In January 2010, YouTube was the second most used search engine in the United States – a single statistic that demonstrates just how popular the medium has become. Video is used by a wide range of people for numerous different reasons and it offers huge opportunities for marketers to reach their target audience.
However, as with any form of search marketing, videos need to be optimised to ensure relevant users will find them in amongst the millions of videos posted daily.
Andy Atkins-Krüger discusses video as an international tool in the Multinational Search column on SearchEngineLand but here are a few key ways of optimising your video for an international audience.
1. Subtitles
With little time and effort, a video can be subtitled in multiple languages making it comprehensible by users of that language, as well as enabling it to be indexed by search engines.
2. Dubbing and translating voice overs
This is quite tricky when dubbing videos where somebody is speaking – as it is impossible to synchronise the audio with the movement on screen – which is likely to put many users off watching. There are ways round this, however, by using alternative images or adding in powerpoint slides to substitute the “talking heads”.
However, it is much easier to do when the video has been filmed with intention of being internationalised, as only images and shots which are suitable for dubbing will be included.
3. Demonstrations
Sometimes audio can be unnecessary on a video, if the message can be presented visually – such as product demonstrations. When this is the case, all your efforts can go into the transcription accompanying the video. This can be written in using the relevant keywords for each target language – improving the user experience by explaining the video, as well as increasing its visibility in search engines.
International Video Optimisation is a key feature on the International Search Summit agenda on May 13th at The Barbican in London. Speaking on the topic will be Bruce Daisley, Head of YouTube in UK and Greg Jarboe, author of YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day. Alongside Andy, they will aim to make the world of video more accessible and offer practical and actionable advice which can be applied to any multilingual campaign. Bookings made before 23rd April, will receive a complimentary copy of Greg’s book.
Gemma Houghton
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