by Jace Vernon | Aug 5, 2013 | Creative Marketing, Video Marketing, video online marketing
Video Hosting Alternatives to YouTube
When it comes to video hosting sites, everyone is aware that YouTube takes the cake (ok, so your grandparents are still a little unaware). However, there are other options out there. Here is a list of 5 video hosting sites that will host your marketing video just as well, but still fall in line behind the infamous YouTube.
1. Vimeo
YouTube continually outranks Vimeo because you just can’t beat free. Though Vimeo does offer a free account, there are many restrictions. Their paid account offers several high-tech video editing and hosting options that even surpass YouTube standards.
2. Wistia
If you only have up to three videos, Wistia will host them for free and give you access to all the Wistia features – including their ‘heat map,’ which measures viewer engagement every second.
If you have more than a few videos, Wistia offers a couple different options: for $23/month you can host up to six videos and $79/month gets you unlimited video hosting along with 200GB bandwidth per month.
3. Dailymotion
Despite it’s restrictions – video length is limited to 2GB and 60 minutes and upload quality is limited to 1280*720p – this French video-sharing site is a great competitor to YouTube. Daily motion allows users to watch, upload, and browse videos via tags, channels or groups.
4. Veoh
Veoh is a solid, reliable video sharing site with an added bonus of zero size restrictions. Veoh accepts several different formats and once uploaded, your videos are easy to embed them on your website or blog. There is also an active community where you can connect with other users, rate videos, leave comments and participate in forums.
5. Flickr
It’s true, this popular photo site is not only for images. A free Flickr account allows up to two video uploads per month with
90 second max length and 150MB size restrictions. A paid account giets you unlimited videos, but the same length and size restrictions apply.
+Jessica Anderson
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 Jace Vernon | Jun 4, 2013 | video
Video SEO
Here at Ydraw we have been looking for new ways to boost our Video SEO. In an effort to make adjustments to fit the new Penguin 2.0 update Google rolled out, we were looking for ways to set ourselves apart as experts by using the most effective type of content. In the past, we have had success with videos landing in the top spot of Google within days of posting them, so we feel pretty confident that we know what we are doing. With that in mind, we decided to find some ways to leverage YouTube to boost our ranking in Google searches. The method below can be effective if your videos have great content in them. It is the key to shares, comments, and likes. As Google’s new update is beginning to reward those who are experts in each field, these social interactions have become even more important, maybe even essential, to boosting your SEO.
We love infographics so much here at Ydraw, we started creating our own. Check this one out and learn more about how you can boost your video SEO.
Wasn’t that informative? Didn’t you just learn so much new information? Now you have no excuse to not to be boosting your video SEO in a major way. We just gave away FREE marketing tips on how to create more leads, boost your SEO and MAKE MORE MONEY! What other company will do that for you? Not many, but here at Ydraw, we love you! So, if you have any questions, comments, or more tips to boosting your SEO, feel free to drop us a line. And, as always, thanks for reading.
Video Scribing Video Ydraw
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+Wesley Bledsoe
