Optimizing Video Content for Search Engines

By Andreas Roell

Are your videos optimized for search engines? Now that search engines crawl for video content, the same rules that apply to optimizing Web site text now apply to video content. Key words, tags, and content are all a part of the equation that search engines will use to rank your video.

The importance of SEO for video can be summed up in one word: revenue. Most online video advertisements don’t generate direct revenue on their own like pay-per-view, pay-to-own, or subscription video services. Their purpose is to be “propagated across as many services and viewers as possible,” and to do that, videos must be search-engine friendly, according to video search engine Blinkx.

Marketers also need to keep close tabs on how and where their videos are posted. When a video is picked up by an aggregator, the file name, descriptions, tags, and titles should be monitored, and possibly changed, to ensure that every site displaying your video content will drive the most traffic and business to your Web site.

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Article published by ClickZ on February 5, 2008

Microsoft buyout of Yahoo helps Google?

Exciting news this morning. Microsoft bids $45000000000.00 for Yahoo!

…however, the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. People are shorting Yahoo stock thinking they will say no to the unsolicited offer. It will be fun to follow how it pans out. It seems like a very complex deal, with a mix of cash and stock, and it will need to get approved by the FCC and EU.

On the bright side for Google, it may speed up and guarantee the EU’s approval of the DoubleClick Google buyout.

Preview the Future Of Search Engine Results

Ars Technica did a great review of Google’s “Alternate Views Search Results” experiment. To take some of the new features for a first hand test run visit this page. On a similar note, Yahoo has been testing the integration of delicious social bookmarking into their search results pages.

So what does this mean for searchers?

A few weeks back Ars Technica did another posting title “The ‘Google Generation’ not so hot at Googling, after all” after review of a report published by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee. The short version of the report is that even the generation that has grown up Googling everything and unaware of a world without Google still isn’t very good at formatting their search queries. Current search engine results pages on the top three engines are fairly straight forward and simple. They got a bit more complex with the introduction of universal search, however they are still a basic and static page. If searchers are having trouble finding what they want now, how will searchers be able to handle dealing with more complex search results with timelines and maps thrown into the mix? Maybe it will create a completely new industry in which you will need to hire search professionals that are highly skilled at sorting through the information via the search engines. Maybe training classes that teach people how to maximize the value of search and search engines will run along side Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop courses. Either way it is going to require every searcher young and old to learn how to use the more sophisticated searches to find the answers they are looking for.

So what does this mean for the search industry?

My first thought is that this will extend the long tail of search phrases. Search marketers will need to start thinking about more complex queries with dates and locations. Also, dependent on how the suggested searches are displayed (logically it would be by highest search count to lowest?) it will likely drive up the traffic on the suggested terms that are shown first. Secondly, whomever came up with the “SEO is dead”theory, I think the morphing of search results will give new challenges and opportunities to our industry. Lastly, it will force search marketers to focus even more on creating high quality websites with multiple types of content to stay competitive with their search engine visibility.

Everyone’s an Expert: the Introduction of Google Knol

Last month, Google announced the rollout of a new community-based Web tool called Google Knol. “Knol” stands for unit of knowledge, and the project aims to get Web users to contribute authoritative articles on subjects they know extremely well.

Knol hasn’t been opened to the unwashed Internet masses yet; still, it’s significant because it marks the first time that Google has ventured into the content space.

Like the highly trafficked Yahoo Answers, Google Knol is likely to become popular because it highlights authors and invites people to make unique contributions to a larger base of knowledge. It appeals to Web users’ egos while giving them an orderly, standardized way to empty the contents of their brains. In addition, Google’s ability to categorize and rank Web content will help ensure that Web searchers find relevant Knols when they are seeking information about a certain subject.

Though Google Knol will be, in a way, a competitor of Wikipedia, it differs from Wikipedia in a few key ways. First, Google Knol promises to highlight individuals and honor their unique contributions; Wikipedia, despite its populist mission, is controlled by a small group of editors and folds individuals’ contributions into communal articles. And because Google Knol puts authors’ names front and center, authors will also act as editors, and authors can make money from their contributions through ads placed on their Knols, the tool is likely to yield high-quality content, discussions and comments.

Google Knol has the potential to blend all the best traits of Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers. As the tool becomes open to everyone, it will be interesting to see how well it catches on.

Google’s Gas Station Pumps

I’ve had the pleasure of watching CNN while I am unintentionally sniffing gas fumes but the days of CNN gas pump broadcasting may be numbered as a new type of gas station entertainment is jumping on stage. Starting this December, Google will install Google Maps on some 3,500 gas pumps around the United States that will allow motorists to search for local spots and print out directions from the pump itself.

In my opinion, this is an amazing idea. Google Maps and gas station pumps fit together as well as peanut butter and jelly. Next time you are lost on a road trip or looking for a good place to eat, you no longer need to walk into the gas station and ask the attendant, who the majority of the time seems like they hate any form of human communication, for directions or recommendations of good places for you to eat. Just go to the pump, do a search on Google, and print out your directions.

Google Phone OS – Free always wins

Well, it’s official! Google finally admitted they are working on an Operating System or “software stack” for mobile phones. While this is not Google phone per se, it will power a large number of different phones from Samsung, HTC, Motorola and LG. The question is whether this will make significant inroads into the territory of Windows mobile, Palm, and Blackberry as well as grow the overall mobile computing market.

US consumers are remiss to pay for anything when they can get it for free. Many consumers will withstand a barrage of untargeted ads just to get a $5 Starbucks card or a chance to win an ipod. They certainly will be enthusiastic about getting something free when the ads are much more targeted and even relevant to them. So, be prepared for Google to replace Windows Mobile or the Palm OS on most devices. It could easily be a category killer. The only possible exception would be for RIM and the addicted loyalists they have created.

So, expect Google’s stock to continue to increase while Search marketers celebrate the chance to dominate mobile advertising…

Radiohead Takes Advantage of Digital Downloads

Radiohead, one of the largest alternative bands in the world, released their new studio album “In Rainbows” via their website. The entire album can be downloaded for as little as $.90 or as much as you decide to pay for it. Although we all know that the majority of people are going to download the album for the minimum price, Radiohead is turning their album into a promotional tool to gain visibility, build fan loyalty, increase merchandise sales, and increase concert ticket sales.

For example, Google searches for “Radiohead” increased ten fold since the announcement of their downloadable album, website traffic increase 11 fold according to HitWise and news coverage of the band has increased dramatically in recent days. Although the knife is being turned that was stabled into hearts of major labels years ago by Napster, Radiohead is gracefully leading the progression of the music industry into the digital era. In the last few days, bands like Oasis and Jamiroquai have expressed interest in following suite with Radiohead.

Google and DoubleClick to Merge?

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Google’s purchase of advertising company DoubleClick is likely to be approved by regulators — despite fierce objections from Google’s chief rivals, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Some argue that the merger of two advertising giants has troubling antitrust and privacy implications.

At the same time, many experts point out that Internet advertising is a huge and largely untapped market that is ripe for new entrants, even if mergers like the Google-DoubleClick deal are approved.

Google’s $3.1 billion buyout of DoubleClick, if approved, is just one sign of a larger trend — the rapid consolidation of the lucrative Internet advertising industry. Though Microsoft and Yahoo are objecting to Google’s intention to acquire DoubleClick, they have made their own acquisitions as well. Microsoft Corp bought aQuantive Inc — the largest interactive ad agency — for $6 billion; Yahoo purchased BlueLithium for $300 million. Both of these deals were approved by U.S. regulators.

Because the online ad market is constantly evolving, incredibly dynamic, and difficult to define, it’s difficult to say whether the Google-DoubleClick deal would really represent an antitrust violation. The online ad market is currently expanding 15 to 20 percent a year worldwide. The global ad market, in contrast, is growing only 2 to 3 percent a year. Similarly, online advertising revenue surged to nearly $10 billion in the first half of 2007.

Because the online ad market is so huge and still surging, experts argue, it is possible for many more players to burst onto the scene and carve out their own segment of the market, even if Google and DoubleClick do merge. Online ad prices, some say, are highly unlikely to rise as a result of the deal.