In the last few weeks I have read an abundance of articles talking about how video can add additional value to your eCommerce site. Video is one of the fastest growing content types on the internet. More than 172 million individual Americans watched on average 14.9 hours of web video in April 2011 (Source: Practical Ecommerce). ReelSEO reported last year that video case studies demonstrated a 46.22% increase in conversions for two specific online retailers included in their study. Internet Retailer also did a study on video and concluded that 16 of the top 50 online retailers featured videos on their site.  



So, if  you're not convinced, here are a few other reasons to add video to your site:

1. Videos Attract New Relevant Search Traffic
   Not only does video look great on your site, but eCommerce Businesses who utilize video have seen an advantage over competitors because Google rewards sites that include video in search results. According to Forrester, any given video is an index of searchable keywords that is 50x more likely to appear on the first page of results than any given text page. 
   
   


2. Videos Build Powerful Customer Relationships
   Retailers are always looking for additional avenues to build relationships with their customers. By improving and tailoring the customer experience through video, retailers have seen improved loyalty, increased conversion rates and higher AOV. The quality of online personalization continues to rise and in many cases can rival or outperform the "live" shopping experience. This is a key factor in gaining market share since consumers strongly desire a personalized shopping experience online, similar to what they receive from "in-person" browsing. Consider adding video to your existing personalization strategy.


3. Encourage Your Customers To Share Through Social Media
   According to a social media seminar I attended, psychologists believe that when a person is looking through their Facebook wall, a picture or video will divert their eye and they are more likely to stop and want to learn more.
   
   Retailers should set up systems to allow customers to share with their friends on Facebook and Twitter. After they buy a product or send in a review, why not let them share? If you don't, you might be missing out on potential new customers.
   
   Here is my personal case study on how this works: I purchased a ThunderShirt for my dog Rosie. After my purchase, the website asked if I wanted to share my purchase with my social network - I said allow and my post went up. Within 2 hours after I posted, 2 of my friends commented and ended up purchasing the ThunderShirt. Now ThunderShirt has 2 new customers and I am even more satisfied with my purchase decision because I got affirmation from my social network.
   
   


4. Give Shoppers Additional Product Information Through Video
   Product videos on eCommerce sites can provide shoppers with significantly more information about what a product looks like or how the product should make the customer feel. One of the best implementations of product videos I've seen is on the Zappos site. Zappos has real people, actually employees of Zappos, showing a shopper how the shoe might look on their foot as well as the assets of that particular item. I know they've certainly pushed me over the edge to buy an item based on the product video.

Summing It All Up
 There are strong indications that video may have a positive effect on both ecommerce SEO clicks and on conversions. It also may well be that video's value as good, searchable content, its ability to communicate product value, its ability to engage and entertain, and the relative ease with which it can be shared are all contributing to ecommerce video success. So what are you waiting for? Think about adding video to your eCommerce site today. To check out some of iGoDigital's videos, visit our YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ig0digital.

Tagged in: BestPractices