Fun wth Google Video

In previous posts, I showed you how to grab code from Google Video and plant streaming video programs on any page of your site you want.

It literally couldn’t be easier. If you don’t already know how to do this, go to http://www.systemvideoblog.com/2006/06/how_i_made_food.html for details

Now, for the real fun: putting your own videos on Google Video.

First, why would you want to do this?

As someone who has invested well over $15,000 in developing proprietary Internet video hosting and management systems, I’ve learned to appreciate simplicity and economy. I love the “whiz bang” system I created (and am continuing to improve) but I’m learning to love Google Video and even YouTube which I normally like to poke fun at.

Bottom line:

1. It’s easy to upload video to Google Video
2. Google will host and stream your video for free (and they do a good job at it)
3. Milions of people search Google Video every day so if you cover a
subject they’re looking for and you’re ranked high on the search
engine, you’ll be found – and watched
4. Google provides stats so you can track how many people are looking at and downloading your video
5. Google provides a text box to the right of the video that lets you ad sales copy and a live link to any site you chose.

I recently posted a video – just for fun on a hobby interest of mine – and I’m close to 10,000 views already. No it’s not porno!

It’s fun to know thousands of people all over the world are watching your video.

I’ll be talking about how to get traffic to your Google Videos in later posts, but for now let’s cover some basic basics.

Lesson #1:  First of all – and I made this mistake twice before I figured it out – open your OWN Google Video account and make sure whether you upload your video yourself or someone does it for you, have it uploaded to YOUR account.

Not doing this is a litle like letting someone register your domain name in their name.  If the person is ethical, you won’t have a problem. If they’re not, well, to put it simply, you’re screwed.

Here’s why… if the video is not uploaded to YOUR account:

a. You can’t see the stats
b. You can’t change what’s in the text box
c. The traffic the video generates – which as you see can be significant pretty quickly – is not under your control.

Worst of all, once made, you can’t fix the mistake. A domain name can be transfered. A Google Video cannot. So if you’ve achieved a high position (I’m #1 again for the moment at least for the keyword “marketing”) it can all be taken away from you with the click of  a button.

So repeat after me: “When I upload a video to Google I will make sure it is uploaded to my account and no one else’s.”

On the other hand, if you’re a vendor and you want to have your clients by the short hairs… but I don’t recommend that.

Lesson #2: Disable the “comments” and the “add a label” function

This may seem terribly undemocratic, but remember this is not your blog and it’s not a community.

Google Video is a space open to any twit who can type and approximate the English language. I very, very rarely see comments that are worthwhile, but I often see junk comments that would be considered substandard even on a bathroom wall. Huge risk. No reward. Don’t let random people make comments about your video.

As for the “add a label” function, it’s up to you to make sure all the keywords you want to go for are in your description of the video. Again, if you leave it up to the Internet Twit Nation (ITN), you’re going to get some ugly surprises.  Also, the more words that are added to the “add a label” function, the less room there is for your ad copy. Enough said.

Lesson #3:  Send friendly folks to your video first to star it

Hopefully you have a list of people who like you.  Hopefully, it’s longer rather than shorter. Send them to the video first so they can give you high (hopefully five) star ratings.

You can disable the star rating system if you want, but it looks cool and if you get your guys there first, you’ll have a nice four and half to five star rating that’s hard fort the ITN (Internet Twit Nation) to dilute. And yes, there are folks who like to give videos a one star rating (the lowest) just for the thrill of seeing your average brought down.

Lesson #4. Good title/relevant URL under the stars

There are three lines of copy underneath the stars.

Line one is your video’s title. Make it a good one and think it through because you’re stuck with it once it’s uploaded.

Line two is the video’s length. That’s out of your hands. Google stamps it automatically. Try to avoid 6:66 (just kidding)

The third line is for your URL.

Lesson #5: Copywriting time

If you’ve followed my sage advice and disabled the “add a label function” you have about 80 words that appear above-the-fold. Use them wisely.

Remember, if you can get someone to read the first 50 words, you’ve got a good shot at getting them to read the next 500, but in this format they can only see the first 80 so they better tell the whole story. You actually can (and should)  use the entire 1,200 word space they give you, but keep in mind only the first 80 words will be visible without scrolling.

Good news: While you can’t change your title, you can change your copy as much as you like.

Lesson #6:  Random fine points

* Make sure every keyword and phrase you want to be found for is in your video description. Google also allows you to upload the transcript for your video – word for word. Do it. The more copy the merrier.

* Repeat the link you want viewers to visit in the first 80 or so words of your ad copy, above-the-fold so its visiable.

* End your video with your web address. Or a phone number or both. The last frame of a video on Google hangs there like a graphic. Use it.  This way you can have your URL in three places: a) on the screen at the end of the video, b) on the second line of the three lines under the stars and c) in the first 80 words that appear above-the-fold in your video description.

Lesson #7:  Building traffic

If you followed my successful ICANN letter campaign, you can probably guess some of the strategy I’m going to recommend.  I’ll explain my video strategy in much more detail in future posts, but here’s the essence for folks who are quick studies:

Video lets you double dip.

Not only can your video get high ratings on sites like Digg if the community likes it, you can do a “bank shot” and use the very same traffic to get high ratings on Google Video.

Why does this matter?  High traffic on Google Video could put you on Google Video’s  “up and comers” list or even on its “most popular” list. Videos that make it to the top ten of these lists appear right on Google Video’s home page, a lovely piece of real estate which will buy you a lot of free – though not necessarily high quality – traffic.

And that’s just Google Video. In some ways, YouTube is even more amazing, but that’s for another day.

I like to use Google Video for the image it projects – it’s nice to be associated with the most powerful media company on the planet – but YouTube has humongous traffic and you might as well use them too.

P.S. Do you want to be notified when new articles like this one are posted to the blog?

It’s easy. Just go to this page and we’ll add your name to our bulletin list:

http://www.internetvideomarketingletter.com/

– Ken McCarthy

P.S. For over 25 years I’ve been sharing the simple but powerful things that matter in business with my clients.

If you’d like direction for your business that will work today, tomorrow and twenty years from now, visit us at the System Club.

AOL Video reviewed
We did it! - Winning the ICANN campaign

17 Responses to Fun wth Google Video

  1. Dan Kelly September 1, 2006 at 12:54 pm #

    Hey Ken,
    Awesome article, as always!
    Useing the tips in this post, people could actually build an online business.
    All of your tips are great, but I think people should pay close attention to “Lesson #5: Copywriting time” and “Lesson #6: Random fine points”.
    EXCELLENT STUFF!
    To YOUR Success,
    Dan Kelly
    http://www.MiniSiteSecretsRevealed.com

  2. Ed Oz September 1, 2006 at 12:56 pm #

    Thanks a million Ken. It is all great advice and I can imagine that many marketers online will rewrite it – make a 20 page sales letter – and sell it for $97 for a limited time only 🙂
    I was very sceptical of the whole video thing but my own behavior online has dissolved my attitude. Last night I realized I had spent close to 2 hours on youtube and google video. That told me all I needed to know. You are right on the money with your predictions.
    If you follow up on this post – where is a good place to learn the nuts and bolts (good inexpensive camera – how to get the video on to your computer and edited – that sort of stuff). Some of us are starting from point zero.
    Have a great holiday and thanks again for the quality info once again.

  3. Dr. Max Vogt September 1, 2006 at 12:56 pm #

    Hey Ken
    As I’ve seen you do so many times in the past, you are giving away more information and coaching here than so many folks try to sell for hundreds of dollars (or even as I saw recently, $7,500! For this same information!).
    Thanks again,
    Dr. Max

  4. Ken McCarthy September 1, 2006 at 1:01 pm #

    Ed,
    “Last night I realized I had spent close to 2 hours on youtube and google video.”
    Yup. The bug bit me too! And I have a feeling we’re not alone 🙂
    Ken

  5. Frank Rodriguez September 1, 2006 at 1:03 pm #

    Hi Ken,
    The timing of your post is perfect. I just uploaded a video tutorial to Google Video “How to put video on your blog” and am already #1 for that search term.
    The pixelation of the full-size Google video leaves a lot to be desired (YouTube has just as much pixelation), but it looks much better at 400 pixels wide on my blog. I love the option of writing my blog entry from Google Video and posting it along with my video.
    I recently installed an invisible site counter on my blog. This has allowed me to see the searches people are doing to find my blog. I’ve been very surprised to see how highly I’m ranking in a variety of searches related to photography, especially since I just got started 2 months ago. Not only am I ranking very highly, but I’ve seen several examples that show Google is spidering my blog immediately after I post. Very exciting!
    Best regards,
    Frank Rodriguez
    http://www.organicphoto.com
    p.s. I really enjoy the System Seminar video you produced with the footage we made together!

  6. Ken McCarthy September 1, 2006 at 1:28 pm #

    Thanks Frank.
    The cameraman we hired for System 2006 came down with appendicitis just a few days before the conference. Frank stepped in on very short notice and shot great material for us.

  7. Tee September 1, 2006 at 2:02 pm #

    This is a special request. Would you please see what you can do with sitepal.com. I love the virtual characters and the many ways you can change their appearances. I made mine old folks selling my own offline product. Maybe they can be embedded in videos as well. You can download your own voice to make them speak – synchronizing their movements with your words or you can even type in speech and the characters will speak those words. Problem: Not enough flexibility and the speaking – lips and eyes – are not always coordinated. Check it out. It can be a real great fun tool. The accents are not always appropriate for the presentation. THESE ALSO CAN BE USED SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGES. Check out my site: http://www.affordable-energy-efficient-buildings.blogspot.com Tee Davis

  8. Ken McCarthy September 1, 2006 at 2:22 pm #

    Not much chance of me doing doing research on this. I recommend contacting the company, searching for relevant discussion boards, etc.
    Good luck.
    Can anyone add anything to my tutorial? I’m sure I didn’t get it all.

  9. Adriel Brunson September 1, 2006 at 3:37 pm #

    If you have more than one video to upload, or if your video is over 100 MB, you’ll want to use the desktop uploader rather than the web browser. They have Win, Mac and Linux versions.
    After the upload, you’ll still need to login and click the “Add” button for each video. And your video must still be processed.
    If you only have one video, the web upload is fast and easy.
    Also, I recommend checking out Google’s technical specifications page – http://video.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=26562
    They provide info for technical and quality guidelines.
    It would be great if they accepted Flash video so we could tweak the settings on a converter for best performance.
    The best approach for now would be to play around with a couple of formats and see what looks best to you after their conversion.
    You can always delete unwanted files.
    As always, you’ve delivered great information. Thanks!
    -a-

  10. Ed Anderson September 1, 2006 at 3:46 pm #

    Great job, Ken.
    Posted on google video and go a high rating. Check out video.google and search for crepes or pancakes.
    Ed Anderson

  11. Ken McCarthy September 1, 2006 at 6:27 pm #

    Thanks “a”
    Google has another resource page for Google Video.
    (It is just me or is this thing well hidden? It took be forever to find it.)
    Addresses a lot of the bread and butter issues:
    http://video.google.com/support

  12. PJ Powers September 1, 2006 at 6:48 pm #

    Like it or not videos online are here to stay, and since…
    The 2 last generations are trained to stop, watch and listen when they see videos we (us marketers) better learn to make the most of this automatic response trigger if we want to profit!

  13. Jonathan September 1, 2006 at 8:21 pm #

    Ken
    Will you be putting a brief course out on Internet Marketing using Google video? I will be your first affiliate matey.
    Why?
    Because you have this thing NAILED!
    Jonathan
    http://viralalchemy.com
    “The secret of how I got a million hits in 27 days and how the secret can do this for YOUR website too.”

  14. Frank Felker September 2, 2006 at 8:59 am #

    Ken,
    When you first started blogging about video on the Internet I thought you were a little over the top. I’ve been producing video since the early 80’s and been posting it online for years. My thought when reading your emails and postings was – “So what?”
    Now I know the answer – and I appreciate you making it abundantly clear even for know-it-alls like myself. The difference is our point on the technology adoption curve and all the free, searchable channels through which people can find and view your stuff.
    Add to that the features you describe in this posting and you’ve got a storytelling and marketing medium such as the world has never seen before. I’m glad I kept reading your emails!
    Keep up the good work, Frank Felker
    http://www.RadioFreeEnterprise.com

  15. Adriel Brunson September 2, 2006 at 10:01 pm #

    Just caught the email and post on digg.com.
    Dugg it, linked to it, cool.
    Hope it gets lots of diggs…
    -a-

  16. Brian Lord September 7, 2006 at 9:01 am #

    Hey Ken,
    Great info once again. Thank you. You’ve saved me so much time experimenting.
    Sincerely
    Brian

  17. Michael Koenigs September 22, 2006 at 12:26 am #

    Great job, Ken, on the information you’re sharing. It’s great to see an accomplished pro increase the level of awareness and power Internet video can provide to the online community.
    What we’ve found in all of our tests and our customers have experienced as well is a consistent 200%-300% increase in leads and sales when they put “Internet Infomercials” on their web sites.
    Another independent 3rd party, Marketing Experiments, is finding the combination of well-produced video commercials combined with a viral component is one of the most cost-effective ways to sell online.
    And lastly, your thoughts on Google Video are spot-on. One of our customers put a video online and currently has a #1 position on Google (not Google Video) for the keyword phrase “san diego trial lawyer” (see for yourself!).
    Keep up the good work and keep sharing the good news.
    Best,
    Mike