Video SEO places clients at top of search results

All business owners want their website to reach the top of Google”™s search results.

At Video SEO Pro, clients are guaranteed their content will do just that.

Launched only months ago, the Westchester County production company is finding success in producing videos with tailor-made content for search engine optimization, known as SEO.

An online marketing strategy, SEO takes into consideration how users are searching for websites and how Google ranks those search results.

If a New York marina is selling Stingray boats, for instance, its website should be using “Stingray,” “boats for sale” and “New York” as keywords, said Neco Turkienicz, vice president of Video SEO Pro.

When a website has a video with those same keywords, it”™s even more likely to be ranked higher in the results, he added.

“Google owns YouTube and gives preference to rich media,” Turkienicz said. “If you have two Web pages, the one with video will always be ranked higher.”

The chances of getting a Web page listed on Google”™s top results increases 53 times with a video, according to Forrester Research. Studies also show a video can be worth more than a million words and increase click-through rates by up to 300 percent.

As the likelihood of users finding a company”™s website drops dramatically if it”™s listed past the first page of search results, it”™s important to get to the top of that list, said David Vogel, president of Video SEO Pro.

After Video SEO Pro made videos for Mahopac Marina, using “Stingray boats New York” as keywords, the marina saw a significant jump in sales, Vogel said.

The videos Vogel and Turkienicz made for the marina are the No. 1 and No. 2 search results now, ahead of more than 1 million other sites, including the Stingray manufacturer itself.

The two have produced videos for about 20 clients since August and have had such consistent success that they now offer a money-back guarantee. If a client”™s videos don”™t reach the first page of Google”™s search results in 90 days, they”™ll refund the client.

“If you”™re not on the first page, you don”™t exist in the eye of the consumer,” Vogel said.

The company primarily works with local small- to medium-sized businesses but serves no specific niche or geography, Vogel said. Though the two live in White Plains and Somers, they”™ve had conversations with clients as far away as Hawaii and Singapore.

The typical video is two minutes long and costs a little more than $3,000.

“A two-minute video can say much more, and in a more engaging way, than five pages of text,” Turkienicz said. “That”™s why every company should have a video. It communicates who you are better and connects with your audience.”

A retail site visitor who watches a video stays on a company”™s website two minutes longer on average, according to a 2010 comScore Inc. study. They”™re also 64 percent more likely to purchase an item than other site visitors.

“Most people don”™t realize you can use video as a tool to attract business on the Internet,” Vogel said. “Or they think it”™s an expensive proposition.”

Both Vogel and Turkienicz come from extensive backgrounds in production and advertising, working in New York City. But after several years on Madison Avenue, Vogel said he wanted to start a new venture closer to home.

There are several video production companies in Westchester County, but none differentiate themselves like Video SEO Pro, Vogel said. The two do all of the keyword analysis, script development, video production and uploading with SEO keywords. Typically, video production companies don”™t focus on the online marketing and keywords at all.

“A lot of the time our videos are getting found before the website,” Vogel said. “It”™s a great lead generation tool, especially if a company”™s hasn”™t already optimized their website.

“Wherever a video is on a page, people will click,” he added. “People love video.”