Google still trying to monetize YouTube
October 2, 2008 by Colleen Coplick
Filed under Social Media
It’s no surprise that Google is still having trouble monetizing YouTube. The user-generated content site, with videos ranging from downright stupid to raunchy to heartwarming and cute have such a wide range that advertisers are having trouble finding content they want to put ads with.
Not only that, but there’s a whole problem around copyright. The copyright to the video you upload on Youtube, provided it doesn’t infringe on someone else’s copyright is yours. If you are the creator of that content, you own the copyright. That would mean that you should have the right to say whether you want advertising on your videos.
Google is starting to experiment with post-roll advertising (ads that show at the end of the video) for certain partners.
That’s all fine and well, but what’s to stop users from simply closing their browser or tab when the ad starts to roll? Or just navigating away when the video is through?
ReadWriteWeb mentions in their article, NewTeeVee notes, these post-roll ads only appear if you do not click on the overlay ads while a video is playing. Google has tested post-roll ads before, but in these earlier versions, users had to initiate the ads themselves, while these new ads will play automatically.
It’s no surprise that Google needs to monetize this site – it’s a huge bandwidth hog for sure, but they’re clearly still struggling with how to actually pull that off. Guess it’s going to be interesting to see.
Youtube is one of the top most popular websites in the world, but when it comes to monetising, it is a bad one. Well, I am not surprised about this matter because youtube mainly features videos. Internet is not still a great place to earn money from videos alone. In youtube, there is no payment system and everything is free. There is hardly any way to earn money. One possible way for Google is to put adsense a lot, but then it may not be yet great because there are not too many advertizers who are keen to advertize heavily only in video websites. When you are looking at a video most of the times you are not looking at the advertisements. It happens for television too. We watch out movies or sports programs but when advertisement comes we take it as a commercial break and do some other works and then come back when the program again starts.
Well, as far as current events go on the monetization front, Google just plucked Xoogler Ben Ling back from Facebook (in the midst of a disastrous falling-out).
It’s true that it’s nearly as tough to monetize YouTube vids as it is to squeeze a glass of grape juice out of a handful of raisins (ok yeah, lame analogy). The problem is that he needs to pull his new think-tank together and lead a very strong current of creativity, something he is not good at doing. So he had best learn it quickly, and focus on that rather than worry about his title or how much clout his name carries in the company (which really screwed him over at FB).
If he fails at this, the blow to his reputation will be very deep and long-lived.
You might have been wondering–as I have–what you call an ex-Googler who returns once again. Not sure yet, and I don’t like the temporary “Ex-Ex-Googler” circulating around the gossip columns. Maybe we can use “About-Facer” for now? Appropriate in Ben’s case, huh.
To make money with YouTube, this is what Google has to do…
On the most viewed clips (clips with, let say, already 1000 views) (doesn’t matter who posted them) YouTube automatically implements a 5 seconds overlay ad that appears over the player and blocks out (darkens) everything else. (It gives a bit of time for the clip to load in the background as well).
This overlay is a 5 seconds spot (can’t be longer than that and it doesn’t link to a company website if you click on it. It’s like a really, really short TV spot. It can be a still picture for outfits with very little budgets…)
Now, people don’t like ads… but they like GAMES and they like to COLLECT stuff.
Each overlay ad is a mini 5 seconds GAME. You have three colored dots on the overlay. The viewer clicks on ONE of them. One is a winner, two are duds. If you’re lucky to pick the winner (you only have one chance) during the 5 secs, you receive a TOKEN that is automatically added to your YouTube account. (It encourages you to stay registered…)
Now, you COLLECT these tokens. If you win a certain number of similar tokens, you can EXCHANGE them against full-length HD Hollywood Films or TV shows on YouTube. The fun part could be that you have different categorires of tokens. (Some would be for specific film genres or just for one TV show and some could be really hard to find, worth maybe ten tokens, etc.) (Tokens are generated randomly by the system.)
Now, you have the problem of guys posting shows and seeing Google make money off their film. Well, they need to be rewarded too. For a succesful posting (ie lots of viewers) they also receive TOKENS… to be exchanged to watch high-quality HD movies or TV shows.
Now, these HD movies or TV shows in the “HD Theatre section of YouTube” can also be sponsored with a longer lead-in spot… That’s even more money for Google.
Now, we have the problem of big brand names not wanting to have their spots stuck on “Jimmy and his weird cat”… Well, they could “control” where their 5 Secs. spots go by teaming with content suppliers through YouTube. Example, a Coca-Cola campaign with Viacom clips… Viacom takes all the succesful shows they own like, for example, “Spongebob”. They cut out little “gems” (two to three minute clips) and they post them on YouTube to watch for free… Viacom via Google sell their 5 second spots to Coca-cola. Everybody is happy. The viewer, who enjoys these mini-clips, can even link to the full episode of Spongebob on YouTube. He can pay by redeeming TOKENS or he can pay with real money for the full episode or combine both. (It’s all streaming anyway! It’s like TV a la carte.)
Now, what about the “Jim and his weird cat” clips. Who pays for these 5 secs ads? Well, it’s like Google’s Adsense, it’s small outfits who purchase so many spots. You can buy a thousand spots or ten thousand spots to be randomly placed on clips or based on the clip’s TAGS and on the clip’s level of viewership. The outfit supplies the spot or the still and pays Google directly up front.
A system like this is not that difficult to implement. (If they’re real smart, they can have it work just the same on imbedded videos on other sites) Anyway, it’s fun for all involved and all get something out of it. Everybody is a winner especially Google who makes tons of money from the big guys but also… most importantly…from the long, long tail of all the little guys. Viewers are hooked to YouTube forever! Even if they’re just there to click on ads and forget about the clips… the most important is done. Money!
Here, you have it.
Twowan,
(If Google wants more ideas like this one, they can contact me. I’m the guy behind laboratoryfilms.com)