Commandment Number #4 – Forsake Not Video
Google doesn’t just take text into account when it assesses the relevancy of your web page to a specific keyword, though it is a HUGE part of it. Pages with video are 53x more likely to rank on the first page of Google search results verus pages without.
The longer a user stays on your page the more valuable your page is. This also improves you’re bounce rate (the rate at which someone leave your page) which tells Google that your page is relevant to the search term, thereby improving your ranking. People will spend more time watching a video than they will read a blog entry (even if the written content is good).
Fortunately, most real estate agents have access to a library of videos showcasing homes, be it their own personal library, or that of their broker. Hell, even if you don’t have your own, embed videos of homes you’d like to sell or one day represent. Remember, the idea is to use these videos to rank higher. No one said these listings had to be yours. Embedding IDX (internet data exchange) listings is the exact same thing. There’s nothing wrong with sharing someone else’s listing, just don’t misrepresent something that isn’t true.
Obviously, the best way to use video is to create your video content. You don’t need a professional camera. You can get by with a DSLR or even a GoPro camera. Property videos are the easy ones. Most agents outsource this to a videographer. The hard ones are videos about your local community. I suggest filming things like the local high school Friday night ball game (football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, etc.), ribbon cutting ceremonies, grand openings, chamber events, fairs, escrow closings where you’re delivering the keys to the buyers, etc. If you really want to maximize a video, get a video testimonial from your client. When I said, “Write about everything you do in real estate.” a few paragraphs ago, it wasn’t only limited to text. Do the same thing with video.
I don’t recommend uploading these videos onto your own server as they can take up a lot of memory. A better option is to use video hosting services such as YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia, Sprout Video, and now even Facebook. With 100 hours of video uploaded every minute, YouTube is definitely still the king of online video hosting. YouTube has its downfalls, however. For example, YouTube displays ads next to video content, which may very well be for a product/service in competition with yours. Customization is somewhat limited, plus there’s the fact that many companies block staff from browsing YouTube at work. Lastly, and more importantly, YouTube has the right to shut down your account at will, and it has done it to some of its biggest stars. However, YouTube is a Google property, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Google loves sites that use its own properties.
I’m not going to sell you on which video hosting site to use, but I am going to sell you on how to use the video. First, upload the video to the hosting site of your choice. Second, embed the video onto a page or post on your WordPress site. You should add some text that is relevant to the video. Preferably, more than 200 words. Third, share the link TO YOUR PAGE where the video embedded in. What most people incorrectly do, is
upload a video to a video hosting site, and then share the direct link to that video. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. You aren’t trying to build Vimeo’s web presence. You’re trying to build yours. If by default your YouTube channel blows up-BONUS. You aren’t a YouTuber moonlighting as a Real Estate Agent. You are a Real Estate Agent moonlighting as a YouTuber. Don’t forget that.
