business videoVideo marketing, particularly through YouTube, should be an integral part of every local marketing campaign. Videos are one of the most powerful marketing tools available for increasing brand awareness and generating leads. Their importance is even greater when it comes to local marketing.

Competition is usually slim in local niche markets on YouTube. This makes it easier to create compelling videos and then optimize them for SEO. Videos can then be shared across various social media sites to generate buzz and bring in leads.

First, consider the importance of video marketing in terms of SEO as a whole. Then, zoom in on local markets and how to properly optimize YouTube pages to control these markets.

Video Marketing And Local SEO

When you think of SEO you might immediately think of text-based content, but combining common SEO practices with video content can yield better results. The majority of all Google searches include videos from web pages. Most of those videos originate from YouTube, which is owned by Google.

Google understands that videos are not easy to create and so they are ranked differently compared to text. There is also the fact that video results almost always appear near the top of Google search results.

If you are posting videos in a small, local market, then your video is likely to be one of the first things people see when they make a relevant search query. This likelihood increases significantly if you properly optimize the video and the YouTube page.

Properly Optimizing The Title

The competition will certainly be fiercer in some areas and some markets. Rely on SEO tactics and compelling content to secure your video’s position at the top. How can you do this?

Choosing the title may be the most difficult part. You have only a few words to work with and you want them to be optimized for search queries. At the same time, they need to explain your video and give viewers a reason to watch the content. Use a keyword research program to target high-volume, low competition keywords relevant to the video content.

Since you are appealing to a local market you also need to include location information in the title. For example, if your content is all about tuning pianos and your business is in Atlanta, then you might use the title “Atlanta Piano Tuners Reveal Their Secrets”. The exact keyword you use in conjunction with your location will be determined by the research tool.

Descriptions And Tags

Your description should be optimized with the target keyword again in the first couple of lines. You also want to include the link back to your website somewhere in the description. These links are marked as no-follow, but they are still useful nonetheless.

Tags also play an important role. Tags can include location information, keywords, and general words related to the content of the video. The right tags will not only improve the content’s ranking on Google but will also increase the likelihood of it being found by the right people on YouTube.

Your channel itself can be optimized in a similar fashion. Include your website link, social media links, and a primary keyword on your YouTube channel description.

The Geotag Feature

Google and YouTube both use Geotag information, but exactly how is not fully known. YouTube users could search for videos from a certain location in the past, but that feature has been disabled. It is likely that the Geotagging feature has a larger impact on whether your video is shown when local searches are made. For safe measure, it is recommended that you geotag your videos before publishing.

Making Use Of Your Content

Do not let your content sit around and grow old once it has been published online. Leverage it across your social media sites to increase visibility. Not only will the additional views help the YouTube ranking of the video, but it also assists with lead generation.

Sparky Parker has over 35 years of related experience in marketing, internet sales and engineering. He owns and operates FrontRangeMarketeer.com, which helps local businesses generate more leads and attract new customers.