Author: lazysubmit

Detailed list of important tips/guidelines for video search engine optimization

People usually love video, millions of Americans consume videos online and same is the case world over. A consumer is most likely to keep in mind and refer to a video in comparison to a print advertisement. These days video making is very economical as compared to the cost of a traditional commercial. Broadband is getting enormous popularity worldwide. Now people can watch videos without long download times or quality issues. Present generation considers video to be a reliable source of news and information. Online video for them is second to nature.

Here are a few tips/hints for optimizing your video:

It is recommended that you create and submit a transcript for users and the search engines, add a transcript to each video file you’ve uploaded via your Video Status page. Create a Keyword Rich Title for your Transcript; include a brief introductory paragraph/synopsis that describes the subject matter of your transcript (and video) and be sure to publish your transcript.

Don’t forget to encode the keywords you are targeting into your video. Try to use the word “video” as much as possible, make sure the word “video” is used in your title, description, meta data etc.

Search engine crawlers rely a lot on the link texts to figure out what the video is all about as they are not capable to figure out the contents of the video otherwise. Therefore it is advisable to get as many back links as possible for your video.

It is advisable to create a separate sitemap just for your videos in your site and try to keep your video files in one directory this would help the web crawlers to locate your video files speedily and effortlessly.

It is very difficult for the web crawlers of any search engine to crawl into the video contents inside flash players so they usually prefer to stay away from such files. It is therefore advisable not to use such kind of file formats which discourages the web crawlers.

It is advisable to optimize the URLs of your video pages for the search engines with the help of mod_rewrite function so that the pages are freely assessable by the search engines.

Various video search engines use to capture thumbnails of your in different manner. Some of them take the first frame of your video, while others try to take from the middle or end. It is better to experiment with each site individually to make sure they are displaying the right thumbnail for your video. A video thumbnail is always crucial when it comes to decide for a viewer which video to watch.

Beside the above mentioned points there are few more points relevant for the optimization:

Always make sure viewers are searching for your targeted keywords regularly. If not, try to find the closest related keywords being searched.

Viewers who offer feedback are most likely to take the desired action on your video. This could be a good opportunity for you to submit fresh contents, if the most popular videos were included months ago, it really helps.For more detailed tips on video seo, visit ReelSEO.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/se-optimization-articles/video-search-engine-optimization-tips-and-techniques-230243.html

About the Author:

This post was written by Mark Robertson of ReelSEO.com - The Video Search Marketing Blog the author of the longest list of Video Search engines that I’ve ever seen. Mark is fast becoming the expert on Video Search

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Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you “look ahead,” before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

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Step 1. Get a Domain name.

This is a crucial step. Just as you can’t go through life without a name, you also can’t put up a website without a domain name. But what exactly is a domain name?

Webopedia.com defines it simply as a ‘name that identifies one or more IP addresses and is used in URLs to identify particular Web pages.’ And because it ‘identifies’ your website, it is important that you choose a good one. There are three things that you need to keep in mind when making your choice.

It should be short (because you want people to remember it). It should be relevant (to your site). And (this is very important if you don’t want legal hassles later on) it should not contain any trademarked terms or phrases. Some examples of more popular domain names are www.google.com, www.yahoo.com and www.microsoft.com.

Once you’ve chosen your domain name, you then need to have it registered. You do this by using the services of an ICANN-certified domain name registrar, a list of which is provided at InterNIC.

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of this process yourself, there are many web hosts that will do so for you (either included in their hosting plans as a free service, or for a modest price). You need to make sure though, that the domain name the web host gives you is ‘portable’ (read: you can continue using it even if you change hosts later on)¹.

Step 2. Design your site

No matter what your budget is, or what web programming skills you do (or don’t) have, there is an option available for you.

If you’re on a tight budget, have some web design experience and don’t mind spending some time on a project, then software programs such as Macromedia Dreamweaver, DIY Web Kit and Microsoft FrontPage may be for you. These programs offer pre-designed templates you can add content to and have features that allow you to design, edit and preview, as well as enable you to add simple dynamic elements (ex. forms and search boxes) to your pages.

If you’re in hurry and are willing to shell out a bit more money for your site, turn-key site creation services, like J&K Enterprises, E Biz Network, and ReadyWebsites.com, may be your best option. You simply choose from their array of layout and graphics options, enter your text, add a dynamic element here and there through an easy-to-use interface, and voila! You have an instant personal or professional web site.

But if you’re an insanely rich fellow or just someone who’s willing to spend mucho dinero for your site, then a professional web design firm is for you. Although more expensive, you’ll have more flexibility and will probably come up with a more distinct look for your site. You can also add more complex dynamic elements to your website(s) as well.

Some questions to consider before making your choice, though:

1. Do I like their previous work? (look through their portfolio)
2. Were their clients satisfied? (repeat clients, referrals, client list)
3. How about the company’s background? (history, designers etc.) and,
4. Do I get all the rights to the completed site?

Tip: A number of scripts that perform common tasks on the web are available for free online. Simply key-in what you need on Google or other search engines.

Step 3. Decide on your choice of: hosting type, web host and of course, web hosting plan.

There are a variety of web hosting setups available, depending on your budget and the type of web site you want to put up. The most common ones are shared hosting, dedicated hosting and co-location. Information on these types, as well as others, is provided on our hosting type page.

After you’ve decided on a hosting type, search for companies that offer that service. (This will probably yield hundreds of returns.)

Once you’ve cut down your list to a reasonable number, it is now time to start going through their plans. The sheer number of web hosting plans available might be overwhelming, but a good way to narrow down the list is to pay attention to your needs.

But what exactly do you need to run a website?

Now that you have your own checklist of requirements, what’s next? Well, you simply match them to the plans available. But what if you’re still left with a substantial list to choose from? Then compare and evaluate the plans. How?

Before we go to the last step, we need to recap.

After the first step (selection and registration of your Domain name), you should have already created a name server account.

After the second step (site Design), you should already have web pages that are ready for upload.

And with the third step (Decisions, decisions), you should have already signed up with a web host, paid for your chosen hosting plan and received a confirmation email containing that oh-so-important name server(s) and other information needed to view and manage your site.

The final step would then be:

Step 4. Deploy your site.

How do you do this?

You need to login to your account first (from the first D) and change your domain’s name server to that received in the email (fourth D). It usually takes about 48 hours for these changes be propagated across the Internet. Meanwhile, you can upload all your site’s files (HTML, graphics, programming) to the hosting account, either though an FTP client, a web page editor or the control panel of your site.

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