Does Embedding Youtube Video Help On-Page SEO?

Does embedding YouTube videos on your pages boost SEO rankings of your website?

I have noticed there are not many resources that can help you with the topic. Hence, I thought it would be a great idea to write about it.

Since Google purchased Youtube in 2006, Youtube only grew bigger and bigger.

As of 2019, Youtube is the second most visited website after Google. According to Similarweb the average time spent on Youtube is more than 23 minutes.

Youtube serves a specific mission that complements Google's business. It is the video-sharing platform of Google. We can say Youtube is a kind of sister business of Google.

By owning Youtube, Google planned to dominate the video search engine niche. By looking at the results Google achieved so far we can confidently say it is succeeded.

Why would we want to embed videos on our pages?

Here are the top reasons to embed Youtube videos in our content.

Improving User Experience

It is no surprise including videos within the text-based content improves the user experience. No one likes to read large blocks of text without having any type of multimedia.

People's attention span nowadays is very short. If they believe our content is not engaging they will quit from our site. This is one of the reasons many websites have high bounce rates.

Although the video is a far superior form of multimedia than images, it still couldn't gain the popularity it deserves to be used on our web pages.

🍏 One short video can replace many images

Let's say you write a “how-to” type of content. You can either use 20 images each showing a particular step or use a 3-minute whiteboard animation video that explains the entire thing in short.

Many people are ignoring video content since it requires them staying in front of the camera.

Videos embedded on your page don't increase the file size of your page as images do. By reducing the number of images in your content you reduce the number of requests made from your server every time your page is opened.

In addition to that, the video has the unique feature of having the audio makes it undisputedly better than any other type of multimedia.

🍏 Saves the time spent on image optimization

Replacing the images with videos would reduce the time spent on content development. Using images require image optimization and sequential planning that all take a lot of time.

Many times using unique images is a big challenge for website owners. Because you either need to give credit to the image owner, or buy the image to be able to use in your content legally.

Also, Google doesn't prioritize your content if you every time use other people's images.

🍏 Faster Page Load Times

Needless to say, pages that are low in file size load faster. By replacing multiple images with a single video you not only increase the site speed but also improve the user experience.

Differentiates Your Content From The Competitors

If you diversify multiple multimedia options to use on your website you set your website far ahead of the competition.

Having an optimum combination of images & videos on our pages is very likely to bring extra SEO benefits. No one knows the exact algorithm Google runs. However, I am making this assumption by bringing all fractions of the puzzle together.

Increases time spent on page

When was the last time you have stared an image for a minute?

I bet you probably never did.

You can have a look at an image for a few seconds but watch an engaging video for minutes.

Video increases the time spent on a page like no other multimedia. More time people spent on your site, more likely your website rank on Google.

Creates Extra Exposure To A New Platform

If people follow you on your blog, you can add your Youtube videos on your pages to drive them to your Youtube channel.

It creates extra exposure for your content since they start to follow you on Youtube. If they like your content they are likely to share your content and subscribe to your channel.

The more your Youtube channel grows, the more visitors you can bring back to your blog. Make sure you always include a link to your blog in your video descriptions.

Passes Link Juice and Authority To Your Youtube Videos

Once you've embedded your Youtube videos on your site, you'll transfer some of your link juice and authority to your linked video.

Creating Relevance With Linked Content

Once you embed a Youtube video in your content you tell Google your content is relevant to the video you are linking.

Make sure you either link to your own video or other authority videos in your niche.

Promoting Youtube

By embedding a Youtube video on your page you are promoting Google's sister business.

Although Google is still the best search engine on the market, it still wants to secure its position. We all know how old Altavista and Yahoo lost their positions to Google.

Does Coca Cola need any advertisement? It's already the most recognized brand in the world. But every year, they spend millions of dollars just to solidify the name of their brand.

Google doesn't want another Youtube competitor to become the most popular video-sharing platform. Every time you add a Youtube video to your page, you contribute to the brand value of Youtube.

More people will see Youtube videos on websites, more people will believe that Youtube is the best video sharing platform.

The Misbelief: People Don't Watch Youtube Videos On Pages

There are some people believe adding Youtube videos on a page doesn't improve the UX (user experience).

They claim people don't watch Youtube videos on websites.

I would challenge this idea.

People defending that opinion cannot understand how fluent it can be text content combined with video. If you just grab any video from the Youtube and embed it on your page at a random sequence you shouldn't expect any good results.

Let's say you are writing content about how to groom Golden Retrievers. You give your tips and add your video to your page.

Is it enough to make people watch your video on your page?

No, It is not done yet. You have to sell the video!

You can tell in your blog:

“Hey, you have learned 5 tips on how to groom a Golden Retriever. Why don't you watch me while I groom my dog here in this video.”

People will very likely watch that video. Because you have built a good sequence for the reader to follow. You became authentic by combining the video with the text. Your reader and Google love it.

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