Comments on: SEO 101: How to Optimize On-Site Videos

By: Maureen McCabe, Marketer

Maureen McCabe, Marketer — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:01:33 +0000

Excellent tips – this is one of the first blogs I have read about optimizing videos.

By: Stephanie Woods

Stephanie Woods — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:05:22 +0000

In reply to mark.

Hi Mark,

Sorry I just re-read what I wrote and realized I explained myself incorrectly. (I knew what I was trying to say, but it didn’t come across that way!) Most definitely you can outrank YouTube IF the video is hosted on your own domain. I was saying it will be pretty tough to outrank YouTube if the video isn’t hosted on your own site. For a good example, search for ‘snowboarding’ on Google and you’ll find sites other than YouTube ranking.

I was trying to directly respond to Ron and Clair, but for some reason it posted my answer under Chris, which probably made it even more confusing. (Thank goodness it’s Friday!)

By: mark

mark — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:02:32 +0000

Hey Stephanie – Im not sure why it wont let me reply here to you. Anyways – 2 things, though in general, you’re totally correct. 1) It is next to impossible to get your own site in the google video results with a youtube embed as the video on your own domain. Right now, Google doesnt index URLs with google embeds outside of YouTube.com. 2) When competing with youtube results in universal search, it really depends on the topical nature of the domains and the keyword search as Ive often seen highly topical sites outrank youtube.com with very low PR. Anyways – just thought that may help. We wrote about YouTube cannibalization which Im sure you could find in a search if you’re interested in reading Id love your feedback

By: Stephanie Woods

Stephanie Woods — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:50:41 +0000

In reply to Chris.

Hey guys, so sorry for the uber latent response. I was in the midst of being swamped by work when you asked the question.

Here’s the thing, you can have the video hosted anywhere in order for it to rank, this is true. But if you have your video hosted on YouTube (as an example) and it’s hosted there AND on your site, you are virtually competing with YouTube for who is going to show up in universal search results. If you have a hugely popular video site then it is possible you’ll outrank, however, for most people outranking YouTube isn’t going to happen. The domain is a strong force to be reckoned with.

If you come across any examples of people outranking YouTube for a video they’ve created I’d love to check it out!

By: Clair

Clair — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:39:22 +0000

In reply to Ron.

Ron, I am curious about this too – any more on this Stephanie?

By: mark

mark — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:34:52 +0000

@chris – our site has lots – that’s what we’ve written about 4 years 🙂

Ron – you dont need the video and image to be on your domain, and it can actually be on different domains, but Google does need to be able to see it on your specified landing page as well.

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:41:06 +0000

Google never stated that the video have to hosted on “my” domain. They just stated that the thumbnail and video .swf have to be on the same domain name. I’m really confused now!

By: Stephanie Woods

Stephanie Woods — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 17:57:05 +0000

In reply to Cathy Reisenwitz.

Good question. I made that step sound a lot more simple than it is. Since the tips are actually for optimizing onsite videos, you are free to use what ever video player you want since it’s on your site. This is the where you need to enlist the help of some software ninjas to create a little customization for you. I am fortunate to work at a kickass agency that has lots of ninjas kicking around. (I have no idea how they actually do it. I just have to ask and it’s done for me.)

By: Stephanie Woods

Stephanie Woods — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:11:25 +0000

In reply to Jnoden.

Thanks! I agree, video is becoming more important as it helps you to own the SERPs.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:34:12 +0000

Good tip, Don’t see a lot of blogs about video submission.