While having a well ranked video on YouTube is certainly not the equivalent of having a top ranked page for your best keyword in Google, it is comparatively much easier to use and can produce very productive results much quicker.YouTube has become an important part of online web marketing these days. Many online marketers have not even scratched the surface as it relates to capturing exposure and capitalizing on the marketing power of YouTube.
One of the keys to understanding and using YouTube effectively is to understand the search parameters that are available for sorting and organizing YouTube searches. These can be found by selecting Advance Search in the search bar.
The search parameters are important because the search results are presented in a manner that can be extremely helpful to the online marketer. By default, the search parameters are typically sorted by "Relevance", however there are several different ways that you can sort search results.
Here are just a few:
Relevance: Returns your search results sorted by relevance to your search term. This is helpful whenever you want to make general searches for topics specifically of interest to you. This is also helpful for developing "long tail" key words associated with a specific topic. As many marketers know, long tail keywords present unique opportunities for finding new marketing opportunities.
Statistics & Data: This feature allows you to see statistics & data about your search term. This sort feature can be especially useful when sorting YouTube search results. These groupings tend to attract people that are quite passionate about specific subject matter. If your marketing efforts are aimed at specific target markets. This is a great way to identify people that are interested in your market. URL's are also noted.
This is also a great way to find herds of people that are interested in your market. Most marketers try to find web traffic opportunities and "lure" the traffic to their web portals. Using "statistical" search parameters on YouTube, you can find the market and go stand "smack dab", right in the middle of it. Find groups that are of interest you and engage them in conversation.
Date Added: This feature allows you to find playlists or videos organized by the date they were added. This sort function is great for finding "clusters" of current videos on common topics. This can be a very good source of finding videos for video branding , particularly if you need current and relevant content.
View Count: This sort allows you to sort videos base on videos that have been viewed the most. This is another hidden jewel within the YouTube "search option" feature. When sorting your search by "view count", you'll be conveniently provided with information that tells you which videos were viewed the most. In some cases, tracing the source of the video back to it's original home can provide you with great ideas for advertising and promotional targets, not to mention traffic data for that specific URL.
Here's how it works. Search on your topic, find a very popular video and see if you can trace it back to the originating web site. If the video is "really" popular, there's a good chance that others have done exactly what you just did. Contact the web site or blog owner and negotiate the placement of a well targeted ad or banner, optimized for that specific URL or web site. Find the traffic and stand in front of it!
Rating: Sort by stars ratings. This is a good sort parameter as well. Although not as useful as some of the other sort methods, it does give you an idea of how popular a particular video has been. Use this as a factor, when considering popularity that could possibly lead to greater gatherings of like minds.
Refine by Category: This is pretty self-explanatory, you can search by a specific topic and narrow your focus to specific markets. This is a great "drill down" tool to get to video sources that are quite targeted to a specific demographic. Depending upon your goals, refining a category for specific criteria can be quite fruitful.
Although most people think of YouTube as a directory of videos, it may be a good idea to look a little deeper. YouTube can also be used as a great tool for accomplishing a variety of online marketing tasks. Probably one of the most over used uses of YouTube is the "Search" function. This is a great place to find gatherings of similar interest. Use YouTube to find specific targeted demographics and stand in front of massive amounts of highly targeted traffic.
