Using Video to Improve Your Search Ranking

Posted in Marketing, Our Blog | 0 comments

Quick question:  If you are a local plumber and want people to find you on the Internet, what is the best strategy?

Answer A:  Sell your small business and buy into a national franchise like Roto Rooter

Answer B:  Spend several thousand dollars a month on a Pay Per Click campaign

Answer C:  Create a ‘How To’ video and post it on YouTube with keywords and a description

Answer D:  Just give up and find another way to promote your business

All four answers are reasonable options for a small business.

If you search for plumbers in your area, you’ll see that options A and B are the ones that generate the most search engine exposure.  For many local companies that have limited resources, however, A and B are both unrealistic.  Reality dictates that the search engine optimization (SEO) required to compete with national brands is costly often impossible to match.  The result is that many small businesses default to option D – giving up – when A and B seem too daunting.

But take a minute and do another search.  Look for ‘How to fix a disposal’ or ‘How to stop a leaking toilet’.  Most likely you’ll see several YouTube videos that show up at the top of the page.  Below the videos will be a link for ‘more’ video options.

If you are a customer with a broken disposal or a leaking toilet, which would you search for first?  There is a good chance you’d try to see if you could fix the problem first before searching for a plumber.  And even if you started by searching for a plumber, when all you find is big corporate web sites, you might decide to refine your search to find more information.

Now think about which link is going to make the strongest impact?  A video that shows your prospect how they might solve the problem themselves (but most likely will reinforce that they need to call you – the professional) or a slick corporate website that screams ‘You are going to PAY through the nose if you actually call me!’  Providing ‘how to’ information allows you to demonstrate credibility as you ease your prospect’s concerns about what they need to do next.

Now I don’t want to suggest that making a video and getting it to show up on the first search page is without effort, but often times it is easier and less expensive than trying to compete for search engine rankings with a huge nationwide brand.  Add as a benefit the relationship building value of a well crafted video and you realize that not only will you get more readily exposed to your prospect, but you’ll also make a positive impact on their buying decision.

So, look around and see if anyone else is showing your prospects ‘how to’ solve the problems your business specializes in fixing.  If your competition is not engaged, you have fertile ground to grow your business; if they are engaged, you better get in the game quick or risk loosing ground.