Video
Podcast Tips
By S. Housley
Optimize Video Podcasts
It does not matter what you call them: vodcasts, vidcasts, videocasting,
or video podcasting... there are a few behind-the-scenes actions
you can take to help attract more attention to your video productions.
Just like websites, it does not matter how amazing the content is
if interested people are unable to find it.
Use the following suggestions to help increase the
exposure your videos receive...
1. Use Keywords
In Video File Name Insert keywords in the name of
the video file. When determining what keywords to use, do not simply
rely on intuition; do research, just as you would for a website,
to see what relevant terms people are searching on.
2. Create Video Feed
Create an RSS feed of all videos in a collection.
Each feed item should contain a different video in the enclosure
field. Optimize the feed using related keywords. For additional
help, there is a Videocasting Feed Creation Tutorial available at
http://www.feedforall.com/videocasting-tutorial.htm
.
3. Increase Exposure
Host your videos on YouTube, and embed the video
into your website, which will increase the video count on YouTube.
The more popular a video seems to be, the more exposure it will
receive.
4. Video Name And Description
In the video name and description fields, use keywords
that relate to the content of the video. Create a compelling yet
relevant title and description that will encourage people to click-through.
5. Google Video Sitemap
Create a video sitemap for the search engines. For
details on what to include in such sitemaps, Google has provided
specifications in their Google Webmaster Central Blog at http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/12/introducing-video-sitemaps.html
.
6. Meta Data
Include meta data in the video file. The newer video
search engines will often rely on meta data to produce relevant
results. Many video editing products will allow you to edit and
customize the meta data associated with the video file, and you
should use this the same way you would use the meta data for a webpage.
7. Optimize Landing Page
Optimize the landing page on the website, embed the
video in a webpage on your website, and then use standard SEO techniques
to optimize that webpage for the search engines. Use keywords that
relate to the video on the page that contains the video.
8. Transcripts
Provide a text transcript of the video, both on the
landing page and in the RSS feed for the video.
9. Embed URL In Video
Brand the video with your logo in the initial video
splash screen, and include your website address on the bottom of
the video to increase your brand exposure.
10. Leave Them Wanting More
The video should be a teaser and leave the audience
wanting more. Engage the audience, but try to encourage the viewer
to visit the website or view other videos to learn more.
11. Submit YouTube Feed
YouTube creates an RSS feed for every user account
that is created. In addition to manually creating an RSS feed, you
can also use the YouTube feed to promote your videos. The formatting
details for the YouTube video feeds can be found at http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/username/uploads
(replace "username" in the url with your own YouTube account username).
12. Anchor Text
When linking to the video, use anchor text that contains
keywords which relate to the video.
13.Video Submission
Submit the video to all the video websites and video
podcast websites. Here are a couple of resource sites to get you
started...
Podcast & Video Submissions - http://www.podcasting-tools.com/submit-podcasts.htm
140 Places to Submit Your Video List - http://www.stephanmiller.com/my-link-lists/140-place-to-submit-your-video-list/
14. Tag Video
Tag the video on the video networks with relevant
keywords, making it is easier for people to find when they search
on those keywords.
15. Track Views
Track and review the number of views that a video
receives. If you find that a substantial number of viewers are abandoning
the video before completion, the chances are good that the video
is too long and could benefit from trimming.
16. Social Bookmarking
Use social bookmarking to draw additional attention
to videos. This will also help with the number of incoming links,
which in turn will help improve search engine ranking.
Videos are the latest marketing channel. In order
to make the most of it, optimize the video and increase the exposure
it receives.
Video Podcast
Tips - Part II
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts.
In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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