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How to Optimise Your Videos for Search Engines

If you aren’t optimizing your videos to match what people are searching, your videos are likely to get lost and not reach their intended audience. Without reaching their intended audience, they serve no purpose.

So how do you ensure your videos get results?

With video search engine optimization, commonly referred to as video SEO.

To simplify what you need to do, think about your target audience. Consider their language, wants, and needs.

Use the following 12 valuable tips to get your video to reach the first page of Google and YouTube, but most importantly build visibility to a large niche audience that is interested in what you have to offer.

1. Content Quality
Ensure your videos are relevant, informative, and rich with content.
Videos demonstrating step-by-step processes or videos expressing opinions about topics can be quite useful. Videos should be fun, memorable, short, and leave the viewer wanting more. If using a video production company, choose one that understands the importance of these concepts and check out their existing video portfolio for videos that match these qualities.

2. Catchy Title
Capture the potential viewer’s attention with a catchy title that contains related key phrases that are relevant to your brand or service. Do some keyword research and find the words that your audience will most likely be searching, but keep the title interesting, not just filled with keywords.

3. Keyword Tags
Optimize your video with important key phrases or keywords. Refer back to your keyword research and think in terms of what your targeted audience might be searching for when looking to find your brand or service. Tag your video with these terms and consider naming the file of the video with these terms in mind.

4. Keyword Description
Optimize your video’s description with relevant keywords and include a keyword-rich description of your video to allow search engines to index it and rank it higher, and for users to better understand your video before viewing.

5. Link back to your website
Use video as a portal to other content on your website. Upload your videos to portals like YouTube and Vimeo, and consider providing links back to related content and other relevant videos on your site.

6. Provide Transcripts
Provide transcripts of your videos. If you want your video to rank well, you need to give the search engines something to index and rank. Surround your videos with on-page copy that can be indexed by search engines.

7. Short Length
Keep your video at 2 minutes or less. The average amount of time a user spends on a YouTube video is around 1 minute 30 seconds. If you have video content that is of longer than 5 minutes, consider breaking it up into smaller pieces and tagging each accordingly, to be more appealing to the viewer. Not only does this make for better viewing pleasure, multiple videos are also better for optimization efforts.
As YouTube is now paying close attention to viewership and engagement it is critical that viewers watch your video for as long as possible.

8. Video Sitemaps
Use Google Webmaster Tools for creating a video sitemap to make sure that the search engines can find your video content and index it accordingly. Use important keywords in the anchor text that links to your videos featured on your sitemap.

9. Branding
As video is a great way to generate brand awareness with prospects, take advantage of this opportunity to incorporate your brand and logos into your videos.

10. Embedding Options
Allow other users access to the coding that will allow them to embed your video on their website or blog. This can help gain valuable back links and shares that will boost your rankings in search engines.

11. Syndication
Submit your video to RSS feeds and syndicate your videos to drive exposure across various online platforms and to optimize your videos even more.

12. Share!
Get on your social networks, check your email contacts, write on your blog, and get the hype going. Share your video with everyone, because if you have content worth sharing, it will continue to be shared with an expanding audience, and in turn develop more exposure for your brand or service.

In summary, video optimization can be a great way for you to expose your brand to users who may otherwise not have been familiar with your brand, product, or services. It is a great way to engage, entertain, and promote!

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Starting a Law Firm – Ideas About Office Space

One of the things that you will notice when you first open your law office is that you will write a lot of checks. You will make a lot of payments. It will seem like there is much more money going out than there is money coming in and, at the beginning, that probably will be the case. Consequently, one of the major aims when you are staring out is to keep overhead costs as low as possible. That means you don’t need that corner office overlooking Park Avenue. Right now, you don’t have the client base to justify that sort of expenditure. With that in mind, below are some ideas for some “starter” office space, at least until you get your feet on the ground.1) Traditional Office.Traditional office space, while the most liberating and enticing, is also the most expensive. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t lease office space from the outset. The key is to put your office in a location where the cost is justified. For example, if you are a litigator and can get prime office space next to the courthouse (where everyone who walks by can see your sign: “Law Office of Blankity Blank”), then the investment could be worthwhile. Be sure to consult with other attorneys who have offices near the courthouse, and see how much business they get from walk-ins. Then evaluate whether the risk is worth it.2) Home Office.The home office is the least expensive of the options. Additionally, the expense is not ongoing – once you outfit your home office with furniture and technology, there really isn’t a further expense until something needs to be replaced. Be aware that some practice areas (i.e. criminal defense or family law) do not lend themselves well to practicing out of your home. However, others fit well into the warm environment that the home offers (i.e. elder law or estate planning), especially if you will be meeting clients there. You will need to create a separate office within your home, to separate work from home life and to maximize productivity.3) Office Sharing.Office sharing can be a great alternative to the traditional office. While still more pricey than other options, sharing an office with someone else creates a natural avenue for referrals. This is especially true if you are sharing with other attorneys who practice in different areas than you do, or if you are sharing with non-attorneys. If you choose wisely, the referrals alone can justify the cost. As with any option, the key is to do your research, and meet with the people who you could potentially share space with, prior to making any decisions.4) Virtual Office.A relatively new phenomenon is the virtual office. The variations on the virtual office seem limitless, but it is essentially a place where you can meet with clients, receive your mail, have your telephone answered, while not being tethered to the office space. Additionally, the cost of a virtual office can be much less than traditional or even shared office space. It is a great way to keep costs low while growing your law firm, and maintaining the look of an established law firm.At the end of the day, your office says a lot about who you are as an attorney, but also as a businessperson. Make wise choices now, so you can thrive in the future.

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Effective Resume that Works in Canada

WHAT SHOULD MY RESUME IDEALLY LOOK LIKE, FOR A JOB IN CANADA?A question that I am asked very frequently by New Immigrants, when I meet them for an Interview. I do advise them on this issue; however the following components need to be addressed. This MUST be done before one starts applying for employment in Canada.Generally a resume MUST HAVE the following: CONTACT DETAILS: This includes the name of the applicant, address, phone numbers and email address. Please drop the PHOTOGRAPH, as it is definitely not required. Furthermore, there is no need at all to mention your Age, Marital Status and your Residency, Country of Origin and religion. There are laws governing these issues in Canada and hence they may not be the basis, on which any individual may be discriminated against in terms of employment.Clarity of an Objective at the beginning of a resume can certainly help in inducing the Reader to continue reading. Eg -Looking for an opportunity in the area of Financial Analysis and Planning, within an Organization that is value driven and customer oriented ORLooking for a Supervisory position in Sales, within the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry. Here is an executive summary of the individuals experience and skills. Eg – Controllership experience of over 10 years in ManufacturingDesignated Accounting and Finance professional Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills Managed large groups of staff ranging from 5 – 15 Have been exposed to Public Company Reporting for over 5 years Proficient in the usage of computers and various softwares WORK EXPERIENCE: A Chronological submission of employers worked with in your work life, beginning with the Most Current one. Important components to note here are – the name of the employer, tenure of employment with month/year, title of position and brief of the company worked in. Then you may describe the role you performed. Eg. -General Manager Jan 200 – Aug 2006 A Manufacturing Organization with Revenues – $100 million and 2000 employees Role Description ACHIEVEMENTS: Do not misinterpret this as a role addition or activity performed. This is a specific mention of an Accomplishment, where you have done more than required and gone that extra mile. Eg -Managed to bring down the month end closing days from 5 to 3 OR Successfully implemented a Costing system that resulted in an annual savings of $2 million across the companyListing of your degrees, certifications and so on. Please list the most current one first with details like – Degree obtained, year of certification, Institution that certified you and location. Eg -CA – ICAO – 2004 B.Com – University of Waterloo – 2000 SOFTWARE SKILLS: This is a comprehensive listing of the various softwares that you are proficient in like SAP, Lawson, Great Plains, Excel, Access, and ACCPAC.PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: This is not a must have for resumes, however cannot harm you in anyway. You may want to mention your involvement in a ROTARY CLUB for example, in addition to your association with CICA, ICAO, etc.Overall, a resume that has all or most of the above mentioned components stands a better chance of getting its owner an Interview than a resume that doesn’t.

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