Video E-Commerce and SEO: Lights! Camera! Action!
Despite the fact that most online retailers today understand that video increases the stickiness of their websites, improves their search engine rankings and helps close more deals, only a small number employ the best practices necessary to take full advantage of video's search engine optimization promise. This was a key finding in the State of Video in E-Commerce Report from my firm, SundaySky, a provider of dynamically generated video for e-commerce sites. The report, which was published late last year, examined how 50 top online retailers use video.
Video E-Commerce by the Numbers
Forrester Research released a report in 2009 noting that 68 percent of retailers use video. However, even businesses that do use video often don't maximize the potential impact it can have on search engine results. Fewer than 10 percent of the retailers surveyed in SundaySky's report can boast more than 10 indexed videos on Google, for example. Here are some more interesting highlights from SundaySky's report:
- 24 percent of respondents don't have a presence on YouTube;
- 42 percent said they have have no significant video presence, with less than 10 videos on their site;
- 8 percent of respondents have a substantial video presence (at least one video per 10 website pages); and
- 76 percent said they have no tangible video presence on Google or comparable search engines.
"Doing" Video is Different Than "Doing it Right"
Companies embracing online video are beginning to demonstrate their value against their competitors who don't use video.
Twenty-four percent of the respondents to SundaySky's survey currently have more than 1,000 videos. These sites often partner with vendors who work with video (e.g., WebCollage, SellPoint, SundaySky) or are built around video (e.g., QVC, HSN). These retailers continue to build a strong online community and enhance the customer experience.
