by Jace Vernon | Jul 29, 2013 | video, video hosting
YouTube vs. Other Video Hosting Sites // the Good and the Bad
When you think of online video hosting, the first site that comes to mind is YouTube – and this also applies to the 80% of Americans with internet access. If you have a whiteboard animated video for your business that you want the world to see, uploading it to YouTube should be your first move. However, what exactly are you getting into by letting YouTube host your video, and are there any other viable online video hosting options? Here’s a list of YouTube’s good and bad, followed next time by a list of several video hosting sites that deserve a second look:
The Good:
- Free! This is perhaps YouTube’s greatest quality – all you need are a username and password and you can upload as many videos as your little heart desires
- YouTube provides batch uploading and multiple encoding options
- Users can upload videos up to 15 minutes long and accepts file sizes up to 2GB
- YouTube has one of the largest viewerships on the internet and the largest audience of any video site
- YouTube is the second largest search engine, and because it’s owned by Google, all of its content is indexed into Google’s search engine
- YouTube has a social nature which makes it great for sharing across major social networks and embedding into websites alike
- Though limited, there are customization options for your video player and channel design
- There are several SEO features, and you can add a link to your website in the description section
- You can search for trending keywords and optimize your videos for them
- Resolution on Youtube can be up to 1080p or higher, which is generously high video quality for a free site
- Embedding your video is easy with customizable player dimensions. YouTube also allows embedding of entire playlists or channels
The Bad:
- During times of high traffic, viewers may experience inconsistent streaming which can lead to video abandonment
- Though there are customization options, they are limited to your programming knowledge
- YouTube limits your thumbnail choices to three random images
- Many companies and schools block internet users from browsing YouTube, restricting them from viewing your services
- If your video or its thumbnail image shows up in Google’s search results there’s no guarantee they will be for your own domain
- You can’t use your own ad network, and sometimes the advertisements featured on your video can be for a competitor – when it comes to ads, YouTube has the only say
- There is virtually no customer service – often questions or requests will not be answered or you will only receive non-specific generated answers
- Their user guidelines are arbitrary at best and difficult to dispute, and YouTube has the right to shut down your account at any time for any purpose
Though YouTube has its setbacks, it is still the #1 most recommended video hosting site. You just can’t beat free, even with several restrictions. However, if you’re on the search for the perfect video hosting site and YouTube doesn’t meet your requirements, check back for a list of the next top video hosting options.
+Jessica Anderson
by Ydraw | Jun 29, 2012 | video
Hosting Your Whiteboard Video
What is the best place to host your whiteboard video? Today, there are so many different options, so let’s take a look at a few of them. YouTube, Vimeo, Ydraw, Amazon S3, Brightcove and Vzarr and see what the best option is for you. At the end of the blog, I’ll tell you my opinion.
When deciding where to host your whiteboard video you need to ask specific questions:
What is your goal?
Do you want everyone to see it?
Is it a company video only?
Is it going to be private or public?
Once you have those questions answered, the rest falls into place quite easily. Here are some video outlet pros and cons, so you can develop your own opinion on what company you would like to host your video under.
1. YouTube
Pro: YouTube is great if you are looking to get a video out on the internet quickly. It is also easy to embed a YouTube video on your WordPress account. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, and has insane amounts of traffic. It is extremely hard for a video to go viral if it is not accessible through YouTube. Take a look at the “Dollar Shave Club Video”, his business started on YouTube, and amazingly enough, Ydraw’s first job came from a YouTube video!
It works!
Con: YouTube is owned by Google and you can bet they want as much traffic on their sites as possible. If you embed a Youtube video on your WordPress site you will often times drive traffic away from your site to YouTube.
2. Vimeo Pro
Pro: “Vimeo” is free but “Vimeo Pro” is not. Vimeo is a lot like YouTube, but it gives users an ability to customize the embedding on a video. You can put a logo on your video, change the colors, use auto-play settings, and view statistics. Vimeo also has a lot higher range of video quality than YouTube.
Con: Vimeo videos take a little bit longer to load than YouTube videos, but Vimeo has so much potential, and some great things should be expected from them over the next couple of years.
3. Amazon S3
Pro: Amazon S3 is for users who want to have more control over their videos. It is very cheap, and the load speeds are decent. If you are going to host many videos, this might be a great option.
Con: Amazon S3 is a little more complicated. I have tried Amazon S3 for Ydraw videos, but I felt like it was not worth it. I like my videos to be out on the market.
4. Brightcove and Vzaar
Pro: Brightcove and Vzaar are great places to host a video, and they have some great features. I have never used their services so I can not recommend them, but I have heard good things.
Con: They are not free.
5. Ydraw
Pro: If you decide you want a custom made video, you are more than welcome to use our platform. Ydraw will host your video. With Ydraw hosting you can get all types of customized features and stats. Ydraw offers an amazing video hosting platform that is perfect for marketing, sharing, and collaborating. We do a lot of testing to see how our videos are performing, and our system is awesome.
Con: It costs money.
Conclusion on Video Hosting
To become successful with online video initiatives, you will want to plaster the web with your videos. A video is created to be seen, so get it out there, and make it viral as soon as possible! Having videos on your website is just one step to improving your search rankings. You need to use all the free video hosting sites and then you will succeed when it comes to building search rankings for your site. Use Ydraw or another paid services for successful whiteboard video hosting.
+Jace Vernon