The pandemic accelerated big jumps in the number of people watching reels and TikTok videos.
Google’s Product Manager has shared that they are working on ways to display short videos in search results. Not unexpected, as online videos made up 82% of consumer internet traffic in 2022.
They’re also running research on how crawlers can extract the text and audio from a video and combine that with info like character and visual sign recognition. That will make it easier for the search engines to categorize and display them as a result.
What qualifies as a short-form video?
Often, they’re under a minute long but can be up to 5 minutes. They’ll be in vertical rather than horizontal format. You’ve seen them in Instagram Reels, Snapchat, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook reels in addition to TikTok of course, but the game changer will be this announced blending of more videos and imagery into search results.
For example, my wife and I just returned from Amsterdam. After the implementation of the new features, a search result will bring up not just the usual flights, weather, Wikipedia results, travel sites, etc. but will mix in videos and imagery to give users a richer experience of what the city is actually like.
At Google’s Search On event earlier this year, they also unveiled a new feature for Lens. When you hold up your phone, you’ll be able to view information about the area in real-time. In Amsterdam, I would be able to look down a street with my camera and see data on restaurants, attractions, ATM locations, and more in an augmented reality layer. Very cool. And very useful.
I’ve been harping on the importance of video in marketing for years. They offer a quick and engaging way to connect with audiences and can be a highly effective marketing strategy. Now, with Google planning to include short-form videos in search, the importance of using them in your marketing strategy has only increased.
These videos can be used to showcase products, services, and brand values, and can be highly effective in building brand awareness and driving conversions.
One of the key benefits? They’re highly shareable, easily digestible, and can be shared across multiple platforms, including social media, email, and websites. This makes them an ideal tool for building brand awareness and driving traffic to your website.
How do you optimize your short-form videos for search? I’ve covered how to optimize YouTube videos extensively, but short-form videos are a little easier to optimize.
There are several best practices to follow. First, make sure your videos are properly tagged and titled. This will help search engines understand what your video is about and make it easier for users to find.
Second, include a call to action in your videos, such as a link to your website or a special offer. This will encourage viewers to take action after watching your video.
Finally, make sure your videos are optimized for mobile devices, as most short-form video views come from mobile devices.
After years of doing video productions, including documentaries, music videos, TV pilots, and commercials at Bleeding Edge it’s hard for me to say this, but viewers don’t care about scripts and high production values in these videos. They want to feel connected to you and your brand. Authenticity AND creativity are important. Don’t worry about them being perfect, just do them.
The bottom line – with Google planning to include short-form videos in search, it’s more important than ever to include them in your marketing strategy. By creating engaging, shareable videos that are optimized for search, you can build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, and increase conversions.
Hmmm…. maybe I should have done this post as a short-form video.
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