The reason behind YouTube’s ten minute limit for posted video came from the early days of the website when people began posting full TV episodes and movies to the site. In order to respect copyright laws, the time limit was seen as an effective way to keep people from sharing protected content. Once the limit was imposed, users were forced to cut things into segments, which could be a frustrating process.

As time has passed, YouTube’s Content ID system has evolved to work with over 1,000 global partners, helping to ensure copyrighted content is not being distributed without the owners consent. Content ID is able to catch copyrighted content in an automated way, policing the YouTube databases to find illegal content. YouTube claims that this is much for the reason for upping the time limit to fifteen minutes.

As a video SEO professional, one might ask why the change matters for VSEO, or why it would help a company gain ground in the Universal Search page. The truth is, this new limit shouldn’t affect how VSEO experts (or novices!) do their work, and certainly won’t change where you’re ranked on the Universal Search page. We know that it is wise to keep VSEO content short and concise, preferably under a minute, in order to keep the attention of the increasingly distracted viewer. If you are uploading anything longer than a few minutes, users will probably not watch all the way to the end. Unfortunately, your VSEO content is not the latest episode of Mad Men, so don’t think your viewers are hanging on to your every word. They might click away at any moment, so get your message across as fast as possible.

What is important here is that YouTube has put so much effort into protecting copyrighted content that they feel safe raising the limits to 15 minutes, and that there is such a demand for that extra five minutes of screen time. VSEO professionals already know that VSEO is a key strategy for inbound marketing and Universal Search page results, and every new advance by YouTube confirms it. As more and more users flock to online video, it becomes a bigger and bigger part of our daily lives.

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.

We’re relieved to see that marketing firms are taking social media more seriously than they did even a few months ago, as businesses demand a strong online presence on sites like Facebook and Twitter. However, some clients still ask us why they should bother. If you’re not part of the online world (and yes, those few people exist) it might be hard to understand that social media is very important for your VSEO strategy and placement on the universal search page. I’ve put together the top three reasons that you should never overlook social media.

1. Link sharing. Links and clicks are some of the most important metrics used to evaluate the success of your VSEO strategy. Even if you had no “likes” and no followers, every time you use social media to post a link to your YouTube channel, your blog, or your website, you’re creating another link and strengthening your VSEO plan. When you do build a following, and you’ve worked hard to create compelling VSEO content, your fans will click those links and share them with their friends. Social media allows you to share links directly with people who already like you and can spread the word for you.

2. Google sees it. It may be surprising to some people that Google Caffeine takes social media sites into account when determining authority and universal search ranking, but it’s true. Caffeine was designed to take video, image, and text into account, and social media sites are involved in that too. They’re too big a part of our current online world for Google, or your business, to ignore.

3. My friend’s dead cat is on Facebook. I’m not joking. Her name is Marie, and there’s a page for her. She was a awesome cat. And chances are, you know someone whose 13 year old sister has 300 Twitter followers, or someone’s grandfather who posts photos on Flickr every weekend. If I look up your business on Facebook, and I see that you don’t know how to use social media, what does that say about your business? What else doesn’t your company know how to do? What other important things are you unfamiliar with? Not having a presence is, to put it frankly, suspicious. Even a post a week shows that your company is involved, up-to-date, and with the times.

Video SEO, VSEO, Social Media

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.

1. Does the company create informative video?

Most online marketing companies that claim to offer VSEO create ads, not content that educates the target market on your products and services. Think about the last time you purchased something…you probably had a question about it before you made the purchase. Where did you go to find the answer? Probably Google. Users want information, not ads.
SearchPro Systems’ skilled team of video producers and VSEO experts will collaborate to create engaging and informative web video that users are already searching for. By providing information to interested users, VSEO will accelerate the sales cycle and buying process.

2. How long are their videos?
Many other online marketing companies offering VSEO fail to create video that is the appropriate length of time for VSEO. SearchPro Systems creates engaging web video that is never longer than 2-3 minutes in length. This restriction keeps the viewers interest and ensures that the content is compatible with over 30 video sharing, blog and social media websites.

3. Is there search value within their web videos?
Does the video contain something that you would search for? In order to have high search value, content must be more resourceful than promotional. In other words, does the video contain something that you would search for if you were looking for the company represented in the video? SearchPro Systems’ team of skilled video producers, writers and VSEO engineers work closely to make sure that the videos have been scripted and optimized for relevant keyword phrases and contain search value. SearchPro Systems researches keyword popularity and current search engine saturation to help you choose the best possible keywords for your business’s videos.

4. Is their video content keyword centric?
Videos optimized by SearchPro Systems are not only optimized by title, tags and description but also audio. SearchPro Systems’ video producers, writers and SEO engineers work closely to make sure that the videos have been scripted and optimized for relevant keyword phrases which have been carefully researched for keyword popularity and current search engine saturation. SearchPro Systems is one the first online marketing firms to discover that the Google algorithm now listens to audio of the videos to make sure they are not spam and that they are relevant to the keyword.

5. Does the online marketing company use their own VSEO strategy?
At SearchPro Systems, we have been using our own evolving VSEO strategies to promote ourselves for years. We practice what we preach: it works for us, and we know it will work for you.

When you start creating your own video SEO content to help you climb up the Universal Search rankings, you may find that adding music makes your video more enjoyable. Unfortunately, using any old music can violate copyright laws and get you in a whole heap of trouble with those who own the music. That will get the video you worked so hard on yanked right off the website.

This problem has occurred enough times, and caused enough trouble for users and content makers, that Rumblefish is now offering a special service – to YouTube content producers only – to help find appropriate music for affordable prices for use in YouTube VSEO content. Creators can get their hands on great music options for $1.99…without breaking laws and getting content pulled. You can find it at www.friendlymusic.com.

The site will give the user the rights of usage for the chosen piece of music for the life of the video. Unfortunately, these rights come with a catch: the video can’t be used to make money. And of course, making money is indirectly the goal of your VSEO strategy. There isn’t a whole lot of information offered on exactly what counts as “for profit,” and what this term means for your video, but we suggest, as with any legal situation, to proceed with caution. If it feels wrong, upgrade to a commercial license. The commercial license is slightly more expensive but still very reasonable. However, if you have some great video of your company outing, or a really useful informational video that you want to use for VSEO, just make sure that you don’t have an aggressive call to action.

You probably won’t find Lady Gaga’s next hit on FriendlyMusic, but that might end up just being distracting in your video anyway. With over 35,000 other songs from the Rumblefish catalog available through FriendlyMusic, it will be easy to find something else to liven up your VSEO content. We can also all cross our fingers that they will expand their music selections in the future, so that major label songs can be included in their catalog.

Using music in your VSEO content is an easy way to make them feel lively and entertaining and can add much more fun to the piece. Try taking music out of any video you have used in the past. How does it feel? It’s probably incomplete or boring. FriendlyMusic will make adding the professional, polished layer of sound easy and affordable for user and small businesses.

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.

YouTube just keeps rolling out more and more new ways to make video SEO easier and faster for businesses trying to market themselves online! First they offered closed captions, then they redesigned the mobile site, and now they’ve announced a huge new grant program that could be a sign of progressive things to come.

YouTube Partner Grants is a $5 Million grant fund that YouTube is offering in order to help make video content creation easier for those who don’t have huge creative support or advertising budgets. They’ve seen that there’s a ton of amazing content already out there (enough to make a movie with, apparently.) As video becomes more and more important in our lives, everyone should be able to create quality content even if they aren’t backed by a giant budget. People watch tons of video content every day, and it would be a huge mistake to ignore the potential gains from VSEO marketing. Unfortunately, not every small business can afford a full-service marketing firm, and affordable VSEO and video content production can be marked up exponentially by companies that don’t specifically focus on those needs or understand the needs and requirements of small businesses.

Partner Grants will be made available to YouTube Partners only, and YouTube is going to choose the potential recipients based on views, subscribers, growth rate, engagement, and expertise. Those chosen will be invited to submit a proposal, and a select few will be given money to use for equipment, software, marketing and advertising expenses, talent, and more. It may be frustrating to some that open submissions aren’t being accepted. However, VSEO can be more affordable than you might think even without a special grant. Try to find a marketing company that focuses on affordable, flexible VSEO solutions. Some should offer special pricing for small local businesses, and will work with you to create a package that fits in your budget in order to get you top Universal Search page rankings without taking hours of your time or costing you half your profits.

In the future, we hope that this $5 million grant will grow into something bigger and more accessible. But for now, don’t let the high price of video production hold you back. It doesn’t need to cost tens of thousands of dollars to create high-quality VSEO content.

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.

Last month, we met with a potential client and spoke at length on the importance of video SEO as a part of any marketing package and plan to gain higher Universal Search rankings. We convinced the client, but unfortunately, they decided to go ahead and do their own VSEO work without hiring any company to assist them along the way. We came across their VSEO content on YouTube, and lo and behold: no views, and very little VSEO value.

How could this be? If VSEO is so vital, why didn’t putting video on YouTube work? Put simply, if you’ve set out to do your own VSEO campaign, you need to do quite a lot of research and quite a lot of work. That doesn’t mean, of course, that you can’t do it yourself, just make sure you can budget the time and energy for doing VSEO right.

I’ve outlined five of the most important things non-professionals leave out when taking care of their own VSEO projects, in hopes that no more small businesses will make the same mistakes.

Speech: Google and YouTube index any words spoken in your video, even if there’s no subtitles or captions. Make sure when writing the script for your VSEO content that you optimize it just as you would any text content for your website or blog. Keep your keywords in mind and use them wisely and often.

Title: You might be temped to title your VSEO content with a descriptive phrase, but make sure you also include a keyword, or even two, that you want to optimize. “Great Pizza Deal At Frank’s” might grab attention, but what do people look for? Since many of our clients are local to New England, we would suggest something like “Cheap Pizza in Boston, MA.”

Captions: By using the closed captions offered by video sharing sites, you can reach a whole new group of users that may not have watched your video before. This includes not only the hearing impaired, but those who do not have speakers on their computers, like many office workers. Consider making sure all of your VSEO content has captions that the user can turn on if they want to.

Description: The description of your video is a fantastic opportunity for more optimization, so think again about those keywords. Also make sure that you provide potential clients with ways to contact you, such as your website, phone number, and address. You can even link your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Over the weekend, we were pleased to find that SearchPro Systems was featured in the Business section of the Nashua Telegraph! George Pelletier interviewed Jay Spencer, president, and Andy Galeshahi, VP of Sales and Marketing. As an internet marketing firm, we focus our efforts on video SEO, social media, and other online strategies. However, we’re still happy to see this great article in the local newspaper. Why?

Everyone knows that newspapers have been losing thousands of subscribers in the last few years as readers move to online content. Newspapers have seen that in order to survive, they need to consistently evolve with the rest of us.  Using conventional SEO, video SEO, and social media sites, newspapers are able to continue to keep their viewership informed. For example, our article isn’t just printed in good old fashioned ink, but is also available at www.nashuatelegraph.com. All the photos are there, as well as a podcast of the article for those who would rather listen to it or take it to go. At the bottom of the page, readers can leave comments and even link the article using their Twitter or Yahoo accounts. That user-friendly flexibility is the key to social media and the way users now interact with all their media sources.

By embracing social media, The Telegraph is effectively and efficiently evolving to stay ahead of the game in a market where many newspapers are (pardon the pun) being forced to fold. There’s a certain charm to a newspaper you can spread out on the kitchen table, but unfortunately too many people don’t have the time, space, or patience to deal with it. Soon, newspaper websites will have to start including video and working to develop strong VSEO strategies to stay ahead of the game and hard-copy newspapers will be a leisurely Sunday morning indulgence.

We give big thanks to The Telegraph and George Pelletier, and will continue to watch them succeed in an increasingly challenging market! Check out the article here:

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/business/824543-192/nashua-based-searchpro-specializes-in-search-engine-optimization.html

Video SEO, VSEO, Social Media

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.

Video SEO is all about making sure that people who would want your product or service are able to find you. Just as you would choose keywords to optimize on your website or blog, you need to do the same for your VSEO content. The keywords you choose are extremely important. If you sell baby shoes, would “baby shoes” be best, or should you choose something specific, like “Robeez baby shoes?”

One great way to figure out what keywords people are searching for is to use the Google AdWords keyword tool. Even if you aren’t an advertiser, you can use this service to lookup lists of potential keywords and see how many times they are being entered. First, put together a group of ideas and keywords that you think might benefit your VSEO strategy so that you rank higher on the Universal Search page. Then go to the Google AdWords page to sign up and begin. You will be able to find Google’s performance data for keyword search volume, search volume trends, and estimated average cost per click (if you are interested in pay per click advertising, which is a whole different topic.)

Make sure to check for synonyms so that you don’t miss an opportunity to capitalize on a word that means essentially the same thing but is more often searched. If “kids shoes” is searched 50% more than “baby shoes,” you wouldn’t want to leave “kids” out of your VSEO plan. In addition, make sure to search “exact match” instead of “broad match.” This strategy will yield more specific and accurate results.

One more fantastic use of AdWords is that you can search an entire website rather than just a keyword term. Try the URL of your website or YouTube channel and see what keywords you are already optimizing, perhaps without even realizing it. You can also search competing websites to see what they are optimizing, and tailor your VSEO strategy to get ahead of them on the Universal Search page.

Thorough research will ensure that your VSEO strategy is properly planned and implemented. The more you put in, the more you will get out, so don’t hesitate to use any tools available to make smart choices.

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.

Video SEO is all about making sure that people who would want your product or service are able to find you. Just as you would choose keywords to optimize on your website or blog, you need to do the same for your VSEO content. The keywords you choose are extremely important. If you sell baby shoes, would “baby shoes” be best, or should you choose something specific, like “Robeez baby shoes?”

One great way to figure out what keywords people are searching for is to use the Google AdWords keyword tool. Even if you aren’t an advertiser, you can use this service to lookup lists of potential keywords and see how many times they are being entered. First, put together a group of ideas and keywords that you think might benefit your VSEO strategy so that you rank higher on the Universal Search page. Then go to the Google AdWords page to sign up and begin. You will be able to find Google’s performance data for keyword search volume, search volume trends, and estimated average cost per click (if you are interested in pay per click advertising, which is a whole different topic.)

Make sure to check for synonyms so that you don’t miss an opportunity to capitalize on a word that means essentially the same thing but is more often searched. If “kids shoes” is searched 50% more than “baby shoes,” you wouldn’t want to leave “kids” out of your VSEO plan. In addition, make sure to search “exact match” instead of “broad match.” This strategy will yield more specific and accurate results.

One more fantastic use of AdWords is that you can search an entire website rather than just a keyword term. Try the URL of your website or YouTube channel and see what keywords you are already optimizing, perhaps without even realizing it. You can also search competing websites to see what they are optimizing, and tailor your VSEO strategy to get ahead of them on the Universal Search page.

Thorough research will ensure that your VSEO strategy is properly planned and implemented. The more you put in, the more you will get out, so don’t hesitate to use any tools available to make smart choices.

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.

YouTube recently made the claim that since October 2009 the number of education channels on their site has jumped by 77% and that the total number of videos on the education platform has risen by 89%.  Because of these numbers, they decided to create some specifically educational playlists of some of the best videos out there, featuring professors from MIT, Stanford, and Northwestern.  The playlists will be released weekly and posted to the YouTube blog as well as the official YouTube channel.

You know that educational content can be a great feature for your video SEO strategy, and this move confirms it. Users are looking for educational video. They enjoy watching it, and it’s useful. Those are two things you want to make sure your VSEO content is: enjoyable and useful! As we’ve said many times before, the best way to get up the Universal Search ranking is to build links, and if you expect users to send your content to their friends, it better be good to enough to earn plenty of engagement capital. The educational genre is obviously popular and is growing at a strong pace, so don’t make the mistake of not considering creating informational and educational video as part of your VSEO strategy.

As I’ve written before, educational video, conversion video, and viral video are three major types of web video that can be the focus of a VSEO program. One of the greatest strengths of educational video is that it isn’t directly meant to sell. Online viewers are tuned in to what the goals of a business may be, and if a forceful call-to-action is combined with weak, uninformative video, potential customers will be lost and even the greatest VSEO practices will not make up for it. An educational video provides instruction or information that someone may need even if they are not looking to purchase a product. It will not sell a product immediately, but it will make a positive impression on the viewer so that they become a customer in the future. For example, lowestpriceblinds.com had the best price in blinds but wanted to strengthen their consumer relationships. They made an instructional video and included it on their website (http://lowestpriceblinds.com/how-to-install-blinds-sheers-shades.php.) The customers who come back to use the video not only remember that their blinds were well priced, but that the distributor offered assistance with installation without trying to sell them anything. Next time they need blinds, they will remember lowestpriceblinds.com. They’ve built a relationship with a business they trust, and the return views and any links they send will improve Universal Search rankings.

YouTube is now proving that educational video is a big part of web content, so don’t hesitate to think about how you can work it into your VSEO strategy.

SearchPro Systems is a leading New England based national digital marketing firm offering complete end-to-end Universal Search marketing solutions, specializing in video SEO.