Yesterday, YouTube announced that it was offering the ability to run Pay Per Click campaigns on its site in the form of Sponsored Videos.
With YouTube’s new status as the second largest search provider in the world (yes, YouTube gets more search queries than Yahoo or MSN!), this announcement is a smart move to introduce a formula that has worked extremely well for Google.
So, how does it benefit a Web 2.0 company that’s looking to get targeted traffic to their product? Very simple - bid on keywords that are relevant to your business and upload a video promoting your website (I recommend a flashy product demo). Where in the past, it would have been difficult to get your video to rise to the top, YouTube PPC is a great way to get eyeballs on your video (and visitors to your site). And at really low CPCs, since there is very little competition on YouTube (although that is expected to change over time).
The L.A Times reported that Fox Searchlight Pictures used Sponsored Videos to promote the release of “Choke”, driving close to 2 million views to the movie trailer over 6 weeks. Try doing that through any other type of Internet Marketing!
For startups looking for traffic, I recommend that you get into YouTube PPC early and it should pay rich dividends over time.
Further details can be found at YouTube Sponsored Videos. I took a test drive last night and found the interface extremely simple and intuitive (and definitely easier than Adwords). If you have a demo video ready, you should be able to setup a campaign within 5 minutes and start seeing visitors to your website.
Popularity: 18% [?]
August 21st, 2009 at 9:39 am
As hinted at in this article the strength of a PPC campaign that is coupled with product demos is potentially much more powerful for innovative products and new market entrants