Video content is becoming more and more popular with consumers and therefore has become more important to Google. Google search results like video and producing video content is now one of the best ways to reach potential customers.
Akiva Ben-Ezra, Owner of Ben-Ezra Marketing, is a marketing expert specializing in YouTube optimization, SEO, mobile marketing, PPC and social media marketing. Ben-Ezra is a big believer in video content and for this week’s column, we will focus on how affiliates can use video to increase their profits.
Why video content
The iGaming affiliate industry is becoming progressively competitive and webmasters are constantly on the hunt for ways to separate themselves from the pack. One way to do this is by adding video content to the usual arsenal of traffic converting tools, something every affiliate should be doing, not just considering.
“If a picture is worth a thousand words than how many words is a video worth? Imagine this, with over 72 minutes of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute Video is a must have for your business, your product and for success in your online marketing strategy”, said Ben-Ezra.
A common excuse for avoiding video content is the anticipated high cost for production, although there are ways to produce video at a lower cost and the investment is certainly worth it.
“The [affiliate] must understand the fact is it is costing you more money not using video”, said Ben-Ezra. He added, “When I talk about video I don’t mean high production expensive video with directors, actors, script writers and such, I mean down to earth do it yourself (DIY) productions which are the best kind”.
Creating videos on the cheap
So how can affiliates create solid video content at a low cost?
When it comes to the actual video content, Ben-Ezra advised finding out what customers are searching for and making a video around it. “Keep it short and sweet, best under two minutes and have a clear call to action”, he said.
When it comes to creating the video itself, Ben-Ezra suggested several simple ways to go about it, depending on budget.
1)Video Scribe
For less than twenty dollars a month, Video Scribe is an easy to use service allowing users to make their own animations or “sketch videos”.
2)Powtoon
Powtoon is a free service allowing users to create animated videos and presentations in a “PowerPoint style”. These types of videos are especially good for product demos, website and explainer videos.
3)Outsourcing
Outsourcing is always an option, although it depends on budget.
Video ads & options
Video ads are another area for affiliates to consider and Ben-Ezra said TrueView video ads are the way to go. TrueView is a Google owned YouTube video ad format allowing users to choose if they want to view the ad and advertisers only pay if the user watches their ad.
As Ben-Ezra said, “You can tell YouTube what video you want your ad to appear before and you can potentially steal competitors’ traffic”.
There are two types of TrueView ads to consider.
1)In-stream
TrueView in-stream is a TV-style ad that the viewer can skip after five seconds if they choose. Advertisers are on the hook to pay if the user watches the ad in its entirety or for a full 30 seconds, which ever is less.
2)In-display
TrueView in-display ads appear alongside other YouTube videos and in YouTube search pages, playing only when a user clicks on it, also the point at which the advertiser is on the hook for paying.
Using TrueView ads has a lot of benefits, including the ability to target an audience, access to detailed analytics and the opt-out option filters out users who are not interested or have already seen the ad, resulting in higher conversion rates for the advertiser.
Getting views
No matter how fantastic a video turns out, the efforts are worthless unless people actually see it. In order to ensure videos are appearing at the top of search results, Ben-Ezra offered a few tips and tricks for affiliates.
“It all starts comes down to the on page optimization of the video. Make sure you have the keyword in the title of the video, have a nice long description, upload a transcript of the video and add tags”, he said.
Adding a custom thumbnail and annotations are also good rules of thumb.
Ben-Ezra also suggested going out and getting some views with TrueView videos, a move that should also boost viewer comments.
Other ways to increase viewership of videos include backlinking via press releases, blog posts and Fiverr. Affiliates should also share their videos via social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and through custom blog posts.
