Can Video Optimization Lead to More Conversions?
Videos are in …
Videos can keep your website visitors engaged longer and help communicate that ever-important marketing message to them.
In fact, work.com saw a 20% conversion increase after adding an explainer video and Dropbox experienced a 10% conversion lift after they added a video to their home page.
But did you know that there are ways that video optimization can draw increased traffic and views to your website?
Conversion Max Explainer Video – Click to Play
Use videos to draw attention to your company’s website
Using video in the right way will have a direct effect on user engagement. Short explainer videos are an excellent way to help visitors get a better understanding of your company, your products, and your services.
A video overview of your company is a great introduction to illustrate how you can help the viewer.
Visually showing your product in action gives visitors a better understanding of how your product works. That helps soon-to-be customers get more comfortable with making a purchase, thereby boosting both your revenue and your conversion rate.
For an excellent example of how videos can be powerfully used, take a look at the Home Depot site — one of the most popular collections of “How-to” videos online.
Video optimization helps your videos get viewed
Simply placing a video on your website doesn’t guarantee that visitors will ever actually click the play button and be exposed to your message.
Auto-play videos are an option – but they are intrusive. Typically, visitors will want to land on your web page and engage with it on their own terms. A video that automatically begins to play takes individual control away from your visitors. (It may also interrupt them from the messaging you want them to read.)
Don’t even think about auto-play. Instead, pay attention to a few simple guidelines for video optimization.
Tips that can encourage visitors to play your video
- Ask them to watch. You can do this in your copy or by adding arrows that point towards the play button.
- Make sure the still shot on the video is designed to make visitors curious.
- Display the length of the video to prospective viewers (and it should be under 3 minutes).
SUGGESTED RESOURCE: Take a look at Google best practices for video. (But be prepared to have your eyes opened.)
Keep videos short, but sweet
via Benson Kua
Also keep in mind that the human attention span is continuously decreasing. 2013 results put average attention span at eight seconds … down from twelve seconds in 2000. The attention span of a gold fish, by the way, is nine seconds.
This means that you must keep your message short and direct to ensure viewers will stick with it. This doesn’t mean you have to say it all within eight seconds – but you should keep your video under three minutes. Two minutes is optimal. The average video is viewed for 2.7 minutes. Just be sure to make the amount of time needed to view your video clear to the visitor. They are more likely to watch when they are sure of the time investment required.
Analyze visitor video viewings
Some video platforms provide powerful analytics that reveal your visitor’s user engagement to the second.
This allows you to identify at which specific point viewers stop watching the video, pause, or even rewind. These insights will let you know what your visitors do and don’t care about, giving you data-driven insights to improve the next version of your video.
Test then test again!
The only way to get a definitive answer about what works best is to perform A/B split tests.
Test the thumbnail that precedes the video viewing, the video length, and anything else that might have a direct effect on conversions. Never stop testing.
Videos can be an excellent way to lift website conversions, and they can be created with minimal investment. Video optimization can help you realize the most return from your work. Don’t stop at video creation.
Optimize!
Find out more about how to Optimize your videos and pages for increased Conversion Rates. Call 888-659-2680 for your no cost, no obligation initial consultation with the Conversion Max team.
Marie Dean
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