We've said it multiple times, and we're going to say it again: Video is the king of all content marketing right now. People LOVE video. Customers LOVE video. Social Media LOVES video. But most important, Google LOVES video. So, now that you're convinced that you want to create great engaging video content that your audience will love watching, how can you optimize that amazing video for search? Because, what’s the point of creating this amazing video content if no one is watching? Check out these 5 tips to learn how you can optimize your videos and start driving organic traffic and eyeballs to your content.

1. Start with the content - Researching keywords is something we harp on when it comes to writing blogs, and this is no different when it comes to creating videos. Start brainstorming content ideas around keywords that are popular with your audience. Think about Frequently Asked Questions or things people are searching for within your business vertical. Your videos should answer those questions or explore those topics. Not only will the videos be more popular with your audience, but they will be more likely to show up in more common searches. Keep these keywords handy as you’ll be using them when writing your titles and descriptions.

2. Now get writing - It may sound counterintuitive to talk about writing when it comes to videos, but there should ALWAYS be text associated with your video. Things like the title of your video, a brief description and even the filename matter. Include your keywords in the filename of your video when save it, before uploading it to your chosen platform (more on that later). Then make sure you write titles and video descriptions that include a brief overview of what your video will be addressing, and don't forget the keywords! (Are you sick of me talking about those yet...).

3. Consider captions/transcripts - A lot of times people end up watching videos in situations where sound isn’t appropriate (work, in line, in public, etc.). Uploading captions or a transcript to your video is a great way to not only serve a larger audience, but insert those keywords as well.

4. Choose your hosting platform wisely - First thing's first, ALWAYS add your video to your website. In most cases you may need to upload it to YouTube or Vimeo first, then embed on your website, but that is all dependent on your own individual website builder. Whether you put it in your blog or on some other page, hosting your video on your website is critical. If you've done the SEO work on your website that you should have, (check out this blog to learn more about that topic) your video is only going to benefit. Capitalize on that SEO (in fact, even add to it) by publishing your videos on your website.

5. Make your Video front and center - Embedding your video under a long stream of text is one of the fastest ways to kill its ranking ability. Make your video the star of the page, with just a little bit of keyword rich content to give it some context.

6. Share, share, away. - Ok, so you've published your video on your website, Youtube and Vimeo. Now it’s time to get it there and get those links back to your website. Promoted it on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram first (or whatever social outlets you happen to enjoy. From there, you can spend some time checking out message boards and groups where your video would add value (don’t be spammy) to increase it’s reach even more.