Videos Are Good for SEO – Here’s How to Maximize Their Impact

Let’s be specific about the question we’re really asking: Do embedded videos improve the organic search performance of host pages?

Yup. Done.

Come on, now. We wouldn’t do you like that! ‘Yup” is a perfectly valid answer to this binary question (aka yes-no question, aka yup-nah question) posed above because embedded video is broadly additive for organic search, but it’s bordering on absurd to stop there. Behind the binary question is a whole stack of variable questions that we ought to consider in order to embed video in a manner most beneficial to users and search engines and avoid situations where embedding video is counterproductive. Let’s discuss how embedded videos affect organic search and how to maximize their impact on web pages.

What is Embedded Video?

An embedded video is a video that is hosted on a video-sharing platform (like YouTube, Vimeo, or another service) but is displayed directly on a web page, rather than requiring the user to visit the platform to watch it. The video is embedded by using a small piece of HTML code that is provided by the video host. This code is inserted into a web page, blog, or social media post, enabling the video to be played directly from the webpage.

Embedding videos offers several advantages over self-hosting:

1. Improved user experience: Publishers can surround videos with complimentary content while providing users with a video player that is familiar and widely tested for UX.

2. Increased video exposure: Embedding videos on different websites increases the visibility of the video without having to upload it multiple times.

3. Reduced storage costs: Many of the top video sharing platforms do not charge for uploads and views. By utilizing these services, publishers need not host large video files on their own servers.

4. SEO advantages: Videos can help improve the SEO of the website, which this post will explore in depth.

5. Cross-platform sharing: It's easy to share videos across various platforms without needing to host the video on each one separately. 

If you’ve ever watched a video on a news article or blog post, it’s likely an embedded video.

The Impact of Embedded Videos on SEO

Improved Search Rankings

One of the most direct impacts of embedding videos on your website is the improvement in search rankings. There’s real data to back this up. In an experiment run by web marketing consultancy 39 Celsius, pages with embedded YouTube videos ranked for more than double the number of keywords on Google’s first page compared to pages without videos. And, following the inclusion of videos, those enhanced pages registered tangible increases in clicks, impressions, and average positions on the Google SERPs.

Full-service digital agency Vital published a relevant case study tracking the results of embedding video on its client’s blog post. The change spurred sharp rises in Google SERP clicks, impressions,and average CTR, including 78% more clicks, 10% more impressions, 63% higher average CTR, and 24% higher average SERP position for the highly competitive targeted keyword post video inclusion.

Lemonlight, a video production house, reports that adding videos to existing pages on its own site cranks up organic search traffic 10% to 250% to those pages.

The results are significant. But why does this happen?

Why Video Enhances Rankings

Videos increase dwell time, which is the amount of time visitors spend on a web page before clicking away. Google takes this into account when determining rankings. If users stick around longer because they are watching an embedded video, Google sees this as a sign that the page offers valuable content. This, in turn, can improve the page’s ranking.

Moreover, embedded videos often appear in search results in the form of video thumbnail rich snippets, particularly on Google’s video tab. These rich snippets tend to grab more attention than clicks compared to text-only listings, and the turbocharging of CTR in the SERPs when rich snippets appear was documented long ago.

Google’s Official Stance on Embedded Video Search Impact

A few years ago, during a Google Search Console office hours Q&A, an agency SEO professional asked Google’s John Mueller whether Google Search algorithms favored embedded videos over self-hosted ones. Mueller dismissed any preference, asserting that “It’s essentially the same. It’s very common that you have a separate CDN (content delivery network) for videos, for example, and technically that’s a separate website. From our point of view if that works for your users, if your content is properly accessible for indexing then that’s perfectly fine.”

To those of you following this blog, Mueller’s name might ring a bell. The fallout from the Google API documentation leak that we covered some months back included some revelations that appeared to directly contradict some very consequential past statements from Mueller, as well as those of a few other prominent Google SEO liaisons. The bottom line is not necessarily that Mueller is a serial liar, or even occasionally dishonest, or ultimately clueless, but that he has obligations to his employers which should trigger us to regard his pronouncements with some healthy skepticism.

There are at least two scenarios in which Mueller might be correct on the details without impacting our recommendation (echoed by much of the SEO community):

1. Google’s algorithm is neutral on embedded vs. self-hosted, but the second-order benefits of embedding still influence ranking factors more positively.

2. While, in theory, there’s nothing stopping a self-hosted video distribution solution from being feature-for-feature competitive with the large platforms, it’s not practically feasible for all but the most technically sophisticated multibillionaires.

Mueller could also simply be wrong without knowing. The algorithm is vast and complicated, and it’s constantly in flux. It’s beyond the scope of any mere mortal to comprehensively understand it at all times.

Benefits Beyond Rankings

1. Increased Traffic and User Engagement

While ranking higher is a crucial first step, keeping users engaged once they land on your site is the next hurdle. Videos excel in this area as well.

Boosting Traffic Through Video Marketing

In the latest edition of Wyzowl’s annual survey of marketing professionals and consumers, 90% of respondents reported that video marketing has delivered positive ROI. This might strike some as surprising, given the varied skill sets required to create high-quality video, but new tools are emerging that considerably change the calculus of compelling video generation. Back to the Wyzowl report, video content is inherently more engaging than text and images alone, so it’s no wonder that a large plurality of users (44%) prefer watching short videos to learn about a product or service, vastly more than those who prefer manuals (16%), infographics (15%), articles (13%), sales calls (6%), or webinars (5%).

Lower Bounce Rates and Higher Engagement

Beyond simply drawing visitors to a page, embedded videos can keep them there longer. This matters for SEO because, as we’ve reported previously, Google uses engagement metrics like “time on site” as a ranking factor. If people spend more time on your page watching a video, it signals to search engines that the content is valuable, which may positively impact your rankings.

Pages with embedded videos consistently outperform pages without videos in terms of time spent on the page. For example, video marketing platform developer Wistia analyzed dwell time on its own blog and discovered that pages with embedded videos had on average 40% higher dwell time than posts without video, indicating that users are engaging with the content in a meaningful way.

2. Better Searchability and Content Discoverability

Another critical benefit of embedding videos is that they improve the discoverability of your content.

Video Search Results

One of the primary reasons videos are so effective for SEO is that they can appear in different types of search results. Google doesn’t just offer a universal search; it has a separate tab specifically for videos. Embedded videos on your site can appear in these video-specific search results, giving your content an extra chance to be found by users.

Source: Semrush

Increased Keyword Visibility

As the 39 Celsius and Vital examples above demonstrated, embedding videos can also help your pages rank for more keywords. Video content tends to rank for different keywords than text-based content, especially in competitive niches. By adding a video to a page, you give that page the potential to show up for a wider variety of keywords, which can broaden your visibility.

Moreover, Google often prominently displays video results at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), particularly on mobile devices. With mobile searches continuing to rise, this visibility can be a game-changer for businesses looking to capture attention in the crowded digital space.

Best Practices for Video SEO

To fully reap the SEO rewards of embedding video content, it’s not enough to simply slap a video onto a page and call it a day. Here are a few best practices to ensure that your embedded videos contribute positively to your overall SEO efforts:

1. Embed Videos Above the Fold

Positioning matters. To maximize the impact of embedded videos, it’s best to place them “above the fold” at the top of the page. This ensures that visitors see the video without having to scroll, increasing the likelihood that they’ll watch it and stay engaged with your content.

2. Add Video Schema Markup

One of the most overlooked aspects of video SEO is the use of structured data. Implementing video schema markup allows search engines to better understand the context of your video. Schema markup can include details such as the video’s title, description, thumbnail, duration, and upload date, which can all help search engines index and rank your content more effectively.

3. Choose the Right Hosting Platform

While YouTube is a popular video hosting platform, it’s worth considering alternatives like Vimeo, especially if you want to control how the video is indexed. Platforms like Vimeo allow you to customize how videos appear in search engine results and may offer better options for branding and analytics. Google even published a case study on Vimeo SEO. However, keep in mind that critics have often accused Google of artificially favoring its own properties over competitors in search results.

4. Optimize Video Load Times

One of the risks of embedding videos is that they can slow down your page’s load time, especially if not properly optimized. Page speed is a crucial ranking factor for Google, so it’s important to ensure that your embedded videos don’t negatively affect the performance of your site. Use lazy loading, compression, and other techniques to ensure that videos load efficiently without compromising user experience. There’s some give and take here; for example, placing videos above the fold slows load times more than below. It’s important to get the balance right rather than simply rely on an optimization checklist.

5. Ensure Relevance and Quality

Finally, it’s critical that the video you embed adds real value to the page. Google is getting increasingly adept at identifying content that doesn’t match user intent, and embedding an irrelevant or low-quality video could hurt your rankings rather than help them. The video should be directly related to the topic of the page and offer useful information that complements the text content.

The Bottom Line: Embedded Videos and SEO

Embedded videos are more than just a nice-to-have feature—they are a powerful tool for improving SEO. When used correctly, videos can enhance your organic search performance by boosting rankings, increasing traffic, improving user engagement, and making your content more discoverable.

However, it’s essential to remember that not all videos are created equal. High-quality, relevant videos that are optimized for search will always perform better than generic or unrelated content. By following best practices—such as embedding videos above the fold, using schema markup, and choosing the right hosting platform—you can maximize the SEO benefits of your video content.

As search engines continue to prioritize rich media and user engagement, now is the time to embrace video as a key component of your SEO strategy. So, the next time someone asks, “Do embedded videos improve organic search performance?” you can confidently say, “Yup,” and know that you have the data, tactics, and strategy to back it up.