Given YouTube's reach, it can be a great platform to build brand awareness. After all, it is the second most popular search engine that attracts more than a billion users every month. However, if you plan to embed your YouTube videos directly onto your website, you may want to be aware of the pitfalls that come with that approach.
Why Embedding YouTube Videos on Your Website Is Not the Best Idea
YouTube has the reach that any marketer is looking for. It is the second-most visited website after Google with a user base that cuts across generations. Every day, combined viewership on the platform crosses the billion-hour mark. And embedding YouTube videos on your website is completely free of cost. In fact, if you know the bare minimum about how websites work, embedding YouTube videos on your website is child's play. To have more of a perspective of what a good video platform is, consider downloading our free e-book The Ultimate Video Platform Buying Guide.
It's a great platform to build brand awareness. But it is not the best option for your conversion rate. Here are 3 reasons why:
1) Limited Control over Branding and UX
Hosting your video on YouTube means you have very limited control over branding customization. YouTube's video player is replete with its logo and other branding features, which may clash with the rest of your website. And a lot of YouTube's embed customizations, such as disabling full screen and auto play, require coding. These small things can add up to a negative user experience of your website.
When you use YouTube to host videos on your website, you also relinquish control over your content. The video giant might change its content policy overnight and strike down your content. And given the popularity of the platform, it is not the easiest task to get your video back up after YouTube removes it. You don't want a blank screen on your homepage when you are trying to convince your visitors to buy your product.
2) Higher Bounce Rate Probability
YouTube allows you to embed videos on your website free of cost because it is hoping to attract more users to its platform, through you. But there is a hidden cost involved. The video platform shows related videos and suggested videos to keep viewers engaged. After watching your video, viewers might be swayed by a shiny thumbnail and go back to YouTube instead of continuing to spend time on your site. For every visitor that bounces off your webpage, you are losing a potential customer. What's more, getting people to your website costs money, whether in terms of SEO or search engine advertising. You don't want that investment to end up funneling people back to YouTube.
3) Analytics Leave Much to be Desired
Data analytics is the holy grail for modern-day marketers, but YouTube gives you very limited user metrics. To begin with, it combines data from your YouTube channel and embedded videos. That makes it difficult to accurately measure important KPIs such as unique plays and views. There is no way to understand how different viewers are engaging with your videos. With the limited analytics of embedded YouTube videos, you are firing shots in the dark and hoping that something will stick.
Related Reading: How to Use Video to Drive Sales to Your Company
The Alternative to Embedded YouTube Videos
A professional video hosting service is the answer to all the disadvantages of hosting YouTube videos on your website. A dedicated video hosting partner, such as Viostream, gives you complete control over what content visitors see and how they see it. You don't risk an ad interrupting the video and ruining users' experience, and you don't have to worry about competitors' content popping up after the videos and stealing away your sales.
A video hosting partner also scores well on the analytics front. You get access to more detailed metrics, which allows you to tweak your campaigns and personalize content for better conversions.
Related Reading: 5 Benefits of Video Marketing in 2021
Should You Stop Building a YouTube Audience?
No. YouTube has a massive reach, and it is a great place to get the word about your brand. Instead, you should try to strike a balance. For instance, you could use YouTube to get people to visit your website. Once they are on your website, however, integrating video marketing platform will engage them further while optimizing your marketing campaigns.
Related Reading: How to Develop a Video Strategy for Your Business
How Can Viostream Help?
Viostream is a dedicated video marketing platform with powerful analytics that can supercharge your lead generation campaigns. You can embed CTAs within your videos at key moments to generate more inquiries, and there is detailed engagement scoring to help optimize your video marketing strategy. If you are serious about video marketing, start your free trial now.
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