Now that you’ve got some quality video in your back pocket, be it community tours, a model home showcase or buyer testimonials- it is time for you to find and engage some eyeballs! Here are some basic tips and tools that you should be using to drive interaction and visibility from your videos in general and on YouTube.

Tags- Tags are a helpful way to categorize and sort content which in turn helps pull related videos into the sidebar in a generic YouTube search. These tags are important to include popular phrases or keywords relating to your location and product. For instance, for a home builder located in Austin, Texas, I would be sure to tag “New Home in Austin” or anything else that is relevant to your specific video. Maybe it is a Tuscan style home, so be sure to tag it “Tuscan” as well. Being descriptive is a great way to draw viewers in from related searches!

Video Titles- Video titles are important to not only highlight keywords that your video includes, but also to catch a viewer’s attention! Would you rather click on “Cool Home in Cedar Park” or “BEAUTIFUL Tuscan Style Home in Cedar Park”?

Length- With today’s need for instantaneous information, it is best to keep videos under 5 minutes long. The target length however, runs at about 1 minute 30 seconds. If you have one large community video tour, consider breaking it up into segments for a more enjoyable viewing experience and to maximize your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts.

Description- Once again, optimize your description with keywords to help Google better index your content. Descriptions should be succinct and give an overview of what the viewer will see in your video.

Content– Strive for quality! With high quality video production becoming easier and less expensive, viewers are demanding to watch higher resolution video over a gritty one. This is especially important in the home building industry! You’ve put a lot of thought and branding into your homes, so you will want to have that come through clearly in your videos.

Transcriptions- As a best practice, it is always a good idea to include a transcription of your videos just in case someone is having technical issues or hearing impaired, as well as to improve your SEO. Simple text is still a favorite SEO technique to entice better SEO rankings.

Shareability – Beautifully done builder videos can travel quickly via social media. By making sure the video is captivating, such as including gorgeous community shots or important information, the videos will connect with buyers wanting to share their home building process. Also- if you want your video to be seen, get the word out and share it! Distribute links to your content in your monthly newsletters and through your social media accounts.

In-Video Interaction- We LOVE when viewers are interactive and responsive to our builder’s media. That is why we’ve partnered with a company called Dilogr that specializes in video response optimization. It is a revolutionary way to gather lead information, feedback, and engage in a conversation real time. Targeted questions, hotspots and polls can outfit your online videos on YouTube to enable customers to ask questions and speak with the builder through the rich video content. According to searchengineland.com, YouTube places high authority on number of views and engagement. This means that YouTube pays attention to how long viewers watch a video, and tends to rate them higher or lower based on that figure. If you have any questions about Dilogr or are interested in having us run your account, contact us at info@thebdx.com.

A great video tour of your homes and brand is imperative to reach today’s home buyers. Use these video SEO best practices to reach new customers! Don’t have great video? BDX can help! Contact us today to put your homes in the spotlight.