There is a tool for everything, including a tool for extracting text from video and reaping the benefits of it. Need a transcript of that YouTube video or a way to improve your video search SEO? Check out Speakertext.  Speakertext recognizes that, while multi-media draws people to the Web, the Web was designed with text in mind. When we search, we can only access the text associated with that media. Fine for tags and descriptions, but not so good for the actual content of a video presentation. Speakertext converts that video into easily-searched text-based content, all gussied up for the search engines. To add to the fun, when you convert a video to Speakertext and quote a portion of that text, the embeddable link will then bring you right back to the place in the video where the text occurred. From the searcher’s standpoint, Speakertext is a real boon as it will allow you to find the precise place in a video where your desired information may reside. Clicking back and forth between text and video creates more links, more hits and greater visibility. And, Speakertext allows you to “watch” videos without sound – with scrolling text running alongside the images for those times when reading is better than listening. They have a lot to offer for the video-heavy content publisher:

Video-to-Text

SpeakerText combines artificial and human intelligence to offer low-cost, high-quality video transcription. Once you connect SpeakerText to a video hosting platform––we currently support Brightcove, YouTube and Blip.tv––SpeakerText automatically downloads your videos, turns them into text and loads the text onto your website.

Video Metadata
and XML Sitemaps

SpeakerText analyzes each video transcript to create descriptive metadata. These meta-tags are placed on your website and used to create XML sitemaps so that your videos are indexed by video-specific search engines.

Automatic Updating

SpeakerText automatically updates the text on your webpage and loads it into the SpeakerBar as soon as the transcript is ready.

The SpeakerBar

Once a video has been transcribed, SpeakerText loads an interactive transcript player beneath each video. Dubbed the SpeakerBar, this player allows visitors to use the text as an interactive controller for the video. Visitors can use the SpeakerBar to search and navigate within the video as well as share video quotes on Facebook and Twitter that link back to the video.

Transcript Hosting

SpeakerText stores your video transcripts in the cloud using the über reliable Amazon Web Services where they can be accessed server-side via API, ready-made scripts or our nifty WordPress plugin. This text is indexed by Google and other search engines for SEO.

Good for Speakertext, offering a free service to get someone started. There are relatively reasonable per month plans that add features and scope. Check out their pricing here. Right now, it works with at least YouTube, Blip.TV and Brightcove. I can think of all sorts of uses for this tool – particularly if you are someone who embeds or creates a lot of video content to support your on-line marketing efforts. If you don’t, Speakertext might convince you that it could be well worth your effort to add this dimension to your arsenal. Cool tool!