According to what I found in a few articles, those that are 5 mins or longer do better at showing up in google.  And, I will point out that many of the Moz and other SEO videos are at least this long.

But, there are 2 things to consider a) getting found on google and b) engagement/having people listen to the the end.

On the latter, in general, shorter may be better, but really it depends on the topic.  For things where people are googling for in depth info (e.g. maybe on your condo communities and some of my FAQ's), longer may be better.  For other things like general info about who we are/our community, shorter is probably better.

I think it depends how you are using the video...are you trying to get it to show up in search or to show to people on your website/social media where they already are.  On the latter, shorter is better.  On the former, I think it depends.

Wow...this is a 2 edged sword question. One must rank high on SEO for the video to present itself to the viewers, but on the other hand a 5 minute video will loose the message you are trying to convey. 

I always try to limit my video to 3 minutes. I have a short attention span and really don't have that much to talk about on any one subject at ONE TIME.

I am not sure that being better for SEO is the same as the best form of communications with prospects and clients. It is a challenge to get people to watch videos for more that a couple of minutes unless it is an outstanding presentation of a topic of great interest to the viewer. I like the answer provided by Debbie Gartner! 

Hi, Dagney...this is a great question. I'll be following to see the different answers, although it appears the longer videos are better. 

I would strongly consider doing 3-4 longer ones for high priority subjects and ones that you want to rank on for google.  One thing that Bob Stewart would do for his hour long webinars is do some short snippets that were 2-5 minutes and at the beginning, he would give you the option to choose which was better.

Also, you may want to read the post I wrote a day or two ago (I think on Sunday) with some tips I learned.

BTW, while I have several that are 5 mins (as that's what's needed for the q), I just did one last night for 2 1/2" minutes as that was what was needed for that question.  I think it depends and actually mixing things up might help.

I do not know about SEO but I like to watch 2 minute videos.

Dagny Eason People do not have a 5 minute attention span . If you can say it in 2 minutes do it

Hannah

Dagny,

Given that most people have a 10 seconds span of attention.  I would vote for the shorter version.  We don't advise our clients to focus on SEO (although their sites are SEO compatible) as much these days and kotow to the Google Gods.  

If you want to make more $$$ and be top of mind, the last thing you need to do is to worry about the Google gods, that is our opinion.  A

Dagny, I'm not sure about the SEO part, but I do know that there are very few 5 minute videos I'll watch to the end.  Maybe 1 out of a couple of hundred.

Clients don't watch 5 minutes of video.  I don't watch 5 minutes of video.  I'm going with two shorter ones.

I get good results with my short vids.

More views of video when they are shorter. No idea about SEO.

I think 2-minute videos are better. People do not have patience to watch for 5 minutes.

I think the 2-minute video will be better with the consumer - they will watch more so Google will like it even more.

We produce a weekly open homes preview video.  It is usually 3-4 mins long. If someone watches 10-15 seconds they are likely to watch until the end "credits"  We boost in Facebook for $15 Friday at 1 til Sunday at 1 just to our community.  We get into 1000-1500 feeds with about 4-8% views (50-100 views). Here is our Youtube channel though not all views show up here for some reason, facebook fills in the rest of the picture.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCExMYvFJrXXd0p9J1geZrRg

Adam

Shorter videos are better, break them down into segments and use similare keywords in each video. 

Short and sweet. Five minutes is not very useful to me. I do believe that Google is thinking the same things lately. Remember that with Google, nothing stays the same. I say go for what is logical, and optimized properly and you should be fine. If you have that many videos Dagney I don't think they are worth changing. New videos are a plus.

My rule of thumb...if my lack of attention span wouldn't watch it, I assume neither will most people .. LOL

Thanks for that info... I just got a Go-Pro for this....