There are many different types of bloggers on the Internet today. Some use traditional copy and focus on a specific niche, such as parenting, finance, food, or any other subject matter. Then there are those bloggers that stray away from traditional copy and instead use video, audio, images or any form or multimedia to attract, entertain and inform their readers.
Multimedia blogging requires different tactics than traditional blogging, and it’s something that every multimedia blogger needs to know and encompass. If you are currently a multimedia blogger, the following are three things you’re probably doing wrong.
1. You’re not adding descriptions to your multimedia.
It’s very important that you add descriptions to your multimedia. On the backend of your files, you can add alt tags, descriptions, meta tags and various other descriptive text, and it’s important that you do so. These descriptions serve two very important purposes.
First, search engines cannot crawl through your images, audio files or videos, so these items are not helping your overall SEO strategy…unless you have descriptions. The search engines can in fact search through the backend of your multimedia files, and any content you provide will be used to help the search engines rank your site appropriately. Now, although you have multimedia files on your blog, your blog will still be able to be ranked by the search engines, which will increase your visibility.
Second, adding descriptions to your multimedia will make your blog more accessible. Sometimes your users will not be able to view your files, or sometimes they may have a disability that doesn’t allow them to see or hear what your multimedia is portraying. When you use descriptions, your audience will still learn exactly what is in the multimedia file due to the copy. They’ll either be able to decide if they want to download the files, or their reading programs could read the descriptions aloud so they don’t miss any important information from your blog.
2. You’re not providing credit where credit is due.
If the multimedia on your blog comes from someone else, whether all the time or only on a part-time basis, you need to be sure to credit the original owner. If you are pulling images from someone else’s website, you need to make sure you give that website a photo credit. If you’re using an image from another artist, you need to make sure that artist receives a photo credit.
If you use someone else’s multimedia files without giving them credit, then you could find yourself in legal trouble. Some people will simply become angry if you steal their files, and some will actually take the matters to the courts. In order to establish an honest blogging career, then you’ll want to provide credits for anything you place on your blog that doesn’t belong to you.
Along with credit, you should also provide backlinks to the original owner’s website. Not only will this thank them by providing them with traffic, but it will also help your own SEO efforts as well.
3. You’re not providing transcriptions.
If you have videos or audio files on your website, it’s very important you add transcriptions of these files to your blog. Search engines cannot crawl through these files, so the content being used in your audio or video files will not help your SEO. Plus, if you have users that are visually or hearing impaired, audio and video files without transcriptions will not make your site accessible.
If you have a professional transcriptionist transcribe your audio and video files, you can place that content into your blog. Now, search engines will be able to crawl through the content in search of keywords to help rank your site, which will help boost your visibility.
If a hearing impaired individual comes to your site, the transcriptions will allow them to read through what’s being said in the audio or video file, making your site more accessible. If a visually impaired individual comes to your site, the transcription can be read aloud using their reading program, which enables them to understand the information provided through your site. If you don’t have transcriptions on your blog, you’re missing out on plenty of advantages.
Featured images:
Image Source
License: Royalty Free or iStock
source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelicious717/421692747/
Dylan Anderson is a professiona blogger who writes and shares articles to help new bloggers learn to blog the right and considerate way
