Is written or video content more effective for SEO?
It’s one thing knowing that your website needs fresh content. It’s quite another to plan what that content should consist of, and what format it should take. When anything goes, and everything is accessible, how do you make the best choices for your SEO? Should you stick to written content with blog posts and updates? Is it worth commissioning more visual content like animations and video? How about podcasts or interactive content? It can be easy to get distracted with either budget or branding considerations. But when it comes down to SEO, what’s the most effective approach to take?
Understanding the role of content
Firstly, remember what purposes your content is there to fulfil. Yes, it’s there to send signals to Google that your website is relevant and authoritative for your industry or sector. But it’s also there for the content consumer; your reader or user. This matters when we’re deciding what format our content should take because if it’s incorrectly targeted, it can actually work against your SEO by giving a high bounce rate. So keep these multiple purposes in mind when you choose your content format.
Search engine rankings
As we’ve said, when you regularly publish new content, search engines take notice. Fresh articles, blog posts, and videos all signal that your site is active and relevant. Text based content is still a really effective approach here. You can utilise headings and subheadings as well as body content to support keywords and improve your search engine rankings.
User engagement
Keeping your audience engaged is crucial for maintaining high traffic levels and getting your content shared. This is where it pays to have researched your target audience. Do they consume content on the move or from a desktop? How much time do they have to consume content? It’s true that videos are hands down the most engaging form of content, but aren’t always relevant for specific audience types.
Authority and trust
Consistently producing fresh, high-quality content establishes your brand as an authority in your industry. It’s an important element of Google’s prioritisation. But it involves more than stating an opinion as fact as if you’re an election candidate. There are layers within your content that support its authority, such as authorship profile and linking with trusted sources such as industry bodies or research organisations. This holds true whether that content is written or video.
Benefits of written content
Well written content has been the backbone of SEO for years, and it remains crucial even as the consumption of video increases. The great thing about written content is that it can be so varied, from quick 1 minute reads to more in depth articles. Your range of written content should form a content journey, navigating your users around your website.
SEO opportunities
Written content provides ample opportunities for SEO optimisation. You can naturally incorporate keywords, meta descriptions, and alt texts, making it easier for search engines to index your pages.
Detailed information
Written content allows for a deep dive into complex topics. Blogs, articles, and whitepapers can provide detailed explanations, expert insights, and comprehensive guides that cater to an audience seeking considered views and specific information. It’s also a perfect format for clearly linking sources, which is great for the article and for the SEO!
Accessibility
Written content is easily accessible to everyone, including those with hearing impairments. It can be read at any pace, making it a preferred choice for individuals who like to consume information slowly and methodically. It can also be incredibly concise, offering quick solutions to those who are time pressed.
Benefits of video content
More and more people consume information through video. In fact, 89% of consumers stated they wanted to see more video content from brands. Clearly the suitability of video is entirely dependent on the sector and audience, but the trends are clearly there for good reason!
Engagement rates
Videos are incredibly engaging. They capture attention quickly and can convey emotions and stories more effectively and immediately than text. This engagement is great news for your SEO, since users will likely spend more time on your site.
Social sharing
From reposts to forwards, videos are highly shareable. People are more likely to share an interesting or relatable video on social media platforms. This clever content is crucial for driving traffic from your social channels to your website.
Sense appeal
With a combination of visual and auditory elements, videos appeal to a broader audience. This multi-sensory experience is what makes video so successful at conveying a message. The reported message retention rate of video is 95%, making this content form ideal for explanatory and brand culture purposes.
A time and a place for content
While video and written content both have their undisputable benefits, like many things there is a time and a place for each. And sometimes together is best! When you’re working on your content strategy, think about the core intention behind your message and which format might support it best.
Animated demonstrations
A wonderful way to tap into the quick engagement of a video is to use a piece of animation. This might be an animated infographic which is there to support your facts. Or it might be a piece of branding to highlight your accessibility and identity.
Explainers and tutorials
How-to videos and tutorials are popular among audiences seeking practical advice. Create short, informative videos that address common questions or challenges related to your industry. You can see one of ours here. Don’t forget to add a written transcript or summary to improve accessibility and cover all the keyword bases!
Case studies
When it comes to converting traffic to sales leads, testimonials are key. This makes case studies notably crucial content to include on a website – and they’re perfect in both written and video formats. Interviews of happy clients are incredibly engaging and authentic. Similarly, written representations of improved statistics are authoritative and improve your brand’s trustworthiness. There really is a place for both formats to sit alongside each other.
Embedded videos
There really is nothing quite like a good old blog post for covering all of those EEAT bases of SEO. But to elevate your blogs further in the eyes of the algorithm, you can simply embed a short piece of video content within it. This could be to illustrate or enrich a specific point in your content, or offer some context or background.
Here at Leapfrog, we champion content as a valuable tool in your SEO kit. It’s your multi-head screwdriver. You have to use the right head for it to work, but you’ll need more than one head to make a bookcase. Get in touch any time for more help with your SEO content strategy.
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