How can you use transcripts to improve your SEO?

1 What are transcripts?

Transcripts are written or typed records of the speech in your audio or video content. They can be verbatim, meaning they capture every word and sound exactly as they are spoken, or edited, meaning they remove filler words, pauses, and repetitions to make them more readable. Transcripts can be created manually by yourself or a professional service, or automatically by using software or tools that use speech recognition technology.

2 Why are transcripts good for SEO?

Transcripts are good for SEO because they can help you with three key aspects of content marketing: relevance, engagement, and authority. For example, transcripts can target more keywords and phrases that your audience is searching for, optimize your content for voice search, and improve your ranking and visibility. Additionally, transcripts can make your content more accessible and inclusive, enabling people who are deaf or hard of hearing to consume your content. They can also help people who prefer to read or scan your content rather than watch or listen to it, as well as those with slow or unreliable internet connections. Furthermore, transcripts can establish your credibility and expertise by showcasing your knowledge and insights, generate backlinks and social shares by making your content easier to reference and quote, and help repurpose your content into different formats.

3 How to create transcripts?

When creating transcripts for audio and video content, you have a few options to choose from, depending on your budget, time, and quality requirements. Manual transcription involves typing out the words yourself or hiring a professional service to do it. This can be the most accurate and customized option, but also the most expensive and time-consuming. Automatic transcription uses speech recognition technology to convert audio or video into text. This is a faster and cheaper option, but may not be as reliable. Hybrid transcription combines manual and automatic transcription to get the best of both worlds. You can use software or tools to generate a rough draft of the transcript and then review and refine it with a professional service or yourself. This provides a balance between speed, cost, and quality.

5 How to optimize your transcripts for SEO?

If you want to improve your SEO by adding transcripts to your content, it's not enough to simply include them. You also need to optimize your transcripts for relevance, engagement, and authority. To do this, use keywords and phrases that match your audience's search intent and the topic of your content. Also include variations, synonyms, and related terms to avoid keyword stuffing and increase semantic relevance. Additionally, use headings and subheadings to structure your transcript and make it easier to read. Include keywords in these headings and subheadings to highlight the main points and boost your ranking. Finally, add links and calls to action that direct users to other relevant content on your website or external sources. Use keywords in these links and calls to action as well, to encourage users to take action and increase conversions.