June, 20 2011
Video used to be a nice add-on for an e-commerce site, a frill that companies could feature or not without obvious repercussions. That is no longer the case. Today, video is a must-have for e-businesses concerned with SEO [search-engine optimization], conversion rates, and brand identification—essentially any company with an online presence and intent to succeed.
Placing a web video production on your site is a smart business practice. Here’s why:
1. Video makes your Web site sticky. Videos provide a dynamic, interactive experience for site visitors. By using videos, e-businesses can highlight promotions, provide tutorials, and show customers how products operate. The engaging nature of video encourages users to spend more time on a page, thereby increasing stickiness and ad revenues.
2. Interactive videos help you "upsell." Videos can convey more essential data in a shorter time. The viewer does not have to read long texts or jump between pages. Instead, he or she gets "fed" exactly the data you want to deliver. That’s not to say that video makes the user passive, however. Videos with clickable links direct users to appropriate pages in the website or to other video selections, providing additional opportunities for you to cross-sell and upsell.
3. Videos drive traffic. Search engines now offer video as part of integrated search results. With proper SEO, videos can drive traffic that might otherwise be directed elsewhere to your website instead.