Monday, February 18, 2008

The use of video for Internet marketing strategies is predicted to become to a $3 billion dollar industry by the year 2010 by eMarketer Report. What an incredible figure, considering it has only really exploded in the last few years. Why are investors, businesses, and marketing/advertisement firms so excited about video? The answer lies in the numbers. The mass of viewers is so great, that anyone seeking to promote products or brands would be silly not to consider such a huge portion of the population. According to a market trends expert named Brian Haven, 53% of all adults using a broadband connection state that they watch videos online. Considering the current viewing audience and realizing the potential of online videos, it would be would silly not to invest in such a cost effective, wide reaching medium.

An enormous number of videos are produced and posted to the Internet every day by amateurs and professionals alike. From funny happenings to how to videos, there is an amazing surge of content, and it is inspired by the fact that anyone can be heard. Literally, anyone who makes a video and posts it on Youtube, Google Video, metacafe, or something similar, has the opportunity to be viewed by thousands, if not millions of viewers. It is a fantastic opportunity and an excellent way for businesses to make themselves known. This is without even considering the impact video can have on search engine rankings.

Like any content, video can also be utilized as a form of “link bait,” meaning it is valuable material that other websites, blogs, or forums might want to link to. If the video is posted to a video sharing website and optimized correctly, those links in turn bring recognition to the keywords and links associated with that video, which should all be pointing back to the creator. This practice is extremely new, and the results vary somewhat due to the current limitations in search engine indexing, but it may prove to be the most effective strategy. For now, the sure fire way to make sure videos bait to a particular website is by posting directly on that website. While also gaining viewers by submitting to Youtube and others, the object of posting directly to a website is to drive traffic directly to that site. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as a strategic social bookmarking campaign.

There is a video revolution on the move, and those who join will certainly surpass the competition. Not only can videos produce brand or product recognition, they can increase a website’s authority in the search engines and bring in great, relevant traffic. So why not start kicking around a few ideas?

About the Author: Peter Hamilton is the Project Manager in charge of the Seattle office of ArteWorks SEO. He has a Bachelor's degree in radio, television and film and extensive experience in social media marketing. Mr. Hamilton also heads up the ArteWorks SEO educational video series on topics related to Internet marketing and search engine optimization. If you would like to view the free educational SEO video series, please visit www.arteworks.biz.