Bold Content New Study Shows YouTube Dominating Google SERPS

82% of videos appearing in Google Universal Search results were from Youtube in 2014, according to a recent white paper from Search Metrics.  Moreover, half of all keyword searches produce at least one video as part of the results.

YouTube’s share of the Google SERP pie is up from 54% in 2013. This sharp increase in YouTube videos has largely been at the expense of other platforms. Vimeo and DailyMotion represent 5% each of the results, with the remaining 8% spread across all other platforms. That could be worrying news for businesses which are using their own third party tools to display marketing videos on their websites.

For marketers, the clear message is if you are using video then you need to be optimizing for YouTube. Key among this is ensuring that you are:

  • Optimizing your metadata with strong titles, descriptions, and tags
  • Selecting visually compelling and intriguing thumbnails
  • Maximizing your use of annotations to improve navigation, providing relevant information and increasing engagement
  • Creating a channel which is cohesive and compelling

Barring outside pressure Google will likely to continue to favor videos from its own platform. With so many enriched results displaying video, cultivating a solid YouTube strategy will be an integral part of most digital marketing strategies for the foreseeable future.