The stage of search has already shifted to 'video'.

Search engines no longer just read text. Users prefer to watch and listen to content, and platforms have learned this behavior precisely. As a result, more and more video cards, short-form clips, and automated video summaries are appearing at the top of search results. In this trend, Video Engine Optimization (VEO) has become a prerequisite, not an option. Videos are no longer treated as marketing assets, but as "units of information" that search engines understand and recommend.

Market Needs: Why VEO is the Talk of the Day

Companies are already creating video content. The formats range from brand films, interviews, product introduction videos, and short-form clips. However, most videos remain limited to "content for social media." The problem is that they are rarely designed from a search perspective. Videos are uploaded, but the search intent they address or the questions they answer remain unclear.

In an environment where AI search and generative summarization are widespread, search engines no longer display entire web pages. Instead, they select the "most relevant piece of information." In this context, videos serve as a more powerful source of information than text. This is where VEO, a concept, emerged: a strategic optimization method that ensures videos are "discoverable, understood, and cited" by search engines.

Problem Statement: Why Traditional Video SEO Doesn't Work

Traditional video optimization was platform-centric. The focus was on how to use YouTube titles, descriptions, and tags. However, today's search environment is far more complex. Videos are exposed not only on YouTube, but also on Google Search, AI summary cards, social media searches, and voice search results.

The problem is that most videos are produced without regard to search intent. They often contain too many messages and lack a clear question-and-answer structure. Search engines have difficulty determining the context in which a video is useful. This leads to videos that exist, but fail to contribute to search results.

VEO Today: How Search Engines Interpret Videos

Today's VEO goes beyond simple metadata optimization. Search engines comprehensively interpret not only a video's title and description, but also automatically generated subtitles, screen transitions, visual context, and even user responses. With advances in voice recognition and scene analysis technology, videos have effectively become "readable content."

The video's structure is crucial in this process. The question posed at the beginning, the order in which information is presented, and whether specific sections serve as clear answers directly impact search visibility. This is why short, clear video clips are more likely to appear in search results.

Challenges from a technology, design, and security perspective

Successfully implementing VEO presents multiple challenges. Technically, subtitle accuracy and the application of structured data are crucial. Machines must be able to understand the topic and question the video addresses. Design-wise, visual information must be kept to a minimum while ensuring the core message is clear. From a security and trust perspective, especially for corporate videos, the source and context must be clearly identified to avoid distortion during AI summarization and recommendation.

The Future of VEO: Videos Becoming the Top Answer in Search Results

Search results will no longer be presented in a list of links. Instead, they will focus on immediate answers to questions, summary cards, and multimodal responses. Videos will be selected as "representative answers" rather than "reference materials." Search engines will select videos that provide the most easily understandable explanations for specific questions.

This shifts the direction of content strategy. Video is no longer a tool for generating views, but rather a product of information design that addresses search intent. Rather than being a separate strategy from text SEO, it should be integrated into content design based on search intent.

The Iropke Approach: Addressing VEO in the Content Design Phase

VEO isn't viewed as a post-video upload process. From the planning stage, we first define "what search intent does this video address?" Depending on whether the video is information-searching, comparative, or transactional, we design the video's length, structure, and message density differently.

Furthermore, it integrates text content, web page structure, and video assets into a single search experience, rather than separating them. This ensures that videos function not as standalone content but as trusted information nodes that search engines and AI can cite.