YouTube - The Best Source for Free Traffic
Traffic = customers = money.
No traffic = no customers = no money
Traffic
is the lifeblood of any business - without it you have no business and
like it or not YouTube is the number one site for free traffic.
I
say " like it or not " because although most people like to watch a
video, a lot of online business owners do not like to make them. They
either don't like the idea of actually appearing on camera or if that
doesn't fade them they think the video has to be perfect - a top-notch
production costing thousands.
This is a shame because you don't
have to appear in front of a camera - ever heard of PowerPoint? - (you
can actually get PowerPoint videos made very cheaply on Fiverr - just
give whoever you choose an outline of whatever you want, let them do the
rest and when everything is agreed on just post it) - and neither do
you need to spend thousands, or even anything come to that if you
already own a mobile, I-pad, desktop or digital camera.
Videos
shot on all of these devices and all of varying quality have all proved
popular regardless of the quality of the actual video - it's the quality
of the CONTENT that is most crucial.
You can produce the most
slick professional video possible but if the message or content in it is
bland, nondescript or worse, unhelpful, then very few people will watch
it and fewer still, if any, will share it.
Using YouTube is an
excellent way of getting your business (online or offline) out there but
you have to give the viewers something in return for watching.
You
need to give them the information they want - maybe an answer or
answers to a common question or questions. That is when people will
engage with you, maybe share your content or sign up to your list and
become a customer. Give visitors a reason to visit your website.
For
instance if your video is about the public domain then show them a
website or websites where they can find out what is in the public domain
that's relevant to their requirements.
If your video is about how to make videos give them information that they can act on straight away without having to pay for it.
Remember,
always have a call to action (CTA) at the end of the video. There's no
point in giving out good information only then to not tell the visitor
how or where to get more of it! Add a share button for Facebook, Twitter
etc. as well as this will help spread the word (your word!)
The
length of a video is important - personally I can't abide sitting
through an hour of a sales video so I just don't bother - however if
there is a "read transcript" button just beneath the video I will nearly
always click that and get the info at my leisure which is usually a lot
quicker than the video.
That said these type of videos have
proven to be successful (just not with me) so if your product warrants
it (it usually means the product is expensive) then by all means go for
it but promotional or informational videos made for YouTube are usually 3
- 9 mins long.
I read some time ago that 3 minutes give or take a
few seconds was the most popular length of watched video but a lot of
very informative videos are twice as long and as long as the information
or content is valuable people will watch.
People like concise,
to-the-point and helpful information. Give them that in no more than
nine minutes, preferably less and they'll be happy.
Very short
videos can also work - one minute videos are often used to make just one
specific point very quickly and effectively. They're popular because
they are so short but again, it's the content that's so important.
You
get traffic from people who watch the video and the best way to get
people to see the video is when it's on the first page of Google.
So
how do you get your videos on to the first page of Google in
double-quick time? Good question and (here's the little tweak that was
mentioned earlier) the answer is:
- BACK-LINKS. Google loves back-links.
- Back-links show that a video is popular and are achieved when other websites, articles or forums that has a link back to your video. The more back-links the video has the higher up the Google rankings it goes.
- They also act as referrals and helps to build your authority in whichever niche you are in, a vital component of a successful business.
Now you could do this yourself but it is very
time-consuming unless you use a specific software that costs hundreds of
dollars. However there is a quicker way.
Remember I mentioned
Fiverr earlier? Well go there and type in "video back-links " into the
search bar and click on "social video marketing". Sort the result by
Avg. Customer Review.
You will then see adverts from people who
will create numerous back-links for you with prices starting at $5. The
more back-links you pay for the sooner you get page 1 of Google -
usually within a few days. Surely a bargain.
Now you might be
thinking that this post is about YouTube only. It's not. It's really
about TRAFFIC. It just so happens that YouTube is the number one source
of free traffic so I thought it would be helpful to talk more in-depth
about YouTube in particular, especially if you are just starting out.
If
you are just starting out then funds can be tight so although it may
not be targeted traffic that you attract specifically, it is a very good
way of building a list very quickly and some people on that list will
buy from you.
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