Videos are everywhere these days. Whether you’re scrolling through social media or looking for information online, video content reigns supreme. But just creating great content isn’t enough.
To truly maximize the impact of your videos, it’s essential to ensure they can be easily found. One way to boost their discoverability is through transcription, which makes your videos searchable and accessible.
In this guide, we’ll explain why SEO video transcription is necessary and how to improve video SEO using it to help you rank, make your content more accessible, and get more clicks. Whether you’re just getting started with video marketing, or if you’re looking to fine-tune your approach, we’ll tell you how to get the most out of your videos.
Video transcription is a process through which spoken words in your videos are transcribed into written form. It’s not only a feature for making content accessible but also one of the most effective approaches to improve SEO with video transcription. Through transcription, the videos become more searchable making your content rank higher on search engines. For social media managers, transcription means even more people can see your posts without you having to spend on advertising.
For social media managers, transcripted text turns into a source of useful information. Not only does it increase the reach of your content to people with hearing disabilities, but it also has a positive impact on the SEO. Videos aren’t something that search engines can watch, but they can definitely read text, and that’s why captions and transcripts should be implemented to enhance reach and interest.
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps your content appear when someone searches for it on platforms like YouTube, Google, and more. The thing is, search engines can’t “watch” videos, but they can read text. By adding transcription, you’re giving them exactly what they need to index your content, which helps boost your rankings in search results.
Some people may prefer reading over watching, while others might have hearing impairments or be in situations where they can’t play sound. Having a text version means everyone can still engage with your content. It also helps non-native speakers understand your content better. Overall, transcriptions make your content more accessible to a wider audience.
Also, transcriptions give you a chance to include important keywords in the text naturally. Since search engines use keywords to match content with what people are searching for, transcription makes your video more relevant to those searches.
In a nutshell, you’ll increase search rankings with video transcription and make sure that your content is both entertaining and easily searchable.
Video transcription brings various SEO benefits, making it an important part of your digital marketing strategy. Here’s how:
You can easily introduce essential keywords by transcribing the video and adding the text to your website. When search engines crawl your content, these keywords help your videos match specific search terms, improving visibility.
Captions make your videos more appealing to search engines, which can help your videos show up more often in search results. It means that your videos have visibility to ensure they are seen by more people which would mean your videos will be featured more in the search results.
Google prioritizes content that keeps users interested because it shows that the content is useful and relevant. When more people spend time reading or watching what’s on your page it sends a message that your content is valuable.
Having text alongside the video helps clarify complex ideas, so it’s easier for viewers to understand and follow along. Since the users can go through the transcription of the video and search for specific content, they can jump to relevant sections rather than watching the entire video.
Captions and transcripts help more people access your content, enhancing the overall experience for the user as well as for SEO. Accessibility in video content ensures that everyone, including individuals with disabilities, can understand and engage with your content. For example, adding captions allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to follow along, while providing audio descriptions helps those who are visually impaired understand the visual elements. Now you know why accessibility matters so try to make your content that is accessible to all.
Decide how you want to transcribe your video: you can do it yourself or use an automatic tool like Clipule. Doing it manually can give you accurate results, whereas using an AI tool can save you time and effort while still providing reliable outcomes.
Just upload the video onto your chosen platform and the tool will analyze your video’s audio and automatically generate a transcript. You can add captions that sync with the video, customizing their style to fit your aesthetic.
To make sure your transcript works well for both SEO and your audience, you’ll have to optimize by adding relevant keywords naturally without overloading the text. Natural language, breaking up long paragraphs, speaker labels, time stamps, and avoiding overly technical language will keep the text reader-friendly and not make the text look like it was written just for search engines and nothing else.
After optimizing the transcript, you can either place it below the video as a description or upload it as captions that sync with the video’s audio. Both methods allow search engines to crawl the text and improve your SEO ranking. Make sure to use the correct formatting when uploading the transcript. Whether it’s through captions or as a description, keep the formatting clean and professional.
These steps will help you optimize video on search engines efficiently and effectively. Clipule automatically transcribes your video into text without spending too much time and effort. Its transcription feature will provide accurate transcription and improve your SEO.
“This American Life,” a popular radio show and podcast, used transcription to improve its online visibility. Starting in 2011, the podcast transcribed their entire audio archive and made these transcripts available on their website. This transcription was done to boost organic search traffic, improve user engagement, and provide accessibility to people with hearing disabilities.
The results were impressive: over a 36-month period, they experienced a 6.68% increase in search traffic and a 4.18% increase in overall inbound traffic that was directly attributed to the transcripts. Additionally, the transcripts contributed to a 3.89% increase in inbound links, further strengthening their SEO authority.
This example illustrates the powerful impact that video transcription can have on SEO, helping companies not only enhance their search visibility but also create a more inclusive and engaging user experience.
Adding video transcription to your marketing isn’t just smart—it’s a must if you want to stand out. Hence, through optimizing SEO, increasing accessibility, and increasing engagement, transcriptions make your videos a powerful tool for growth.
For anyone managing a brand’s social media or building their own, transcription is a key strategy you can’t afford to overlook. Start using it today to expand your reach and strengthen connections with your audience, including those with accessibility needs.