Video Search Optimization Eric Papczun SES Chicago December 4 th, 2006.

Video Search Optimization

Eric PapczunSES ChicagoDecember 4th, 2006

2

The Players

• Share of Video Streams*– 20% - My Space– 11% - Yahoo! Sites– 9% - YouTube– 4% - Time Warner Sites (CNN, CNNMoney)– 4% - Viacom Sites (CBSNews, CBS, Sportsline)– 1% - Google Video

• Share of Traffic**– 33% - YouTube– 15% - MySpace Videos– 8% - Google Video– 3% - Yahoo! Video– 3% - MSN Video– 2% - Yahoo! Video Streaming

*Source: IPOS Public Affairs, July 2006

**Source: Hitwise, USA, Market share within “Entertainment – Multimedia” category, December 2006

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The Trend

• 54% of Online Users Consume Video Online*

• 72% Watched News Video Online*

• Video Consumption is Moving from TV to Video Sites

and Eventually to Search

• Now is the Time to Optimize Your Video Assets!

*Source: IPOS Public Affairs

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The Roadblocks

• Lack of a Simple and Consistent Taxonomy for

Producers to Use

• Search is Too Dependant on Text from Video’s

Corresponding Web Page

• Flash Video Players

• Ugly URL’s with Lots of Parameters

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Video Optimizing for News Sites

• Train Editors to Think Like Video Searchers– Target keywords for each video

• Encode for the Right Keywords– Title, description, and keyword fields are key

• Use Keywords in Filename

• Keep video files in one directory

• Surround Video with On-Page Relevant Text

• Crosslink to Videos using Keywords in Anchor Text

• Create a Optimized Video Sitemap

• Upload Videos to Search Engines

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Think Like the Video Searcher

Michael Richards makes headlines on 11/17 with racial tirade

People search for “Michael Richards” and “Kramer” to find news and video

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Optimize Titles and Descriptions:“Michael Richards”

Top Results

for query

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Optimize Titles and Descriptions:“Kramer”

3 instances of “Kramer” in title and description

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Video and Text Should Play Together

CNBC.com’s new site does a nice job of surrounding videos with text content

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Video Directory Off Root

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Video Site Map

H1 Tag “Video Site Map”

Repeat News and Video Keywords

“CBS News Videos” not “CBS News”

Provide Links to RSS Feeds

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Global Footer Link to Video Sitemap

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Optimize Anchor Text in Links

Use Primary Keywords in Text Links

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Increase Distribution

Bulk Video Submission Tools:

• Google: https://upload.video.google.com

• Yahoo!: search.yahoo.com/mrss/submit

• Blinkx: www.blinkx.com/rssupload

• Singing Fish: search.singingfish.com/sfw/submit.html

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Brand Yourself in Video

Target generic video search keywords like “news video” to build online brand

Be an early mover in paid search

-NY Times has lead the way

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Use Paid Search to Capture Story

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For Google Video:Links & Anchor Text are Still King

Top 10 results for “paris hilton”

Appears to be strong correlation between ranking and allinanchor

Title is second most important factor for this query

Freshness helps

allinanchor:paris hilton

Thank You!

Eric PapczunSES ChicagoDecember 4th, 2006