Video SEO: How to Rank Your Videos on Google
Here at Kavimo, we work hard to ensure that the embed codes you use on your site are fully optimized for search engines. On other platforms, you have to manually add schema.org markup to your videos or build a video sitemap yourself. We handle all of that automatically, so you never have to worry about video SEO.
Kavimo's video SEO feature uses JSON-LD to inject schema.org markup into the page header, which gets the video indexed by search engines. When you embed a Kavimo video on your site, most of the SEO heavy lifting is already done. That said, if you want to pull in even more traffic, follow these five steps when uploading, customizing, and embedding your video.
Step 1: Choose a good title for your video
The video title is included in its structured data, as shown in the example below, so it's best to set it as soon as you upload. Keep in mind that the title should reflect the content of the video itself, not the page it lives on. Don't stress about keywords — Google is smart enough these days to understand synonyms and word meaning.
Step 2: Choose the right thumbnail
What actually catches a user's eye in search results and gets them to click is the video thumbnail. The line between a video's success and failure often starts with that one small image. Think of it like a movie poster — or better yet, like a billboard on the highway. Some of them grab your attention instantly; others don't.
The thumbnail doesn't have to be a frame from the video. It just needs to represent the content in a compelling, eye-catching way. Moz has done this brilliantly over the years with their Whiteboard Friday videos. Take the image below as an example — it's not a screenshot from inside the video; it's a professionally shot photo created specifically to promote a piece about SEO for startups.
There's no single formula for creating a great thumbnail — it depends largely on your content. But keep these points in mind:
- Make sure the image is clear and readable at 116×65 pixels. Search engines may display thumbnails at small sizes, so check that the image still communicates its meaning when scaled down.
- Don't use a screenshot. Nothing looks worse in a thumbnail than a random frame grabbed from the video. These images get lost among other search results, and users rarely feel compelled to click on them. Take the time to create something visually creative that actually promotes the video's content.
- Use faces. People are psychologically wired to notice other people's faces. A thumbnail that shows a clear, expressive face tends to perform well.
- Apply the rule of thirds. A video thumbnail follows the same visual principles as any other image, so standard photography and design rules apply. Following these guidelines will make your thumbnails more visually appealing and more likely to catch attention.
To change your thumbnail, go to the management panel, click on the video you want to update, and select a new thumbnail from the right-hand panel.
Step 3: Use the inline embed code
Kavimo supports two types of embed codes: inline embed and popup embed. If video SEO is your main priority, make sure you're using the inline embed code. The popup embed is better suited for lightbox-style presentations. We've found that Google has limited interest in popup embed codes, most likely because they require a click before any video content is delivered.
The Standard embed code is fully AJAX-based, which makes it faster, though it falls back to an iframe for CMSs that need it. When selecting your embed code, make sure the SEO Metadata checkbox is checked — this injects structured data into the page where the video is placed. If for any reason you don't want the video indexed by search engines, simply uncheck that option.
Step 4: Place the video at the top of the page
Google typically indexes only one video per page. If you put more than one video on a page, there's a good chance that only the first one gets indexed, and the rest are ignored. So try to stick to one video per page, or at least make sure your most important video appears near the top.
Step 5: Avoid heavy JavaScript
The most common cause of video SEO issues is Google simply not being able to find or access the video on the page. If your entire site is built with technologies like Angular or other JavaScript frameworks rather than plain HTML and CSS, your video may end up buried under layers of JavaScript that block Google's crawler from reaching it. If you have no choice but to use these frameworks, it's not the end of the world — a bit of searching will turn up solutions. Just be aware that less conventional technology stacks add complexity when it comes to solving SEO problems.
Common questions about optimizing Kavimo embed codes
Q: Do I need to use the Yoast Video SEO plugin or other WordPress plugins to optimize Kavimo videos on my WordPress site?
A: No, you don't. Kavimo handles everything those plugins do, automatically. Using a video optimization plugin won't cause any conflicts, but it's completely unnecessary for Kavimo videos.
Q: How can I optimize Kavimo embed codes for Aparat as well?
A: The process is largely the same, but you'll want to be careful that routing traffic to Aparat doesn't end up costing you traffic on your own site. Keep an eye on how your videos perform so that Aparat works in your favor rather than against you. One approach is to publish the video with two different titles — one on Aparat and a different one on your site.
Q: Do I need to add video tags?
A: No. Given the page meta tags already in place, there's no evidence that Google pays any meaningful attention to video tags.