Tips for quickly loading a video
Senior SEO-specialist
Video content is becoming increasingly important. CMOs and marketing managers are therefore making use of this type of content in their SEO strategy. Understanding and using platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo offer unique opportunities to increase a company’s brand awareness and improve SEO. In this article, I offer a roadmap for implementing videos the right way.
Implementing videos and maintaining pagespeed
When using videos on a website, the pagespeed should absolutely not be reduced. Videos should be of such quality that they do not affect loading speed, so they do not interfere with SEO performance.
Lazy loading for videos
Use of lazy loading can maintain good loading speed. Lazy loading ensures that the video does not load until it comes into view of the user. This reduces the initial page load time and improves the user experience. This technique is especially suitable for pages with multiple videos.
Hosting of videos or own server or external platforms
When hosting videos, choose whether to do so on your own server or on external video platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo. External platforms reduce the burden on their own websites and offer quality videos. However, a website does not have more control over the display of videos itself. In that case, a video on one’s own website is better. Weigh the pros and cons.
Advanced techniques
Several advanced techniques help optimize video content and maintain good loading speed.
Automating video optimization
Automated tools and scripts speed up and simplify video optimization. They automatically adjust the file size, convert the video to different formats and optimize the video for different devices and browsers. This not only saves time, but also makes the content more consistent.
Dynamic adjustment video resolutions
Dynamic adjustment of video resolutions, also known as “responsive video,” allows the video resolution to automatically adapt to the user’s device. Thus, users on mobile devices get a lower resolution than on a desktop. Load times shorten and the user experience is not affected. Videos load quickly on all types of devices.
The impact of videos on website performance
For an effective SEO strategy, it is important to measure how videos affect a website’s performance. Look not only at the impact of videos on loading speed, but also at the impact on user behavior and conversion rates. Analytical tools aid in this measurement.
Tools and techniques for analysis
For load time analysis, use tools such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix or WebPageTest. The insights from these tools are detailed and provide insights for items that need improvement. Important points to watch out for are the Time to First Byte (TTFB) and the full load time of a page.
User behavior in relation to content
Use analytics platforms like Google Analytics for valuable information about how users interact with video content on a website. Examine how long visitors stay on a page and whether they take action after watching a video. Also see how they navigate. Based on this information, it becomes clear whether the videos have a positive contribution to SEO or better need some adjustments to get higher in Google.
Balance between visual content and high loading speed
A good balance between an optimal visual experience and high loading speed is crucial. Videos that are too heavy have a negative effect on loading speed, while pages without videos degrade the user experience.
Strategically placing videos
Place videos in strategic locations on a website, think home page, blog posts or product pages. Videos should contribute to the user experience and not distract the visitor from the primary content or call-to-actions.
A/B testing
A/B testing also helps optimize the use of videos. Test out different video content and different formats and analyze the impact on users. Using this information, you can decide what video content will or will not work on a Web site.
The impact of YouTube
The world’s largest video platform YouTube is having a major impact on SEO and digital marketing. The platform has billions of users, which makes it easy to reach a large audience. YouTube videos also appear in Google’s search results, making the content more visible to users. In addition, YouTube offers extensive analytics capabilities that help measure video performance. Based on this data, you can adjust the SEO roadmap.
Roadmap for implementing a YouTube video
- Creating the video: first, create a video that fits the brand and message. The quality of the video should be good, both in terms of content and visuals.
- SEO optimization: to optimize the SEO of a website, it is important to use keywords in the title, description and tags of the video.
- Publish on YouTube: once the video is created and optimized for SEO, it can be published on Google. Write an attractive description and create a good thumbnail.
- Promotion: share the video on the website, social media and other channels to reach as many people.
- Analytics (and possible adjustments): Google Analytics helps monitor the performance of the video. This information should be used to decide whether to adjust the strategy.
The impact of Vimeo
Vimeo is known for the high quality of videos the platform offers and is praised for its professionalism and creativity. There are also no ads, which ensures an uninterrupted viewing experience.
Vimeo offers good customization options for videos with advanced analytics tools. Especially companies that focus on quality and professional content use Vimeo.
Roadmap for implementing a Vimeo video
- Creating the video: create a quality and professional video that meets the needs of the target audience.
- Vimeo-specific optimization: use relevant keywords and categorize the video accurately. This makes it easier for potential users to find the video.
- Upload to Vimeo: upload the video. Make sure privacy settings are adjusted as desired. Write an attractive title and description.
- Integrating video: integrate video on a website for a better user experience.
- Monitoring performance: video analytics tools help monitor video performance. These tools show figures on viewer interaction and engagement.
Platforms like Youtube and Vimeo contribute to greater reach and a deeper connection with the audience. This is only true if the platforms are used properly.
Summary
Video content through platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo helps an SEO specialist with marketing strategy and SEO results. Both platforms enhance the user experience.
For increasing visibility and reach, YouTube is ideal. YouTube has a huge reach and is highly integrated into Google search results.
Vimeo offers a more sophisticated environment for quality and professional content. Moreover, Vimeo is ad-free.
The most complete book on website speed
I’ve written so much about speeding up websites and everything involved that I like to divide it into different sections; general, tools, speed improvement points and tips. Feel free to see and consult all the links below to learn more about tools and tips for speeding up your website.
General
- What is the website speed
- Website speed: The division between marketing and development
- The influence of SEO on UX
- The influence of web design on SEO
- SPAs and SEO
- What are the Google Core Web Vitals?
Tools
Verbter points for speed
- First Contentful Paint (FCP)
- Time To First Byte (TTFB).
- Time To Interactive (TTI).
- Image for Largest view with content (LCP) preloaded
- Enable text compression
- Reduce the CSS
- Total Blocking Time (TBT).
- Speed Index
- Reduce JavaScript
- Largest Contentful Paint
- Avoid an overly large DOM
- Delete unused CSS
- Remove unused JavaScript
- Deliver images in modern layouts
- Connect in advance to required origins
- Preventing obsolete JavaScript from being delivered to modern browsers
- Use an efficient cache policy for static items
- Remove duplicate modules from JavaScript
- Avoid multiple redirects
- Encode images efficiently
- Use lazy loading
- Load important requests in advance
