Using Transcriptions
-
Hi everyone, I've spent a long time trying to figure this one out, so I'm looking forward to your insights.
I've recently started having our videos transcribed and keyworded. The videos are hosted on youtube and already embedded on our website. Each embedded video is accompanied by an existing keyword-rich article that covers pretty much the same content of the video, but in a little more detail.
I'm now going back and having these videos transcribed. The reason I started doing this was to essentially lengthen the article and get more keywords on the page.
Question A. My concern is that the transcription covers the same content as the article, so doesn't add that much for the reader.
That's why when I post the transcription (below the embedded video), I use a little javascript link for people to click if they want to read it. Then it becomes visible. Otherwise it's not visible.
Note that I am NOT trying to hide it from google by doing this - and it will still show up for people who don't have javascript on - so I'm not trying to cheat google at all and I think I'm doing it based on how they want it done. You can see an example here: http://www.healthyeatingstartshere.com/nutrition/healthy-diet-plan-mistakes
So my first question is: do you think the javascript method is a good way of doing it?
Question B. Does anyone have any insight on whether it would be better to put the transcription:
1. On the same page as the embedded video/article (which I am doing now), or
2. On a different page, linked to from the above page, or
3. On various other websites (wordpress, blogspot, web2.0 sites) that link back to the video/article on our site.I know it's usually best practice to put it on the same page as the video, but I'm wondering from an <acronym title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</acronym> point of view if I'm wasting a 500 word transcription by posting it on the same page as a 500 article that covers the same topic and uses the same keywords, and I wonder if it would be better to use the transcription elsewhere. Do you have any thoughts on which of the above methods would be best?
Thanks so much for reading and any advice you may have.
-
Sorry for the delay, Ryan. I didn't see this.
I don't use a service - otherwise I would let you know for sure. I actually have a VA who does it for me.
-
If I may ask, who does your transcription work? I will have a need for those services in the future.
-
I don't think that you will have any problem with penalties. I think that this is strictly upside.
-
Thanks very much, I think will take advice from both of you. From now on I will make the transcript and article have slightly different content, still all about 1 topic.
So do you think I'm wasting my time - or worse, potentially incurring penalties - by having my existing content transcribed when the video is more closely matched to the article? It's so inexpensive for me to outsource this and it's a great task for my VA to fall back on when she's done the main tasks every day. Plus, I can upload the transcript into youtube now, too.
(I'm also interested in anyone else's advice that may be different, although these guys have obviously done a great job of answering.)
-
My answer to the question was based upon you already having the article and the transcript. However, the ideal thing would be to have the transcript and have an EXTRAS area with some additional details on fine points on the topic of the video and some links to related topics that were covered in the video.
-
Do you have any thoughts on which of the above methods would be best?
All I can do is say how I would handle this. I would post the full transcript on the same page as the video and the article.
I like having a transcript because I sometimes don't understand the speaker in the video. Sometimes I want to read the words slowly and carefully. And, sometimes I am writing about the video and want to include an exact quote of fair use length.
I would not hide the transcript with java. Instead, below the video I would have an anchor text link to the transcript that shoots the visitor down the page to the top of the transcript.
I think that a big page with 500 word article, video and 500 word transcript will be impressive and substantive.
-
The reason I started doing this was to essentially lengthen the article and get more keywords on the page.
The questions you ask point right back to the above statement. This line of thinking will take you to a place you don't want to go. It is not best for your users nor for your ranking.
Offering video content is great for your users. Offering a transcript OR a summary below the video is great as well. What value does offering both provide?
My suggestion would be to offer the transcripts without other similar content which covers the same topic. If you feel the transcription is incomplete, add the additional details in bold, italics, a text box or otherwise make it stand out as additional content you are adding. This method will provide all the content which is helpful to your readers without any extra content.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Does Google use 302's to pass value to the target page?
Hi, I've received the below advice, is this correct? Throughout the site, the 302 (moved temporarily) status code is used for redirects, which Google will use to pass value to the target page. Is this correct? I was under the impression a 301 was used to pass value to the target page? Could someone explain the difference between a 301 and a 302, I'm not 100% sure. Thanks, Nathan
On-Page Optimization | | Heehaw0 -
What software do you use/work within for SEO?
Hi, Our site was put together in Dreamweaver and I'm not great at using html so I use Contribute to modify the info on our site. There are some limitations using Contribute so I'm wondering what other people use. Thanks for your input!
On-Page Optimization | | karlseidel0 -
E-Commerce SEO: What are the Schema.org properties you use?
Quick question about Schema.org for products. What are the properties you like to list on product-pages for an E-Commerce? Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | AdrienOLeary0 -
Using content for cliche' terms, or content found on other sites
howdy, I have a basic question about using content found on other websites for your own use. I have started a pick up lines website for guys to search for pickup lines to use on girls. Anyways, my website has many, if anything a lot, of the same exact pick up lines as all my competitors are using. If I use the same pick up lines found on their site could i be penalized for this as far as SEO? thanks and hope to hear back
On-Page Optimization | | david3050 -
If i only want to rank for one specific keyword and use it in all my page titles, will it negatively affect my rankings?
If i want to rank highest for one specific keyword (virtualization management, for example) and use that keyword in all the titles on my website, will that negatively affect my search rankings? SEOmoz is telling me that i should use unique titles for my different pages to ensure that they describe each page uniquely and don't compete with each other for keyword relevance.
On-Page Optimization | | foonista0 -
Using magentos own url re-writes
We are changing ecommerce platforms. Is it best to use magentos own url re-writes to redirect every page of a site from its old url to it new one?
On-Page Optimization | | LadyApollo0 -
Wordpress when to use posts or pages
Hi Guys, I have a network of EMD sites that currently use a homepage and then we have a blog page which has 5-6 posts on. Is this the best way to do it with sites under 10-20 pages? Or should we create say 3-4 new pages/categories and drop the posts relevant to each page/category in there? Thank you Jon
On-Page Optimization | | imrubbish0 -
Correct use of Canonical link vs 301 redirect
Hi All, Seeking yet more advice. SEOMOZ tools have told me I have duplicate content on one of my sites and I am keen to clean this up. I am not to familiar with the following so thought I would ask. The duplicate content is shown on : www.mysite.com www.mysite.com/index.html Obviously I only see index.html when I check the code so what is the best method of resolving the duplicate content, Canonical or 301? Can you give me an example 🙂 Thanks all
On-Page Optimization | | wedmonds0