E-Commerce Video Optimization, YouTube Conversion, & PPV Opportunities for Internet Retailers

Agenda  •   Research  on  E-­‐Commerce  &  SEO  

•   Video  SEO  for  E-­‐Commerce  Websites  •   Landing  Pages  •   Ge,ng  into  search  engines  

•   YouTube  SEO  

•   Why  YouTube  •   YouTube  SEO  Tips  

•   YouTube  &  E-­‐Commerce  •   Driving  Conversions  •   Promoted  Videos    

•   Tracking  and  Google  analyCcs  URLs    •   Branding  vs.  direct  product  videos  

•   Op?miza?on  ?ps  For  Product  Videos  •   Pilots  and  Exci?ng  New  Things  •   Q/A  

Mark  Robertson  -­‐  ME  •  ReelSEO.com  Founder,  Webmaster,    

Customer  Service  Rep,  Author,  etc…  

•  ExperCse  –  Search  engine  opCmizaCon  

–  Online  video  publishing  –  Search,  search,  &  more  search  

•  Not  so  much  –  Dynamic  speaking  

–  Video  producCon  –  Ecommerce  

–  Baseball  

What  is  ReelSEO.com?    Video  +  Business  

ReelSEO.com  is  The  Online  Video  Marketer’s  Guide  –  focused  on  internet  video  markeCng,  video  adverCsing,  SEO,  video  producCon,  the  online  video  industry,  social  media,  YouTube,  and  anything  else  that  can  help  marketers  leverage  the  power  of  online  video.  

We  are  here  to  help  evangelize  for  the  industry,  collect  and  disseminate  best  pracCces,  and  learn  a  liVle  bit  while  doing  it.  

News,  Commentary,  Tips,  How-­‐To’s:  

Site  -­‐  hVp://www.reelseo.com/  Feed  -­‐  hVp://www.reelseo.com/feed/    TwiVer  -­‐  @reelseo  

We’re  not  just  about  SEO…    We  believe  that  in  order  to  opCmize  video,  there  is  a  lot  more  to  learn.  

Video Marketing Video Advertising Video Technology

Video SEO Viral Video YouTube

Video Search Video Production Video Platforms

Research & Trends E-Commerce Video Mobile Video

Legal Issues Tools and Software HTML5 Video

Source:  Internet  Retailer  Survey  –  February  2010  

30,317,131,000*  

Vs.15,500,000,000  Search  Queries  **  

*U.S.  Comscore  Video  Metrix  -­‐  Videos  Viewed  –  April  2010  |  **  ComScore  Core  Search  Report  –  April  2010  

•  Searches  for  Video  –   38%  of  all  US  online  users  report  using  search  engine  results  to  discover  video  1  

–   vs.  from  portal  (19%)  vs.  other  video  desCnaCon  sites  (11%)  

•  YouTube  Searching  –   54%  of  online  consumers  reported  using  the  site  to  discover  video  1  

–  Dec  2008  –  2nd  largest  search  engine  in  US2  –  Dec  2009  –  3.9B  queries  =  28%  of  all  Google  queries2  

•  Search  Engine  Referral  Traffic  –   Share  of  video  referral  traffic  from  search  engines  4  

•  11.81%  -­‐  general  &  video  search  engines  (YouTube  excluded)  –  23%  of  traffic  to  YouTube  originates  from  Google  3  

Sources:    1JupiterResearch/NPD  Group  Individual  User  Survey  (6/08)  |  2  Comscore  Search  Rankings  (6/09)  |  3Compete.com  |  4Tubemogul  (2/09)  

•  Videos  Dominate  Universal  Search  –  38%  of  users  who  searched  Google  were  

served  video  in  Universal  search  engine  results  pages  (‘08)  

•  Google  Video  =  21.5M  Unique/Month  

Source  –  “Google  Universal  Search  Results  Searcher  PenetraRon  by  Result  Type”  –  ComScore  –  Jan  2008  

Generate  traffic  to  your  website  &  your  video  content  

Benefits:  •  Control:  

–  on-­‐page  text  

–  user-­‐experience,  etc...  –  acCon/conversions  

–  brand  experience  

•  BeVer  measurement  capabiliCes  •  Generate  direct  traffic    •  Exposure  to  related  content  

•  Can  strengthen  overall  website  SEO  

“Thumbnail  Power”  

 -­‐  Traffic  goes  directly  to  Overstock.com  

-­‐  9980  product  videos  indexed  in  Google.  

Regular  SERPS   Universal  SERPS  

Why  is  this  important  –  Thumbnail  Power!  

Wont  YouTube  videos  trump  ours?    -­‐  YouTube  CannibalizaCon?  

•  Not  necessarily:    Why?    –  Topical  Authority  

–  Blended  vs.  Universal  Search  

•  In  Fact  =  Opportunity  –  Early  advantage  

76%  retailers  have  no  tangible  video  presence  on  Google  (<10  videos)  

Source  –  SundaySky  State  of  Video  in  E-­‐Commerce  Report,  7/2010  

•  Top  200  Retailers  –  4%  of  the  top  200  retailers  have    

>100  videos  indexed  by  Google  

–  <  10  %  had  more  than  10  videos  indexed  

•  Successful  Retailers  –  Amazon,  Overstock  and  NFL.com    

10’s  of  thousands  of  videos  indexed  

Keep  in  Mind:  Video  SEO  is  merely  an  extension  of  website  SEO  

Website  Video  SEO  Steps:  

1.  Focus  1st  on  SEO  for  E-­‐commerce  website  –  Keyword  research  –  Site  architecture  

–  On-­‐page  SEO  factors  

–  Off-­‐page  SEO  factors  (inbound  linking/PR)  

2.  Create  opCmized  landing  pages  for  each  video  –  Be  careful  in  how  you  publish  video  

3.  Create  feeds/XML  for  videos  4.  Submit  videos  to  search  engines  

5.  Measure,  track  and  refine  

Crea?ng  a  Video  Landing  Page  •  1  Video/URL  •  Unique  URLS  w/Keywords  

•  Same  domain  (video  can  be  hosted  outside)  

Op?mize  the  Video  Landing  Page  •  SEO  principles  for  Ctles,  URLs,  metadata,  H1,  etc…  

•  Keyword  anchor  text  to  URLs  

Provide  Context  to  Surround  Video    •  As  always  -­‐  accessibility  =  SEO  

•  Contextually  related  links  (products,  videos,  arCcles)  

•  Related  on-­‐page  text    (tags,  transcripts,  comments)  

Video  Landing  Page  Anatomy

Don’t  make  it  difficult  for  users  to  find  your  videos  •  Thumbnail  vs.  icon  vs.  “click  here  for  video”  =  Thumbnail  •  Incorporate  video  results  within  own  site  search  

Publishing  for  SEO  •  Use  Embedded  Players  •  Don’t  use  popups  –  (i.e.  “click  to  watch  video”    pop-­‐up)  

•  Avoid  external  js,  if  possible  

Search  Engines  Crawl  to  Find  Video  •  Link  to  Video  File  –  traffic  to  video  file  vs.  page,  not  reliable  

Submission  is  Be[er  –  Tell  The  Search  Engines  About  Your  Videos  •  Google  supports  both  MRSS  and  XML  video  sitemaps    

•  Other  search  engines  support  MRSS  •  XML  sitemaps  (beVer)  

–  Allows  you  to  specify  player,  thumbnail,  and  “allow  play”  

Tips  for  Sitemaps  •  Robots.txt  -­‐  include  sitemaps  and  allow  URL  crawling  

•  Publish  both  video  sitemap  and  regular  xml  sitemap  •  Titles  are  given  disproporConate  weighCng  

•  Tell  search  engines  which  thumbnail  to  use  •  Contact  search  engines  for  specific  guidelines  –  many  outdated  

1.   Googlebot  Crawls  Web  &  Finds  Video  

3.   MRSS  Feeds  Or  XML  Sitemaps  –  Step  1)  Tell  Google  where  your  video  resides  

•  MRSS  Feeds  or  Video  XML  Sitemaps  –  Step  2)  Google  crawls  page  to  verify  video  exists  

–  Video  indexed  in  Google  video  –  Available  via  universal  search  results  

–  Thumbnails  displayed  if  appropriate  

4.  Facebook  Share  Markup  5.  Yahoo  Search  Monkey  RDF  

6.  HTML5  –  SCll  Requires  Sitemap  

Page  Load  Times  are  Cri?cal  

Create  Compelling  Thumbnails  –  Eye-­‐catching,  relevant,  high  quality  –  Which  one  would  you  choose?  

•  “Flip  Mino  HD”  

13,087,462,000**    

2  Billion  video  views/day  =  23,000  videos/second  

3,705,000,000**  

*U.S.  Comscore  Video  Metrix  -­‐  Videos  Viewed  –  April  2010  |  **  ComScore  Core  Search  Report  –  April  2010  

Sear

ch Q

ueri

es (

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Google Search

YouTube Yahoo! Search

“Publishing  e-­‐commerce  videos  to  YouTube  in  addiRon  to  the  adequate  product  page  is  something  I  would  consider  a  must”  

 -­‐  Xavier  Casanova,  Liveclicker  

Current  State  

•  24%  retailers  not  present  on  YouTube  

•  24%  of  top  retailers  have  limited  presence  –  inacCve  channel  

Opportunity?  

•  30%  have  >  1  M  video  views    

•  34%  of  top  retailers  have  >100  videos  on  their  channels.  

Source  –  SundaySky  State  of  Video  in  E-­‐Commerce  Report,  7/2010  

Quality content

Audience SEO Basics

2  ways  retailers  can  use  YouTube  

1.  Brand  PromoCon  &  Awareness  –  Blendtec  =  300K  subscribers  +  131M  

video  views  

–  Old  Spice  =  100K  subscribers  +  70M  video  views  

–  Victoria’s  Secret  =  25K  subscribers  +  150M  video  views  

2.  Direct  Response  –  YouTube  syndicaCon  can  result  in  direct-­‐

response  if  done  properly  

Not  TV  Adver?sing  -­‐  Lean  Back  vs.  Lean  Forward  

Consider  going  beyond  product  videos  •  Consider  the  audience  on  YouTube  

•  No  viral  product  videos  

Telling  a  story:  •  Shorter  is  almost  always  sweeter  

•  Focus  on  first  15  sec  

•  Engage  customers  •  Educate  customers    

•  Point  of  differenCaCon  •  Entertain  customers  

•  Be  different  •  Write  with  keyword  in  mind  (if  applicable)  

http://www.youtube.com/user/Blendtec

Sales increased 700%, 5X the company's old record

YouTube  Ranking  Factors  –  Title    –  DescripCon  

–  Tags  –  Views  &  frequency  

–  Likes,  dislikes  –  Playlist  addiCons  

–  Flagging  

–  Shares  –  Comments  

–  Age  of  video  –  Video  Responses  

–  Subscribers  –  Favorites  

–  Embeds  &  inbound  links  

More  Possible  YouTube  Ranking  Factors  

•  Social  Media  AcCvity  &  Buzz  •  Degree  &  frequency  of  community  interacCon  

•  Playlists  •  Flagging  •  Honors  •  Insight/Trends/AnalyCcs  indicators  •  BulleCns  •  Authority  Channel  (Ex:  BMW)  •  Google  &  YouTube  searches  •  Channel  Views  •  Social  Bookmarking  

•  Blogs  •  News/Press/Press  Release  •  Crowd  Sourcing  –  Influencers  &  Media  

•  YouTube  Partner  Program  •  Close  CapConing/transcripCons    

Titles  are  important  •  Trade-­‐off    =  Search  keywords  vs.  enCcing  Ctles  

Maximize  descrip?ve  text  •  Leverage  descripCons  liberally  (5000  characters)  

•  Leverage  tags  –  opCmize  &  de-­‐opCmize  (no  spam)  

•  Important  keywords  first  in  Ctles,  descripCons  &  tags  

Enable  interac?on  •  Embedding  and  sharing  

•  CommenCng  and  raCng    

Consider  manually  uploading  or  API  •  More  characters  available  •  Geo-­‐tagging,  CC,  AnnotaCons,  etc…  

•  You  really  should  be  an  acCve  community  member  anyway  

Add  URLs  to  descrip?ons  •  Track  with  Cny  URLs  

Leverage  annota?ons    •  Drive  viewers  to  other  videos  

Engage  the  community  •  Subscribe  to  relevant  users  

•  Add  video  responses  when  appropriate  •  Encourage  linking  and  embedding  

Don’t  Ignore  your  Channel  

•  Channel  URLs  followed  •  Site  URL  followed  

•  It’s  more  than  YouTube  now.    •  Compe&&ve  keywords  require  addiConal  effort  OUTSIDE  of  YouTube  

•  Distribute  via  most  popular  YouTube  channel  available  to  you  

•  Leverage  social  sharing  funcConaliCes  

•  Post  to  your  blog  •  Crowd  source  -­‐Target/Use  Key  Influences  

•  Spread  the  word  internally  –  Encourage  your  company  to  help  seed/spread  the  word  

Closed  Cap?ons:  •   YouTube  &  Google  Index  CC  •   CC/SubCtles  don’t  require  audio  •   Can  help  with  longtail  searches  •   Have  script?  

 Track,  Measure  and  Learn!  

YOUTUBE  CONVERSION  TIPS  Driving  YouTube  viewers  back  to  you  

Video  Conversion  -­‐  Driving  Viewers  Home  

1)  URL  in  DescripCon     2)  In-­‐Video  Calls  to  AcCon  

-­‐   Must  include  hVp://  -­‐   Use  URL  shortener  –  tracking,  nofollow  

How  can  you  drive  interested  YouTube  viewers  back  to  your  website?  

-­‐  Teasers,  Coupons,  Promo  codes,  Call  tracking  #’s,  Unique  URLs,  Etc…  

Benefits  •  Reach  users  as  they  are  searching  on  YouTube  –  2nd  Largest  SE  

•  Keyword-­‐based  •  Pay  only  when  someone  clicks  to  watch  your  video  –  Set  maximum  CPC  •  Videos  surface  on:  

–  YouTube  Search  Results  pages  –  Related  Videos  

–  YouTube  homepage  

•  Audience  acCvely  opts-­‐in  

•  Overlay  ad  drive  conversion  •  Control  your  brand  •  Avoid  compeCtor  ads  on  your  videos  

•  Autoplay  on  channel  homepage  

Drive  Viewers  Home  •  Bonus  =  Free  call  to  acCon  overlay  

•  Auto-­‐play  on  channel  =  more  views  

•  Starts  at  $0.01  CPC  •  Cost  per  click  off-­‐site?  $0.00  

•  What  you  don’t  know?    –  Overlay  is  yours  regardless  =  FREE  

•  Google  URL  builder  –  create  tracking  URL  

•  Use  the  URL  shortener  of  your  choice  to  make  the  URL  palatable  or  branded  

•  Display  the  URL  within  your  video,  annotaCons,  leading  your  descripCon,  or  in  overlay  ads.  

•  Voila!  When  someone  clicks  on  your  YouTube  video  URL  and  buys  something,  Google  AnalyCcs  will  tell  you  how  much  revenue  was  generated  via  TRAFFIC  SOURCES>CAMPAIGNS>(Your  label)  

Ecommerce  tracking  with  Google  Analy?cs  

TIPS  FOR  PRODUCT  VIDEOS  

Think  about  the  words  users  would  type  to  find  your  pages,  and  make  sure  that  your  site  actually  includes  those  words  within  it."    

(Google  Guidelines)    

•  Demo  test  “Tires”  •  Keyword  research  

–  Not  everyone  searches  the  same  way  

–  Tools  •  Google  Search  Insight  •  SEOBook.com  

•  “Related  Searches”  •  Keywords  for  e-­‐commerce  

Review  DemonstraCon  

How-­‐to  

Test  Buy  

Model  &  SKU  #’s  

Longtail  Keywords  for  Product  Pages  

Facts:  •   The  majority  of  searches  are  1-­‐3  keywords  

•   Queries  with  4-­‐8  keywords  up  YOY  

•   Long  tail  keywords  are:  –   Easier  to  rank  for  in  search  –   Cheaper  to  buy  for  PPC  –   Typically  result  in  higher  conversion  %  

Avoid  Manufacturer  Product  Descrip?ons  •  Resist  the  urge.  When  possible,  re-­‐write  descripCons    -­‐  make  unique  

Allow  your  customers  to  comment  and  tag  products  with  their  own  keywords    •  Start  ranking  for  slang  keywords  that  you  would  have  never  thought  of..    

Use  keywords  in  anchor  text  •  On  category  pages,  link  to  the  individual  product  pages  with  good  anchor  text    

–  No  -­‐  “click  here”  or  “more  info”  –  Yes  –  “Canon  HF-­‐10  Review  Video”  

Links  in  Product  Descrip?ons  •  Create  keyword  rich  links  in  product  descripCons  of  one  product  to  another  

NEW  OPPORTUNITIES  IN  PAID  E-­‐COMMERCE  VIDEO  PLACEMENT  

“Plus Box” Pilot Program •  Started 2/2009 •  Jury still out on effectiveness – works best for entertainment