
- Increased Visibility: Optimized videos are more likely to appear in search results, featured snippets, and Google’s video carousel.
- Higher Engagement: Videos that rank well tend to get more clicks and longer watch times, which in turn boosts their rankings further.
- Competitive Advantage: Many companies overlook video SEO, giving you an opportunity to stand out.
Follow the strategies in this guide to improve your ranking and drive more traffic to your videos.
2. Essential Steps for Video SEO
Optimize Video Metadata: Titles & Descriptions
The whole purpose of video metadata is to describe the content of the video. Make sure to provide:
Titles:
- Try to include your primary keyword within the first few words.
- Keep it short (around 60 characters) so the full title is visible in search results without getting cut off.
- If applicable: make it engaging and actionable, e.g., “How to cut a mango”.
Descriptions:
- Write a detailed and engaging description using relevant keywords.
- Place the most important keywords within the first 150 characters, as search engines prioritize these.
- Add timestamps for videos longer than 2-3 minutes to improve the user experience and encourage longer watch times. For shorter videos, timestamps may not be necessary unless they cover multiple distinct topics.
Tags:
- Add relevant keywords as tags. While search engines can analyze surrounding text and metadata to infer keywords, explicitly providing them through structured data increases precision and enhances discoverability.
Tip
Keyword Research for Video Content
Just like traditional SEO, keyword research is crucial for Video SEO. Read more here to get started: Video SEO
Add chapters for Better Video Navigation
- Adding video chapters improves navigation. Break your video into clear, meaningful chapters with titles and timestamps. This helps users find relevant information quickly and improves engagement.
- Chapters also enhance SEO by allowing search engines to better understand your content structure.
Transcriptions & Subtitles
- While the main purpose of transcriptions and subtitles is to improve your content’s accessibility (read more about improving your video’s accessibility , it provides search engines with rich metadata about the video’s content.
- Manually generating transcriptions and subtitles can get rather tedious and time consuming. Consider using a service such as our that automatically generates subtitles and transcriptions.
Add Custom Thumbnails
Thumbnails are not only shown in the video player itself, but also in Google’s rich snippets. Eye-tracking research shows that people pay more attention to visual search results, so make sure to use a thumbnail. And make your thumbnail a real eye-catcher as they significantly impact click-through rates (CTR). Consider using:
- An image that conveys the main topic of the video
- Bright colors and high contrast.
- Text overlays to add context.
- A consistent style across all your videos to strengthen your brand.
3. Technical Video SEO: What You Should Be Doing
So, you added all the relevant metadata and high quality thumbnails to your videos… How do search engines come across your videos?
How Search Engines Discover Videos
Search engines can detect videos on a webpage in several ways:
- On-Page Metadata: Video metadata as described above as well as surrounding text help search engines understand the video’s context.
- Crawling Embedded Videos: If a video is embedded using <video> tags, an iframe, or referenced via structured data (like JSON-LD), search engines can usually find it.
- Video Sitemaps: Providing a dedicated video sitemap improves discoverability and indexing.
Why JSON-LD Schema Improves Video SEO
While search engines can find videos without JSON-LD, structured data enhances visibility and indexing accuracy by:
- Providing explicit metadata (title, description, duration, upload date, chapters, transcriptions, interaction statistics, etc.).
- Helping videos appear in Google’s video carousel and rich snippets.
Basic Example of JSON-LD:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "VideoObject",
"name": "How to cut a mango",
"description": "Cutting a mango is easy! You can do it in a couple of ways. First, check if the mango is ripe by pressing it gently. Slice it into three pieces, cutting along the pit on each side. Then, cut the flesh into squares, flip the peel back, and just scoop out the cubes. Or, peel it first and slice it up. ",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://yourcompanyname.bbvms.com/mediaclip/6224633/pthumbnail/120/67.jpg",
"uploadDate": "2023-07-15T08:00:00+00:00",
"contentUrl": "https://r5p7dpblu12btr.cloudfront.net/allerhande/media/2025/03/13/asset-6224633-1741474202602398.mp4",
"embedUrl": "https://yourcompanyname.com/embed/video",
"keywords": ["mango", "fruit", "techniques"],
"caption": "How to cut a mango",
"url": "https://www.bluebillywig.com/video-content-management/",
"interactionStatistic": {
"@type": "InteractionCounter",
"interactionType": "http://schema.org/WatchAction",
"userInteractionCount": "0"
},
"hasPart": [
{
"@type": "Clip",
"name": "Intro",
"startOffset": 0,
"endOffset": 4.97,
"url": "https://yourcompanyname.bbvms.com/view/default/6224633.html?placementOption=default&t=0"
},
{
"@type": "Clip",
"name": "Test ripeness",
"startOffset": 4.97,
"endOffset": 15,
"url": "https://yourcompanyname.bbvms.com/view/default/6224633.html?placementOption=default&t=4.97"
},
{
"@type": "Clip",
"name": "Cut instructions",
"startOffset": 15,
"endOffset": 21,
"url": "https://yourcompanyname.bbvms.com/view/default/6224633.html?placementOption=default&t=15"
}
], "transcript": "Mango cutting can be done in different ways.\n\nTest if the mango is ripe by gently pressing the skin.\n\nIf it bounces back, it's ripe.\n\nPlace the mango on the cutting board and cut along the pit.\n\nDo the same with the other side.\n\nCut from top to bottom and left to right on both halves.\n\nBend the skin back and cut the cubes off the skin.\n\nUse a small knife to remove the side from the pit.\n\nPeel the mango with a knife or vegetable peeler.\n\nCut slices until you reach the pit.\n\nFor cubes, cut thicker slices and then cube them.\n\nCut the remaining bits around the pit.\n\nThat's how you cut a mango.\n",
}
While you can manually add structured data as the JSON-LD example above, using our automatic Blue Billywig JSON LD injection will save you time and reduce errors.
We apply JSON LD injection by default, but it’s just as easy to turn off if you only want to serve your content to your specific audience.
Create & Submit a Video Sitemap
A video sitemap helps search engines to discover and index your videos efficiently. Here’s how to create one manually:
- Create an XML sitemap listing your videos, including essential metadata.
- Include important fields like:
- <video:title>
- <video:description>
- <video:thumbnail_loc>
- <video:content_loc>
- <video:publication_date>
- Submit the sitemap to Google Search Console.
Important to keep in mind: video sitemaps need to be hosted on the same domain as your website.
Alternatively, Blue Billywig offers automated video sitemaps. In a nutshell: first create a dynamic playlist in your account and automatically have its content populate your XML sitemap. This way you no longer have to manually update the video sitemap.
4. Advanced Tactics & Automation for Better Results
Beyond the Basics: Additional Video SEO Best Practices
- Optimize for Mobile: Ensure videos load quickly and are mobile-friendly.
- Use Adaptive Bitrate Streaming: Adaptive bitrate streaming helps deliver the best quality video for different internet speeds.
- Host Videos on a Dedicated Platform: Rather than relying solely on YouTube, consider using a professional online video platform (OVP) like Blue Billywig.
- Employ link building: Link building increases the number of websites that point to yours. Does the link come from a well-known and relevant website? Awesome! Video link building is all about the deep link. A deep link is an underlying link that points to the platform where videos are hosted. When you embed a Vimeo or YouTube video, your deeplink refers to Vimeo or YouTube, which might be beneficial for your SEO.
- Social sharing: Social sharing is when you share your video on social media. Make sure to add share buttons to your video to encourage viewers to share your content.
- One video per page: The goal of SEO is to rank higher in search results, which means search engines have to be able to locate your content. Make it as easy as possible for crawlers to locate videos on your website by embedding one video per page. Google suggests using a standalone page for each video with a descriptive title or description unique to each individual video.
Why Automation Matters
Handling Video SEO manually can be time-consuming. That’s why many businesses leverage automation tools. Here’s how Blue Billywig makes Video SEO effortless:
- Automatically generate subtitles: No need to manually add subtitles and its exact timestamps. Run our subtitle service, wait a few minutes, check its accuracy and you’re good to go!
- Automated Video Sitemaps: No need to manually update or submit sitemaps.
- JSON-LD Injection: Schema markup is automatically applied for better indexing.
- Advanced Analytics: Get deep insights into viewer engagement to optimize performance.
Technical fact
In technical terms the description is called a markup. Search engines have a different standard for markups. We offer a service that adds all metadata to your video, without you having to lift a finger. Are you using a different platform? Check the rich snippet testing tool to see whether your video can be read by search engines. Do you want more information on video metadata and the technical aspects? We’ve got you covered with a technical video SEO how-to.
