How to Use Video to Drive Traffic and Engagement on Your Website
Optimizing your website is a big deal. But doing this with video is kind of like discovering an undercover hero doing its secret job—bringing in more traffic, engagement, and repeat visitors. Being discoverable is already a big task (especially today), but finding out that multimedia content is actually the key is something that can help your company stand out from the crowd. And you want that.
Video can captivate audiences, simplify heavy ideas, and forge deep connections with your intended audience. Combine video with your website, and it will be powerful enough to transform the way people choose to interact with your brand.
To be completely honest, this is kind of a universal truth, and it doesn’t matter if you run a small business, a non-profit, or even a SaaS. We will react positively when we see a good video on the website we’re visiting (thank you user experience!).
Why does video work for website engagement?
If we think of it this way, video isn’t just some emerging trend or craze; it’s more like an introduction to the industry of online advertising. Videos can increase organic search traffic by 157% and users spend 88% more time on websites with videos than without.
Conversion rates on landing pages with videos can reach 80% or higher, and videos on social media get 1,200% more shares than images and text put together. So, if you’re not using the magic of video, you’re basically passing up a huge chance to increase engagement and traffic.
Types of videos that enrich website performance
First things first, if you’re new to this, you need to know the following: Not all videos serve the same purpose, so choosing the right types for your website is a must. But what are the most effective formats, you wonder?
Explainer videos: An explainer video helps clarify your product or service in an engaging but concise way. It’s particularly effective for SaaS companies or businesses with complex offerings.
Product demos and tutorials: People want to see how something works before committing to it. A product demo or tutorial video can help any potential customer to understand your offering and also to build trust in your brand!
Customer testimonials: Seeing and hearing real customers talk about their positive experiences builds credibility and encourages prospects to act.
Behind-the-scenes content (everyone’s guilty pleasure?): A look into your company culture, process, or creative workflow adds authenticity to your brand, making it more relatable.
Live videos and webinars: Live content promotes real-time engagement, encouraging interaction through comments and questions. Webinars provide value and establish thought leadership.
Animated and AI-powered videos: AI avatars and animations offer a dynamic way to create videos quickly while maintaining a professional look. They can be used for FAQs, customer service interactions, or personalized greetings on your website.
Engaging visitors with AI avatars
And this is where technology development gets interesting. AI is spreading its wings in every department out there, but in the field of video marketing, it is really something else—it’s fascinating. Why? You can train these digital characters to answer frequently asked questions, provide individualized video content, or even act as virtual tour guides on your website!
Avatars powered by artificial intelligence provide a quick solution to improve engagement without the need for human intervention in each interaction. It's like playing the SIMS game, but using it to promote your brand or service.
Your brand’s personality can be reflected in their voices, accents, and even facial expressions, giving them a more human-like quality. And AI avatars can be a lifesaver for non-profits by simulating a human customer service representative and offering a polished, interactive experience without the associated costs. With their help, you may simplify the customer onboarding process, increase conversions, and decrease bounce rates with automated product recommendations and user-friendly website navigation.
Need another benefit? While interacting with users, AI avatars can learn valuable information about their interests and behaviors to adapt their interactions in the future.
Making your website more interesting and captivating for potential consumers is much easier with the help of AI because you encourage them to explore more and spend more time. AI avatars are versatile and can be used in many different settings, including chatbots, social media, and website interfaces. They are a powerful tool indeed, especially for increasing engagement and building loyalty.
How to optimize video for SEO and traffic?
Like we’ve covered, creating videos isn’t enough—you need to optimize them to ensure they drive traffic to your site. Here’s how:
Use keywords in video titles and descriptions: Just like blog content, your videos need keyword-rich titles and descriptions to rank on search engines. Conduct keyword research to identify terms your audience is searching for and incorporate them naturally.
Transcribe your videos: Adding transcripts improves accessibility and boosts SEO by allowing search engines to crawl your content. Transcripts also help viewers who prefer reading or may have hearing impairments, ensuring inclusivity.
Host videos on your website and YouTube: As YouTube is the second-largest search engine, it is a valuable platform for discoverability. Embedding YouTube-hosted videos on your website not only drives engagement but also enriches your website’s performance without slowing it down.
Add video schema markup: Search engines understand your video content and display rich snippets. Structured data like thumbnails and descriptions can improve click-through rates in search results.
Write engaging CTAs: Get viewers to sign up, buy, or explore more of your content! Add CTAs to videos, descriptions, and interactive elements to increase engagement.
Speed up video load: Videos that load slowly (ugh) can frustrate users and increase bounce rates. Compress videos and use the right hosting platforms for fast playback without sacrificing quality.
Video thumbnails: Stunning thumbnails grow click-through rates. Make attractive, appropriate thumbnails that explain the video to attract more viewers.
Where to place videos on your website for maximum impact
So, now you know why videos are important for your website. But do you know how and where to use them? Making smart moves with videos is another step. Here’s the lowdown on where to put them for the ultimate impact:
Homepage
You really need a killer opening video outlining your ideas. Consider this your digital handshake. Make it interesting, make it unambiguous, make it significant. People see this first most of the time; thus, you want to catch their attention right away.
Conversations take place on landing pages
Here your secret weapons are product demos and customer testimonials. People want to see what they are getting and hear from others who have tried it already (video builds trust far more quickly than text).
Blog entries shouldn’t be full of boring text
Spice them up! You can do this with video summaries, making your material far more shareable, and some people simply enjoy seeing rather than reading.
FAQ sections
FAQs are great for SEO, but can be boring to write or read. Adding short, animated explainer videos will help you quickly and easily address often-asked questions.
Your About page
The About page offers you an opportunity to personally connect with people. Seeing a behind-the-scenes video of your team, business values, and story helps you to be more real, building that know, like and trust factor.
Promoting your videos beyond your website
Having videos on your website is a great start but often only one of your distribution channels! View social media as your megaphone. Share bits or complete versions of your videos on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or wherever your audience is hanging out.
And never undervalue the power of email. Videos inside your email newsletters can help increase your click-through rates.
Paid video ads on YouTube, Facebook, and Google Ads can also greatly increase your reach and target particular groups if you have the budget.
Videos are out there—use them!
Video marketing is a game changer. Once you get started, you’re likely to discover that video marketing can be fun and effective!
Never forget that people are visual. Videos grab attention, explain things clearly, and make your brand more memorable. Whether it’s explainer videos, live streams, or even AI avatars, video can transform how people interact with your website.
Start small, experiment, and track your results. See what resonates with your audience. The more you know about what they like, the better your videos will be. Video, done right, is one of the most powerful tools you have for growth—both now and in the long run.
