Many sites today are realizing that adding some video footage can really make an impact in their business. And with the tools available to us, creating videos can be as simple as hitting a “record” button on your computer, and you're done three minutes later.  Here are some of the top 5 reasons to add video to your site:

1. Connect with your consumers. Many people watching the video will feel as though they know you and better understand your business. And as they say, the reason people buy has a lot to do with the person they are buying from, so take the time to interview the leaders in your company and capture it on film.
   
   
2. Make your offer easier to understand. This is even more important for companies that have a complicated product/service they are trying to sell. Instead of putting too many words on your Web site in a way that would cause most to get bored and jump off the page, add a video and allow the visitor to sit back and relax while they learn more about what you are offering.
   
   
3. Get visitors to stay on your site longer. Bounce rates are measured by search engines to judge the level of interest your visitors have in what they see on your site. If a viewer jumps off your page immediately after it loads, it leads the search engine to believe that your site is not giving visitors what they need and will give your site a lower page rank score. Video can help visitors to become more engaged and stay on your pages longer, decreasing your bounce rate.
   
   
4. Improve your look. Adding video can make your website appear more attractive, allows you to show off the talent working at your company, and also demonstrates that you are more technologically advanced as a company.
   
   
5. Increase credibility. Anyone can hire a company to write verbiage for your Web site that will make your company sound great. However, having your executives interviewed on film, explaining their business in their own words, really helps to show visitors the passion your leadership has, and their knowledge, which will in turn improve your credibility with consumers.

This past week, MatchedMarketing added some video to three pages on our website to show our thoughts on Internet Marketing, Campaign Management and our MatchedMarketing Philosophy. The recording was done by a video professional and we filmed all our footage in about one hour. The editing took about 3-4 hours from there to create three clips we were proud of, and we were done! You can do the same.

We'll also share a bit of caution. We decided to load our videos on YouTube for the additional SEO benefit. However, many companies can not view YouTube on their network, so when our page loads, there is a large white space where the video should be located. This is something to keep in mind when selecting the placement of your video on the page and the format you choose to use. YouTube is free, searchable and easy-to-use, but it may not be the best option for your site.

If your company already has video on your site, tells us your results! Has it helped to improve your business? We love to hear from our readers, so please share your successes in the comment section below.