Video has moved from a supporting role to a central position in how people find and understand information online, and search engines have quietly adjusted to that shift. When time is tight and attention is fragmented, short videos offer a quicker path to clarity than long blocks of text, which explains why search results increasingly reward pages that use them well.
From a performance standpoint, the impact is difficult to ignore. Search results that include video links drive around a 157% increase in organic traffic, while landing pages with embedded video are roughly 53% more likely to appear on a results page.
How video proves user intent
The gains do not happen in isolation. Longer watch times, lower bounce rates, and clearer intent signals tell search engines that visitors are finding what they need, which feeds directly into rankings. Pair that engagement with a solid off page SEO strategy, and the visibility gap between competitors widens fast.
Learning style also plays a role. Visual and auditory users absorb demonstrations and walkthroughs more easily through video, especially for instructional or "how-to" topics. That clarity reduces confusion, keeps people on the page, and strengthens trust in the source. Meanwhile, video analytics make optimisation less guesswork-driven, since watch time, drop-off points, and completion rates show exactly where attention holds or fades.
Video reach within an off page SEO strategy
Sharing adds another layer. Videos travel easily across social platforms, email, and YouTube, sending referral traffic back to websites and reinforcing an off page SEO strategy built on authority and reach. Search engines surface this content prominently, often through featured snippets, when schema markup helps explain context.
Local businesses see added value when video supports location-based searches, while broader SEO benefits come from aligning on-page structure with an off page SEO strategy that includes backlinks and social signals. Put together, video becomes more than content; it turns into a measurable, scalable extension of an off page SEO strategy that matches how people search today.
