Sky Bloom IT
Modern digital spaces are obliterated by video and audio content, but the engines fail to index what they are not able to read. The video on YouTube with useful information will not be seen by the crawlers of Google until the content is somehow made searchable. At the same time, producers are working hard to produce video and audio material that can be reused to create a blog post, social media bites, infographics and various formats that can reach the various audiences.
Transcripts address both issues: both audio and video can be searched by search engines and transcripts serve as raw material to use in repurposing content on a high scale. Awareness of the way transcripts serve as SEO tools and content properties will allow creators to make the most of the productions that currently go unused. By understanding transcripts as a core part of digital success, rather than a bonus, smart creators will be able to effectively competitive.
How Transcripts Boost SEO
Search engines are not able to watch videos or listen to podcasts, they can read text only. In the absence of transcripts, engaging audio and video content is literally invisible to search engines, it lacks a chance to rank in case of any relevant keywords and attract organic search traffic. Transcripts give the searchable text that helps search engine to be able to comprehend the content, index keywords and rank pages accordingly.
The inclusion of transcripts on video pages is a major boost to the performance of the SEO. Transcripts on a page normally rank better on the major keywords as compared to the same pages with no transcripts. Every word which is spoken can be searched and indexed by the search engines, making long-tail keyword variations and topical relevance visible where none would have appeared. An episode of a podcast about sustainable business practices may incorporate dozens of their keywords, such as circular economy, waste reduction, renewable energy, supply chain sustainability, and others may not be visible until the process of transcription.
Transcripts enhance user experience indicators, which search algorithms consider important in addition to ranking benefits. Visitors are able to scan transcripts before watching to see whether the content is of any interest which helps to lower bounce rates. The users are able to search transcripts to find a certain information without watching the whole video. Such user engagement enhancement is an indicator of quality content to the search engine that even enhances the rankings.
Content Repurposing via Transcription
The beauty of transcription software is that it converts video and audio into malleable content properties. An hour-long podcast episode is turned into raw material of several pieces of content: a blog post with the key findings, three posts on social media with quotes that need to be mentioned, an infographic with the data that should be mentioned, a LinkedIn article, aimed at the professional audience, and emails sent to subscribers. The reach of content and ROI of this repurposing are drastically high without having to develop new content.
Transcripts can also be edited and improved with ease. An author is able to read transcript, spot weak points, better phrasing, add structure and develop waffling dialogue into a clean written document. Without transcribed text, this would not be possible as an iterative improvement.
Accessibility and Inclusiveness
Transcripts play important roles besides SEO with regards to accessibility. Without captions or a transcript, deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences would not be able to receive the audio content. Transcripts also allow the global audience to consume literature in their own language instead of having to decode the speech with accents. Such accessibility is ethically significant as well as strategically worthy, extending the reach of potential audiences.
Promoting Multiple Learning Styles
Individuals do not receive information in the same manner. Others like video, others can read faster than they can watch videos and some are the best learners where they can learn in more than one way at the same time. Transcripts suit every learning style, as the audience can access the content in their own style.
Conclusion
Modern content strategy has to rely on transcripts. They allow searching audio and video using the search engine, repurposing content on a large scale, address the aspect of accessibility, and cater to various learning styles. Producers who do not transcribe audio and video materials do not get all the SEO benefits and do not take advantage of content investments. Embarking on transcription as a new practice will turn pieces of content into versatile properties driving various content strategies.
