Is adding video to my homepage a ranking signal

[Libra_Photographic]

Just had a lengthy chat with an SEO guy and one of the points bought up was that video on the homepage is a definite signal these days and the bots read the metas better than ever.

I'm not sure about this, I do think that videos are a thing that improves the user experience but to rank?

If it was to rank would I embed a YouTube video as its owned by Google, Vimeo for the quality or self-host but cause me to have a heavy page.

I'm a bit lost here and would appreciate some guidance.

[Roman-Delcarmen]

A video can help you to improve your bounce rate or your user experience or even your Conversion Rate but trust me, it will not boost your traffic, your rankings or your authority.

Google’s 200 Ranking Factors: The Complete List - Backlink.io
https://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors

2017 Local Search Ranking Factors - Moz
https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

The Periodic Table of SEO Success Factors - Search Engine Land
https://searchengineland.com/seotable

4 Most Important Ranking Factors, According to SEO Industry Studies - Search Engine Journal
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/4-important-ranking-factors-according-seo-industry-studies/184619/

Maybe if you make an outstanding video, which is very well optimized, like the Whiteboard Friday, but in that case, we would be talking about content strategy not just a simple video on your homepage.

[Libra_Photographic]

Thanks, That is a great response Roman,

I'll go through those links and study them.