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This is interesting and could potentially have implications for your 2021 content approach.
This week, Google has started testing a new short-form video result carousel for select queries, providing direct links to relevant video clips from TikTok and Instagram Reels.
The move aligns with the growing popularity of short-form video content, allowing Google to take advantage of that trend, while maintaining the relevance of its search results.
And there’s a key element in Google’s penchant for short clips.
As TechCrunch noted:
“Both Instagram and TikTok videos were available in the Short Videos row. When clicked, you are taken to the web version of the social platform, not the native mobile app, even if it is installed on your device. The bottom line is that Google is more likely to make users stay on Google, since all it takes is a tap on the back arrow to return to search results after watching the video. “
So Google is essentially looking to become a broader search engine for these short-form clips, showing you all the relevant results from both TikTok and Reels, while I would also expect you to add YouTube Shorts videos. If that list is dictated by content engagement – i.e. Video likes and comments – that could make Google a better search engine for short-form videos than any of the individual platforms could provide as it would be a full list of what is available on all platforms, instead of just one at a time.
Of course, that could change. Platforms could require Google to provide direct links to their apps instead, or they could work to limit the link to web versions of their clips. But the question would then boil down to exposure versus control. Is it more beneficial for platforms to increase the exposure of your content through relevant Google search results, or is it more important to get people to download your apps?
It seems like the latter would be the most ideal option, but again, getting your clips to appear in search results could also generate traffic. It may not be as clear as it sounds.
For content creators, this could become a major consideration, depending on where Google is going with this. Getting to Google’s homepage is still key to maximizing discovery, and if creating relevant short-form videos provides another way to do this, that could make it a valuable SEO consideration, depending on how and when Google seeks to display these. videos. carousels.
In the example above, the carousel is displayed in a search for ‘Packers’, which is not necessarily a rush search, but relates to trending content, with the NFL season currently in progress. If Google limits these results to trending topics only, it may not be of much value to non-hot brands, while I would also assume that Google would need to have a certain number of indexed videos for a chosen topic to be able to display the listing. .
That could limit your marketing potential, but if the option proves popular and Google is looking to expand it to more search queries, it could be valuable. That could provide more incentive for marketers to create, say, ‘how-to’ videos on TikTok in order to link to relevant searches, or seek to answer commonly searched queries in their niche through short clips.
Which, in turn, would make TikTok, Reels, and Shorts much more important considerations in your planning. If you weren’t considering TikTok clips before, that might change if Google expands this test.
It’s pretty limited for now and there’s not much to go on. But it may be worth keeping an eye out for in-app Google searches for your target and niche keywords. If you start to see the short video carousel appear, it might be worth your while to do more research and consider your planning.
