OTT platforms are drawing large viewership but the intense competition among the players demands that OTT deploy strategic search engine optimization (SEO). Research analysts, Orixa Media reveal that nearly 75-percent of users view only the first page of search engine results. Hence, OTT platforms have to be top-ranking video-on-demand services to gain viewership.
SEO strategies or natural referencing will improve positioning on Google, Bing to increase website visibility. Intrinsically on-page has to be optimized, supplemented by technical SEO – Keyword optimization, video optimization, content-focused SEO, URL structure, backlinks in combination with other techniques. Ideally, technology partners will deliver the scalable opportunity for OTT platform to become top-ranking service and maximum viewership.
What are the Benefits of OTT SEO?
An appropriate OTT SEO practices will drive quality traffic volume, improved online visibility, credibility and audience analytics, effective marketing.
Benefits of SEO of your OTT are:
# Reaching Maximum Audience
OTT platforms should gain maximum viewership by content optimization for search engines organically or use paid services to expand viewership and gain subscribers.
# Strong Targeting Opportunities
OTT platforms should seek on-page optimization and off-page optimization to establish their presence in the Rs.37 billion market place (Frost and Sulivan survey, 2017) in India. The market is diverse due to regional divides and ethnicities. Hence, SEO can be customized hyper-locally to drive optimized viewership.
# Revenue Growth
The increased viewer base gained from SEO strategies for OTT platform will drive higher subscriptions, video-on-demand services and related services.
The emerging OTT market in India is poised for expansion as mature platforms – Netflix or Amazon Prime, Zee5, Disney+ Hostar and locally grown platforms like Voot, Jio Cinema and other hyper local platforms via market domination.
Driving Eyeballs to Your OTT
SEO Strategies that shall bring more traffic to Your OTT Platform:
1. Researching Keywords for Optimization
It is very important to understand how your target audience will search online for content. The likely keywords that the audience will use have to be identified and optimized. These can be identified using Google Keyword Planner or Google Trends, including video keyword tools. Right keywords need to be used in content pages, meta data, titles and video or files for top-ranking.
2. URL Structure for the website
The phrase for best fit to describe business in the URL has to be used, by using keywords. This is critical since indexing on search engines will be completed with keywords relevant to the video.
- Syntax has to be right with use of hyphens:
- Dynamic URLs should not be used as same URL will help Search engine’s to read websites better
3. Anchor Texts Optimization
Semantic vocabulary code will allow search engines to group words on platforms with descriptions to drive search engine indexing of your platform.
4. Video Metadata Optimization
Meta descriptions are vital parameters which drive search engines to your videos. Thus Title tags with primary keywords have to be crisp. Description tags will drive organically and use longer keywords capped at 160 characters. Video tags should include one or two keywords to identify video content but avoid overstuffing of keywords.
5. Codes Optimization
Code has to be optimized when using JavaScript, CSS codes and HTML by removing characters that are unnecessary, words and spaces which increase loading speed to make sites faster.
6. Creation of Video Thumbnails
Thumbnails show search results for clarity, short descriptions describing the video and identification of results as per the top OTT platform preferences.
7. Creation of Video Sitemap
All information of videos, types of videos, policies, live streams, descriptions are present on video sitemaps. Google can therefore identify the category of video and target audience, to improve ranking of videos in a major way. Videos relevant to the host page only should be on the sitemap.
8. Securing Video Platforms
Optimize platforms on social media channels to popularize your videos. The links from these social media will add value to the SEO strategy to the platform.
9. Website Speed Optimization
Site speed can improve with retention of visitors’ attention – compression capabilities, optimization of codes.
10. Creating Video rich snippets
Search results can become attractive by adding video snippets. Caution should be exercised – that the right video is linked to the website. Tools such as video schema, rich snippets aid these processes.
11. Social media Presence is important
Social media channels will add value to the overall SEO strategy. Optimizing for platform promotion, social media is critical to popularization of media video content. The platform enhancement for new features, gain links channels to add value for new releases.
12. Backlinks from other OTT
Back linking from video websites is very important since the viewer influx of videos is optimized. OTT hosting sites like YouTube release short snippets of video contents which have to be used for developing the link to your video. Additionally, permitting sharing and embedding of your videos on other websites will drive backlinks and authority of your platform, leading to top indexes for your videos.
Conclusion
OTT platforms are the marketplace for your creative videos, and the platforms themselves need technology partners that implement SEO strategies and take care of the backend. Proven and talented technology partners using advanced marketing tools to place your OTT platform at the top of the ranking list. Your OTT platform should partner providers who support wide range engagement with other OTT services.