The Strange Connection Between Animation and SEO

Among the myriad advantages of animated videos, one in particular often gets overlooked. And it’s perfectly understandable why.

 

After all, what connection could SEO and animation possibly have? Apart from being two of the many integral components of digital marketing, they don’t share a thing.

 

It turns out SEO and animation have a lot in common, much more than you think. For starters, consider the fact that everything requires optimization in the digital world to give it the attention it deserves, including animated videos.

 

And what better way to make your video reach its target audience than using the oldest and most effective trick in the book, SEO?

 

In this blog, we’ll tell you precisely how to do that and why you should consider SEO and animation as a whole body, not two different aspects of marketing.

 

Why Do Animated Videos Require Optimization?

It’s impossible not to have heard the term SEO if you own a business, so we’ll skip the intro. But what you might not know is that SEO can be applied to ANYTHING appearing on search engine result pages (SERPs), including animated videos.

 

When SERPs understand what your video is about and who will most likely search for them, they’ll rank the video higher. This is why optimizing videos through SEO is an integral step of your marketing strategy.

 

We’ve talked about the what and why. Now let’s discuss the how (in no particular order).

How to Create an SEO-Optimized Animated Video

  •  Develop a Strategy

People create animated videos for many purposes, including to:

  • Simplify complex topics
  • Boost conversion rates
  • Spread brand awareness

 

Why you’re doing it is specific to your business.

 

For that reason, develop a strategy and have a clear purpose. By discerning the why, you can get into your target audience’s mind and create a video bound to get their attention.

 

–  Write a Transcript

Video transcripts have two primary purposes – they make your videos accessible to a larger audience and help increase their visibility on SERPs.

 

For example, let’s say you have a specific keyword you’d like to include in the video. In most cases, writing the phrase while creating a script for the video should suffice.

 

But what if you can’t fit the keyphrase naturally? You can still include it by writing it on the transcript.

 

–  Use Attractive Thumbnails

The human brain has been wired to be attentive toward images more than text. And it marvelously displays this function while browsing the internet.

For instance, when you come across videos, your mind immediately goes to the thumbnail first. After that, you read what’s it about. Keeping the role of a thumbnail in mind, create an attractive one for your video.

Remember not to make the thumbnail clickbait. If you do so, you’ll get the views, sure, but at what cost?

 

– Publish on Multiple Platforms

It may seem like YouTube is the only video publishing platform, but it’s not. There are tons of others like:

  • Vimeo
  • Dailymotion
  • Github
  • Tumblr
  • Tiktok

 

All have different algorithms, so conduct in-depth research. If your video goes viral on even one of the platforms, it’ll be a job well done.

Moreover, write catchy descriptions and captions to increase the animated video’s chances of success.

 

– Measure Your Video’s Performance

Your job is not done the moment you click ‘Publish’; it’s the beginning of the end.

 

You must constantly measure the video’s performance. If it doesn’t gain the attention you were hoping it would, switch up your strategies. And this is crucial because SERPs will only rank your video higher if people viewers engage with it.

 

An effective way of measuring your video’s performance is by familiarizing yourself with the term ‘Watch Time.’ It refers to the time viewers spend watching your video.

 

Why Creating An SEO-Optimized Animated Video Is Essential

You’ll be furious if you go through the trouble of making your video SEO-optimized only to find out it doesn’t affect your marketing campaign.

Well, you can remain calm because that’s not the case.

Animated videos are known for boosting your SEO efforts in a multitude of ways. Let’s see what they are:

 

– Animated Videos Generate Massive Traffic

Google has a strict policy when it comes to rankings. To get in its good books, your website must receive traffic. Lots of it.

Fortunately, animated videos help with precisely that.

You won’t have to beg people to visit if your website has an animated video. And the more videos, the more quality traffic your website will draw, which in turn, will help you in the long run.

 

– Animated Videos Keep Visitors on Your Website

Once a user makes their way to your website, it’s your responsibility to give them a reason to stay. And you can do that by showing them a well-made, thoughtfully-written animated video.

Brafton reported that video content increases visitors’ dwell time by six times, which makes perfect sense.

Can you remember a blog that really caught your attention?

Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Now jog your memory and tell us about your favorite video.

We’re sure your mind is filled with ‘em.

That’s the power of animated videos.

 – Animated Videos Create Quality Backlinks

Remember the factors we mentioned that help your website rank higher on SERPs? Well, one of them is backlinks.

For those who don’t know, backlinks direct visitors from one website to another. You can create backlinks in many ways, like:

  • Guest blogging
  • Asking vendors/suppliers
  • Brands and influencers

 

Apart from the above-mentioned, videos can also be used as backlinks.

The more people link your video content, the more authority you can create. And the more you establish your authority, the better your chances of grabbing one of the top positions on SERPs.

Animation and SEO: A Match Made in Heaven

Creating an animated video for your business is crucial. And when you combine it with SEO, it opens doors you didn’t even know existed.

So, drop us a message today at AnimationProLabs, and see what our experts cook up for you.