Here Comes the Money: YouTube Videos Coming to AdSense
According to early reports from the Associated Press and Variety, Google is set to make a major announcement tomorrow concerning YouTube integration with AdSense. Selected YouTube videos will be available to AdSense publishers and will appear wrapped in banner ads.
The AP offers auto websites selecting topical videos from YouTube about cars to run along with AdSense banner ads on their sites. If the report is correct, there's a whole lot of potential here. Though cynics have said that there's little hope for video outside YouTube, small video ad networks insist that there's a growing, thriving ecosystem of niche video sites just waiting for more and better content and ads.
Monetization of YouTube has always been the big question since Google Acquired the site. While other video hosting companies sought content first and then tried to build out their ad networks, it's only logical that the biggest online ad network in the world would fold the best content from the biggest video site in the world into its offerings. For more industry background see Liz Gannes's post at NewTeeVee.
Ads have been run along side a very select few user channels on the YouTube site for a handful of months but these reports indicate that the program will be made much wider and be taken off of the site all around the web. Google has run very limited video advertising already but nothing like what it could do with YouTube's huge catalog. The ads will be persistent banners outside the frame and fading in-frame overlays.
It's a simple story, but if it is true it is going to blow the world of online video and advertising wide open.
Update: Google has confirmed this: "AdSense isn't just for ads anymore; it's also a place to get video content for your site -- and earn extra revenue at the same time." There is an accompanying video:
2 TrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1682
FOLLOW RWW ON TWITTER
RECENT JOBS
Comments
Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts
I don't get what's so great about this. How many readers want to watch randomly selected youtube videos on some 3rd party website? If the videos were selected by the website owner and attached to specific articles like current youtube embeds, that might make sense, but I don't see much traction in this idea.
Posted by: Mike B | October 8, 2007 9:37 PM
visitors to topical nice websites will greatly appreciate finding the best of niche youtube videos there. this is a really smart idea, i think.
Posted by: Marshall Kirkpatrick | October 8, 2007 9:41 PM
I think the potential is great, if it's done right. Video does attract more people's attention, so it could be a "win-win" if done correctly. Meaning - if you are a tech site - you don't get the latest Britney Spears fiasco video. :)
Rex
Posted by: Rex Dixon | October 8, 2007 9:47 PM
We'll see. I think it would make sense if the ads were in front of embeded youtube videos specifically chosen by the websites, but if it the videos are just general topic oriented videos, I don't think this will be that big of a deal.
Posted by: Mike B | October 8, 2007 9:50 PM
One more curious thing about this concept... Is this the first time GOOGLE is paying two parties in an adsense transaction? They are paying the video content providers & the websites hosting the video. What will the breakdown be? 40/40/20?
Posted by: Mike B | October 8, 2007 9:56 PM
What's so great about it? You're kidding right?
From a video producer angle, wow, if you can become a YouTube partner, you can clean up. Imagine your videos syndicated to thousands and thousands of websites, while you get a cut from each ad.
From a website publisher angle. Well, you're going to have to test to see if those ads convert well for you. I have a feeling they will.
This is HUGE news for the world of online video and advertising.
http://www.jimkukral.com/syndicated-youtube-video-ads-means-big-bucks-for-video-publishers/
Posted by: Jim Kukral | October 8, 2007 10:31 PM
I definitely understand the appeal from a video producer perspective, it is the appeal to website readers/viewers and hence owners that I don't see taking off. If website owners can't select specific youtube content and attach it to related articles on their website, I don't see them driving many video views.
Posted by: Mike B | October 8, 2007 10:36 PM
youtubers, if you read this, please please PLEASE make it easy for publishers to import videos with ads into their site via RSS. eventually i feel that is definitely going to be a necessity, and is going to kick the mashup revolution into high gear.
Posted by: kid mercury | October 9, 2007 4:44 AM
be curious as to what the cut will be. producers/directors create content & youtube/google places... as resolution & casting quality improves it will be, as i see it, another way to make content searchable & findable, relevant, etc... i will bet it will actually strike some new relationships up soon. not to mention some possible exclusives if content IS GREAT.
also, i believe 3rd party host will be able to edit/choose content hosted... or are they just subscribing to a general feed that attaches to editorial/copy/blogs?
the only negative that i see is the ugly youtube logo on a well designed/high-end site... you guys need a simple symbol.
Posted by: snOball | October 9, 2007 9:37 AM
i think google needs to hire a couple video producers to make their vids. this is god awful and difficult to watch.
Posted by: nellonoma | October 9, 2007 10:48 AM
this isn't a good idea until the quality of the videos posted on youtube
improve.. Actually, I find myself spending less & less time there due to the lack of video quality. Some are so poor I don't get why people even waste the bandwidth required to post them..
Posted by: Lancelot9201 | October 9, 2007 1:33 PM
AT this stage its dependant on how well google matches the content of your page to a corresponding video. the better this match, the more profitable these video ads will be no doubt.
From what I gather, I'll be able to upload one of my videos to YT and use this as video content on my blog or site plus have advertising on it. for some sites this will be perfect for others, i wont want my visitors clicking away for a couple of cents.
pete
Posted by: Peter Drew | October 9, 2007 10:10 PM