When the majority of your content is video-based and hidden behind a paywall, it can make on-page SEO<\/a> feel like a constant uphill battle. But it doesn\u2019t need to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By learning how to build your video website the correct way, you can create a platform that ranks well for your target keywords and also outranks YouTube<\/a>, like this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this guide, I\u2019m going to show you how our best Uscreen clients have optimized their video websites to rank high on SERPs and convert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step is to perform what I call a \u201cNetflix<\/a> Audit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This involves going through your website and stripping it of any elements that make the logged-out <\/em>view of your website look like Netflix\u2019s logged-in<\/em> dashboard. That\u2019s this page here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Video websites often try to emulate Netflix\u2019s design because it looks aesthetically brilliant, showcases the depth of their video database, and has a familiar feel to their target customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see from the design below on Magic Stream<\/a>\u2019s website, it looks and feels just like Netflix:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this type of theme design on your website\u2019s customer-facing website pages comes at a high cost to both SEO and conversions, because it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Combined, these elements can have a negative impact on your website\u2019s rankings. If nothing else, the layout is complex for Google<\/a>\u2019s crawlers to work their way through, and filled with information they struggle to interpret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netflix understands the pitfalls of using this dashboard view and, despite not having a search-led marketing campaign, they still opt for a text-based homepage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your video website is heavily reliant on this Netflix-style theme, I highly recommend you keep this dashboard-view for the paid (read: logged-in) version of your website and use a more traditional-style landing page for your homepage and subsequent category and taxonomy landing pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important page of any video on demand website is the homepage. It has two crucial jobs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your homepage is one of the few pages that will be eligible to rank for search terms because it isn\u2019t behind a paywall, so it\u2019s your chance to shine in the SERPs<\/a>. It\u2019s also one of the few pages visitors will see before making a purchasing decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These factors mean the page will need to be optimized enough to rank for your target keywords but also structured in a way that showcases your product. Basically, it needs to be both a landing page and<\/em> a sales page rolled into one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you achieve this, let\u2019s split this step into mini-sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create a well-optimized homepage, you will want to rank for two kinds of keywords:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re already fleshing out your SEO strategy, you will already have these keywords in place. Use this guide<\/a> to understand how keyword research works and how to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure you have space to naturally include these keywords on your page, follow the 80\/20 rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a recent study, we\u2019ve found that your homepage\u2019s length doesn\u2019t play too much of a role in how you rank\u2014our top four ranking Uscreen video websites<\/a> have less than 500 words on their homepage\u2014but making use of this 80\/20 balance does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be sure to feature your target keywords in<\/p>\n\n\n\n IndieFilmHustle TV<\/a>, a video website focused on indie filmmakers and screenwriters, is a great example of getting this right with limited text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their target keyword is \u201cIndie Film Channel\u201d which they strategically placed in key places for semantic search, namely the page\u2019s header, and title tags:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doing this has enabled them to have enough information and context for Google to willingly rank them in the second position for their target keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We find high-converting video homepages all follow a similar structure from the top of their page to the bottom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be varied depending on your branding and what you feel looks best for your site, but these elements should be present in some way. Here are the 10 points they all hit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A great example of this structure is the video on demand website, Naturally Sassy<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you work your way down the page, the comprehensive home page allows the videos and services as the focus, without compromising on any on-page SEO factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Google has a limited amount of information to work with, context is everything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The more information you can provide in fewer words, the more it will help you set the foundation for a highly rankable website. One way you can provide more context is by using Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LSI keywords are related to your target keyword or the focus of your website and help Google understand the big picture of what your website is about. And even though Latent Semantic Indexing is old technology<\/a>, and search engines might not heavily rely on LSI these days, it\u2019s still one of the best SEO practices to make sure that your storefront and other pages are targeting a set of keywords and key phrases relevant to what you represent and what searchers are actively looking for when searching for your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say you run a pop-culture website and you create a video web page talking about \u201cAvatar.\u201d Google would look for these set of keywords to determine if you are referencing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These keywords are especially important if your target keyword could be interpreted in multiple ways. Take KweliTV<\/a>, an independent film streaming platform, for example, whose target keyword is \u201cblack streaming service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The word \u201cblack\u201d makes this keyword unspecific; it could be referring to a brand called Black<\/em> or an illegal black-market streaming service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure their website is recognized as a streaming service for black people, KweliTV uses a range of LSI keywords like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These keywords will often naturally appear in your website\u2019s copywriting. But, you can also find them suggested using a tool like WooRank\u2019s keyword tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This part is simple.Google is looking for three things<\/a> when analyzing a video:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These enable Google to determine what your video is about if it\u2019s unique and valuable, and whether it\u2019s worth ranking and are non-negotiables in the eyes of Google\u2019s webmaster guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because Google doesn\u2019t \u201cwatch\u201d your video in the same way it \u201creads\u201d a blog post or article, this extra information provides more context and an understanding of how the video will look to the viewer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a video content creator<\/a>, you are likely to use video to help promote your business. One way to capitalize on this, and to generate more organic search traffic, is to focus on ranking video pages and category pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These pages are a great way to add high-value content to your video on demand site, which is also likely to attract links and social signals that can improve your rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The structure of these pages is similar to that of a blog post, which as standard will include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moz does this brilliantly with their Weekly Whiteboard Friday<\/em> video posts, like this one on SEO title hacks<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n They use a short, keyword-rich introduction to the video, and then follow it up with a blog-post style transcription of the video below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Video content is well and truly at the core of this content, but these extra touches help to increase the perceived value of the content and have some positive semantic search factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google has a hard time understanding video content. They can glean limited information<\/a> from the audio and video files but are still heavily reliant on text and users to provide context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can make Google\u2019s job much easier by applying schema markup to each of your video and category pages. This allows you to tag elements of your video like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding schema markups to your video and category pages will enable Google to display your pages as rich results. Here<\/a> you can find the ultimate checklist to rank in the Google Top Stories Carousel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google has a hard time understanding video content. They can glean limited information<\/a> from the audio and video files but are still heavily reliant on text and users to provide context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can make Google\u2019s job much easier by applying schema markup to each of your video and category pages. This allows you to tag elements of your video like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding schema markups to your video and category pages will enable Google to display your pages as rich results. Here<\/a> you can find the ultimate checklist to rank in the Google Top Stories Carousel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although schema markups don\u2019t directly impact rankings, it can help Google understand the information on your pages better. This is super helpful for your video pages and category pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can read the full guide to video schema markup right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another great tactic to increase your SERP real estate and drive more clicks is to use FAQ schema markups on your video and category pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is FAQ schema?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page contains a list of questions and answers pertaining to a particular topic. Properly marked up FAQ pages may be eligible to have a rich result on Search and an Action on the Google Assistant, which can help your site reach the right users.\u201d -Google<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s an example of an FAQ rich result:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although Google only mentions FAQ schemas for FAQ pages, this doesn\u2019t mean that you can\u2019t leverage this type of schema on other pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, adding a FAQ section to your category and video pages, not only will allow you to naturally add context to the pages but also will allow you to answer frequently asked questions, boost your visibility on SERPs and organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, let\u2019s say you\u2019ve launched an online yoga studio<\/a> and published a series of yoga workout videos for back pain. By answering several frequently asked questions around the topic (Yoga poses for back pain), and adding FAQ markup to your category page, you can both elevate the user-experience as well as organic traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the example below, you can see how this page is using FAQ markup to do exactly that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out this guide to learn more about how you can easily add FAQ markups to your pages using GTM, regardless of your CMS.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n YouTube is the world\u2019s largest video search engine and it should play a part in your website\u2019s overall SEO strategy. Uploading your marketing videos to YouTube can provide social signals back to your website, as well as bringing in traffic from people who find you on their platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/image2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow To Build A High-Ranking Video Website In 7 Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Perform A \u201cNetflix Audit\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"converting](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/image1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/image5-1024x344.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/Screenshot_8_edited-1024x497.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 2: Optimise Your Website\u2019s Homepage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ranking: How To Optimise Your Video Homepage For Search Engines<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/Screenshot_18.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nConverting: How To Structure Your Video Homepage For Sales (A 10-Point System)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/unnamed-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 03: Make Use Of Strategic Target Keywords<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/image6-1024x555.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Caribbean,
\u2013 African American
\u2013 Latin American
\u2013 European<\/li>Step 04: Hit The \u201cBig Three\u201d Of Video Optimisation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 05: Build Video Optimised Pages To Attract Traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/2019-06-11_1422.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 06: Use Schema Markup To Add Depth <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 06: Use Schema Markup To Add Depth <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/pasted-image-0.png\")
FAQ Schema for Video and Category Pages<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/Screenshot_5-1024x385.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/unnamed-2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStep 07: Make Use Of YouTube<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
As you can see in this example from TawzerDog<\/a>, it\u2019s possible to rank first for keywords on both search engines, without negatively impacting your search results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/image4.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWrapping This Up\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n