Many SEO’s have been kicking and screaming against really using video as a legitimate source of content and link bait. The fact of the matter is that video is quickly becoming the most accessible and viewed type of content online, meaning Internet marketers should be hopping on this and fast. I suppose the largest barrier is that most SEO’s have very little if any experience in video production or formatting for the web. So for many, the task may seem daunting. Whatever the reason, now is a better time than ever to really make an investment in this steadily growing market.

Take for example this recent Google trends graph “search engine optimization” queries.



This may unsettle a few in the industry, showing a decline in the desire for SEO services over all, but I don’t believe this to be the case at all. I believe businesses and marketers are becoming more and more savvy with SEO and are now looking for more specific facets. Why do I think this? Let’s take a look at the trend of queries for “video seo” related keywords.



Hmmm. This looks pretty exciting for SEOs looking to expand their video production departments and affiliates. Of course the numbers are still not at the level that “search engine optimization” queries are, but according to the trend, it won’t take long. Matt Foster, CEO of ArteWorks SEO, predicts that we will see all of the major online players “jumping on this bandwagon over the next 18+ months.” Coming from someone who has watched the SEO trends for the last 10 years under a microscope, I would take this statement seriously. There is going to be a major shift.

If you are not involved in video or some of the other more specialized SEO strategies in the future, you will be left in the dust. Search ranking competition continues to increase as the status quo continues to rise, and at the same time, online video viewership is increasing at an alarming rate. Video is the new SEO copy, and as always, the better the content, the more links juice it will create, so everyone should be prepared to get their feet wet if they are not already pursuing this.

More Information on Video SEO

Major media companies, retailers, corporations, and even Presidential campaigns have realized the power of online video. It is the most likely type of content to go viral on a major scale, and it is becoming one of the most likely to receive link love. This is the way the trend is going, but don’t take my word for it. Do the research. I guarantee what you find will get you excited about online video.

Contact this author about Video SEO.        

About the Author: Peter Hamilton is the Project Manager in charge of the Seattle office of ArteWorks SEO. His interest and experience in search engine optimization is largely focused on social media optimization and multi-media facets of exposure specifically video SEO. To learn more about this search engine optimization company, visit www.arteworks.biz.

On Wednesday, Brandon Falls of Google released what they call the Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. This is a twenty two page document that summarizes the basic ideas of SEO so that the average webmaster has some direction on how to improve their rankings for relevant searches. If you refer to the post that provides the Starter Guide pdf, you will see over sixty comments on what various people think about this guide and about Google releasing such a guide. It seems that some SEO’s are not too excited about it, but I say thank goodness.

Now why would a search engine optimization expert be happy about this? Isn’t it putting us out of a job? To be honest, it should make my life much easier. I spend half of my time trying to educate people about many of the practices discussed in this document. I suppose some SEO companies are distraught because companies with smaller websites and budgets can start doing their own work. For me, this is great news. ArteWorks is not scrounging to find underfunded projects for which we can’t produce real results. If the budget threshold is too low, clients are better off doing some work on their own, and this is a great resource I can point this range of client toward. They may not be able to achieve top rankings depending on how competitive their industry is, but at least they can go in the right direction with this great resource at their side.

Of course this starter guide is only one of many that can be found online. It is great for all of us to have this information directly from the horses mouth, but do not be deceived that any of this material is some grand revelation. This guide is exactly what Google has labeled it as, a “starter guide.” With that in mind, there is a great deal of accurate and incredibly important information included, and it might also be extremely helpful when shopping for the right SEO agency. With a little of this education under their belts, consumers and business owners will find a conversation with a search engine optimization company to make much more sense, which can be crucial in developing the best SEO campaign.

I say congratulations to Brandon Falls and the rest of the Search Quality Team for providing a simple, clear, and insightful resource to webmasters and business owners of all levels. It might also prove to drown a few old disputes about what is or is not important when optimizing a website.

About the Author: Peter Hamilton is the Project Manager in charge of the Seattle office of ArteWorks SEO. His interest and experience in search engine optimization is largely focused on social media optimization and multi-media facets of exposure. To learn more about this search engine optimization company, visit www.arteworks.biz.