Online merchants are continuing to make the same mistake of dismissing product videos as no more than a fancy kind of sales pitch. It’s a common misconception – but actually there are advantages to product videos that you, as an online retailer, should consider if you’re serious about engaging new customers and maximizing revenue.
Increase Conversion, Reduce Returns
57% of customers believe that product videos reduce ambiguity when shopping online. Less ambiguity means that customers have a higher level of trust both in the product and in the online merchant, since they feel like nothing is being hidden from them. That’s why our studies found that the average add to cart conversion rate for customers who watch product videos is 95% higher than that of those who don’t.
We also found that customers who watch product videos are 25% less likely to return the product than customers who don’t. These customers have a better understanding of the product from the outset – so there are fewer surprises when the product arrives.
Improve your SEO and be Found by Customers
Research conducted by Forrester found that for a keyword search in which Google offers video results, a video in the index is 50 times more likely to end up on Google’s first page of results than a text page in the index. Also, if a page contains a video, then a thumbnail of this video will appear next to your page description in the SERP. This means that people are more likely to click on your page result than one without a thumbnail – so the presence of a video on your page will generate higher click-through rates and increased traffic.
Our data shows that the average time that a customer will spend watching a product video is between 30-120 seconds before their attention wanes. So, if a customer stays on your page to watch a video for this length of time, it will significantly increase your dwell time, one of Google’s factors in determining your page authority.
It’s worth noting that to keep your bounce rate down, you should position videos above the fold of your page so that visitors can see them easily. Lower bounce rates will give your page higher authority. You should also embed your videos to make sure they’re part of your domain name – linking YouTube videos won’t be helpful for your SEO efforts.
Engage your Customers
An effective way of engaging customers quickly and easily is to include a product video on your landing page. Product videos prevent customers from having to scroll through large amounts of text to find the information they’re looking for – which is why 60% of customers would choose a product video over text where both options are available. We also found that 65% of customers can better imagine using a product when they’ve seen a product video, making it considerably easier to decide whether or not to purchase.
You can either upload a product video that’s been created by a brand, or produce your own product video, depending on what would best suit you and your customers. Many brand videos are readily available and can be quickly and easily integrated into product pages using a product video platform. Producing a video can create a more personalized offering for your customers and effectively promote a unique product or service, but it’s expensive and for many merchant’s the cost isn’t viable. All in all, it’s about making it as easy as possible for customers to find what they’re looking for on your website and offering them the best possible service.
Catherine Smeaton is Content Manager at DemoUp.