What happens when the worlds largest search engine and the worlds largest video site join forces? Well first they catch their breath and then Google tries to figure out how to pay the $1.65 billion tab for acquiring YouTube. The newest idea to come out of Google is an addition to their AdSense program, something called Video Units.
If you are running an AdSense program on your site you can now offer a video channel from YouTube. AdSense users need to sign into their accounts and choose the new Video Units link under the AdSense Setup tab to get started. This will take users to a page explaining Video Units and you will be asked to agree to terms and then its off to YouTube where you will need to reconcile AdSense account with YouTube. If you already have a YouTube account you just need to sign in and follow the prompts. If you do not have a YouTube login you can easily create one for free here https://youtube.com/signup.
Check out this video from Google explaining Video Units.
Video is all the rage right now so I’m sure this new model will make lots of money but this isn’t for everyone. The slightly customizable designs are a little chunky. You can choose from 9 different color schemes and 3 different sizes, there doesn’t seem to be a way to declare your own color scheme so beware.
The video above mentions that they are working with ‘select YouTube partners to deliver content’. This means that only YouTube partners ‘who have chosen to make their videos available to publishers in the AdSense network along with targeted advertising’ will have their videos shown on your site. If you are not a partner it looks like you cannot add your videos to your site using Video Units. If you are a partner it looks like you can now generate double the revenue, well theoretically.
When users set up their Video Units they are asked to target specific video content they want on their VU. These are broken down into 3 types of video content, which Google explains here
- Selecting individual content providers, YouTube partners who have chosen to distribute their videos to publisher websites along with targeted ads
- Selecting content categories, topics and themes of video content you’d like to show on your site
- Automatic targeting, in which the video content you display will be automatically targeted to the content of your site. You can assist the targeting by providing relevant keywords.
So depending on your site and your involvement you can pinpoint what type of video content you can show. This is good for the micro-manager and the auto pilot. I’ll let you decide which one you are
For more info on Google AdSense Video Units check out their Help Center
For more information please contact the Search Engine Marketing Team at Schipul – sem@schipul.com