In 2017, video marketing was exploding. YouTube had become the second largest search engine in the world, and businesses everywhere were asking whether embedding YouTube videos on their websites would help them rank higher on Google. The debate was lively: some marketers claimed embedded videos were an SEO shortcut, while others warned that sending traffic to YouTube could hurt a site. Looking back at the question from today's perspective reveals both what was true in 2017 and what remains relevant for anyone using video to improve search visibility.
How AAMAX.CO Uses Video to Strengthen SEO Strategies
Getting real value from video requires more than simply pasting an embed code onto a page. AAMAX.CO is a full-service digital marketing company offering web development, digital marketing, and SEO services worldwide. They help businesses plan video content around keyword opportunities, optimize YouTube channels and video metadata, and integrate videos into web pages in ways that improve engagement without slowing load times. Through their SEO services, they implement video schema markup, transcripts, and supporting content so videos contribute to stronger rankings and richer search results.
What Embedding a YouTube Video Did for SEO in 2017
In 2017, embedding a YouTube video did not provide a direct ranking boost simply because a video was present. Google did not reward pages for the mere existence of an iframe. However, embedded videos often improved user engagement signals. Visitors who watched a video stayed on a page longer and were less likely to bounce back to the search results quickly. Many SEO professionals at the time observed that pages with relevant, high-quality videos tended to perform better, largely because they provided a richer and more satisfying experience.
The Dwell Time Debate
Much of the 2017 conversation centered around dwell time, the length of time a searcher spends on a page before returning to the results. Marketers theorized that longer dwell time signaled content quality. While Google never confirmed dwell time as an explicit ranking factor, it was widely accepted that content which genuinely satisfied users tended to rank well. Videos were seen as a powerful way to hold attention and answer questions in a format many people preferred.
Video Results in Google Search
By 2017, Google was frequently displaying video carousels and thumbnails within search results, especially for how-to, tutorial, and review queries. Most of these results came from YouTube. Businesses that published optimized videos on YouTube had a chance to occupy additional real estate on the results page. Embedding those same videos on a website helped connect the YouTube presence with the website, reinforcing topical relevance across both properties.
The Risks Marketers Worried About
Some SEO experts in 2017 warned that embedding YouTube videos could have drawbacks. Because the video was hosted on YouTube, the video itself would usually rank on YouTube rather than on the business website. Some viewers might click through to YouTube and leave the site. Embeds could also slow down page loading if not implemented carefully, and page speed was becoming an increasingly important factor, particularly with Google's mobile-first priorities emerging at the time.
Best Practices That Worked in 2017
- Embedding videos that were directly relevant to the page topic, not just added for decoration.
- Writing supporting text around the video so the page still had substantial crawlable content.
- Including transcripts to make spoken content readable by search engines.
- Optimizing YouTube titles, descriptions, and tags with relevant keywords.
- Using video schema markup to help Google understand the video content.
- Placing the video prominently on the page so visitors noticed and engaged with it.
What Has Changed Since 2017
Many of the principles from 2017 still hold, but the landscape has evolved. Google now uses Core Web Vitals to measure page experience, making lazy-loading video embeds essential to avoid slowing down pages. Google has introduced key moments in videos, allowing searchers to jump to specific segments directly from results. Short-form video has surged, and AI-powered search features increasingly reference video content. Video indexing reports in Search Console now help site owners see which pages Google recognizes as having a primary video.
Google has also become stricter about which pages are considered video pages. A video is more likely to appear in video results when it is the main focus of a page rather than a minor element among a lot of other content. This means businesses that want video visibility should consider dedicated video landing pages.
Should Businesses Embed YouTube Videos Today?
Yes, when done thoughtfully. Embedding YouTube videos remains a smart way to enhance content, answer questions visually, increase engagement, and build presence on both Google and YouTube. The key is to embed videos that add genuine value, support them with strong written content, optimize the technical implementation for speed, and use structured data. For businesses investing heavily in video, combining YouTube hosting for reach with dedicated optimized pages on their own site offers the best of both worlds.
Conclusion
In 2017, embedding YouTube videos did not directly increase rankings, but it often improved engagement and helped businesses appear in growing video search features. Those benefits remain relevant today, alongside newer considerations like page speed, video indexing, and AI-driven search. Video is not an SEO shortcut, but used strategically, it remains one of the most effective ways to make content more helpful, memorable, and visible.
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