Video Transcripts

[SEMPassion]

Is there a way to attach a transcript to a video so that it is searchable without cluttering up the page with the full text?  Occasionally you have a video where visitors are entertained and don't need or want a transcript, but it would still be useful to have it indexed as it is an accurate representation of the video.

[EGOL]

Just something to think about...   A lot of people think that the transcript is useless and stinks up their webpage.  However, a lot of visitors will read the transcript instead of watching the video.  Not everyone wants the sound of a video - such as people at work who are visiting your site.  Some people simply prefer reading because they can read a lot faster than the video.

Also, a lot of people like me will watch the video and then want to carefully read the important parts, slowly, two or three times to be sure that they understand.

Furthermore, a transcript makes your video useful to people who can not hear... or people who want it translated.

Everyone on this planet thinks differently.  Transcripts are very very useful.  Although I often use videos from YouTube or other websites without transcripts,   I would not think of publishing a video of my own without the transcript clearly available to the visitor.

[copykatrecipes]

Doesn't youtube transcribe videos for you when you upload them?  I think this would be great for SEO.

[lhc67]

I agree with EGOL. Look at the SEOMOZ video transcripts. Lots of times I'll just read through the transcript so I can get to the "nugget" of info really fast. We've been in the habit of doing video transcripts and lots of times those pages will outrank lots of other pages. How about just adding a link - "Read the Video Transcript" and going to a new page? Simple but effective.

FYI - you can use up to 5,000 characters in the YouTube description. Use all of it!

Good luck!

LHC