Search: Video
Search News: Branded Search Marches On with Google Video Plus Box
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Written By Emil Panzarino | July 22, 2009 | Share This
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Google released (or I should say re-released) a new product earlier this year for paid search results called the “Video Plus Box”. This is an interesting opportunity for advertisers who focus less on an absolute conversion and have more interest in the branding and awareness possibilities that search holds.
It also makes sense for advertisers who have a strong visual component to their product or pitch – film and television promotion comes to mind. On the other hand advertisers that are more focused on e-commerce- getting people to their site and converting and/or monetizing their paid search traffic in some way- might find this feature to be counterproductive to their core goals.
The Video Plus Box allows a searcher to watch a video within a paid search ad by expanding the plus box {+} link. An early form of this product had been released last year as one of Google’s many alpha tests. It went away for a few months but came back earlier this year as (you guessed it) one of Google’s many beta tests.
Users of Google are no strangers to the general concept of “expand plus box” links in their search results. Google has been showing this feature in their organic listings for quite some time. In 2006 Google introduced the feature that would allow a user to see maps for local businesses within the organic results:
In May 2007, it was blended into their universal search, allowing users to watch videos from YouTube and Google Video inside the organic search results. It was a quick way to play videos without having to load the entire page of a video hosting site. For whatever reason, Google only limited the plus box to its own video sites (YouTube and Google Video), while showing thumbnails and metadata for other sites:
Here’s what the Video Plus Box looks like before activation by the user:
Here’s what it looks like expanded:
Here’s a quick rundown of how it works:
- A paid search ad shows up on a Google as normal, but also includes a small link to preview a video.
- If a user clicks on the headline link as normal and goes to the brands website, as cost per click is incurred.
- If a user clicks on the (+) and expands the ad to watch the video, a CPC is incurred.
- After clicking to watch the video, if the user clicks through to the brand’s website, an additional CPC is not incurred.
- Only 1 CPC is ever incurred per 1 impression
What the “video plus box” does on the user end is encourage the searcher to find out more about the brand and its offerings by having them interact more with the actual paid search ads. Obviously this can deter the user from clicking through to a landing page. The upside of this is branding. Users can still have a chance to interact and learn about a brand without leaving the Google search environment. The downside is that users might abandon the process before a more valued ROI action is completed.
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Social Media: How Can I Infect You with My Virus if you’re Not Even Here?
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Written By Noah Mallin | June 10, 2009 | Share This
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Typhoid Mary (not to be confused with Mustang Sally) was a turn-of-the-century cook who managed to spread illness and death over a period of many years simply by making meals for lots of people. Oh yeah, and her aversion to hand-washing helped. So when clients ask about Viral Videos, it’s helpful to remember Typhoid Mary who, after all, was a very successful virus spreader. There were 3 conditions that allowed her to be so prolific:
1) Constant repeated contact with sizable groups of people
2) Her role as a food source for these people
3) The unhindered presence of the Typhus infection
In social media, there is a tendency to dwell on the food without paying attention to the infection or the people. Or, to put it another way, serving up a piping hot video won’t get you anywhere if there aren’t people there to watch it (waiting for the meal as it were) or the presence of that wonderful germ of an idea or a hook that makes them want to spread it around.
Social Media: 5 Questions with Seraj Bharwani of Visible Measures
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Written By Noah Mallin | May 18, 2009 | Share This
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There continues to be a myth propagated about social media, namely that outreach efforts aren’t measurable and accountable. Visible Measures has been at the forefront of measuring the success of Internet videos since 2005, providing metrics that include syndicated, social, and paid video placements.
Today, Reprise Media announced a partnership with Visible Measures that will help to deepen the ability to track and measure the success of video content. To add some context to this exciting partnership, we asked Seraj Bharwani, SVP of Business Development at Visible Measures, to answer our patented 5 Questions:
Search 3.0: The Dark Side of Search 3.0
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Written By Noah Mallin | April 14, 2009 | Share This
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For every day there is a night, for every Two-face a Harvey Dent, for every Abbott a Costello. We have been talking about Search 3.0 for a while now – the convergence of social media and search that is happening as we speak (or blog, or tweet, or however you are reaching this post). Search 3.0 is neither good nor bad, it simply is. However there is a dark side to it that can have consequences for brands large and small.
Search News: Can We All Just Agree that Google is a Media Company?
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Written By Noah Mallin | January 29, 2009 | Share This
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The news today that the William Morris Agency is close to a content development deal with Google’s YouTube video channel ought to put a final stake through the heart of the idea that Google is a technology company. Oh yes, they use technology as a means to an end but ultimately they are providers of content, and of advertising opportunities against that content.
Nor is Google an advertising agency, despite claims to the contrary from time to time. They may serve up tools that traditionally were provided by agencies to clients but they are aimed at smaller advertisers who are unlikely to go the agency route.
Search Engines: Hold Your Vertical – Please!
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Written By Noah Mallin | January 6, 2009 | Share This
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Today, the so-called “conversation search engine” Artiklz was launched in beta form. Judging from it’s name and the copy on their landing page it was developed by a group of rogue LOLcats. As usual, us search geeks will play around with it, turn up our noses, and leave it on the trash heap along with Cuil and every other new search engine launched in the last several years. Dismissive much? Oh yeah. Why? Glad you asked.
Search News: YouTube Tests Embeddable Search Bar – Can Ads be Far Behind?
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Written By Noah Mallin | November 14, 2008 | Share This
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I think I have mentioned Google’s incredible …um…testiness before. They love to try out new ideas before sending them into perpetual beta (hello Gmail) or actually launching them as real offerings. This has been less evident over at Google-owned YouTube — though with all of the fretting over making their investment back it’s only a matter of time before they begin to randomly beam “Chocolate Rain” into people’s cerebellums. Just to test the technology out.
This morning came word via eagle-eyed Anthony Iaffaldano, Reprise Media Marketing Director, that YouTube had actually sprung a little test action on his watch. While embedding a video on a totally non-geeky message board he was surprised to find that his embedded clip came with a search toolbar:
Search News: As More Eyes Turn to Alternate Vid Sites, blinkx May Finally Come Into its Own
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Written By Noah Mallin | November 13, 2008 | Share This
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Blinkx has been around for quite some time now – since 2004 to be exact – and their image-based search algorithm has always held promise. As they describe it:
“Unlike other multimedia search engines that attempt to re-purpose technology built for the Text Web, blinkx uses a unique combination of patented conceptual search, speech recognition and video analysis software to efficiently, automatically and accurately find and qualify online video.”
Which is great except Google and others are pursuing similar technology and Google in particular has the deep pockets to outdo anyone’s search algorithm. Ultimately blinkx will have to do more than just roll out a better level of search technology to become a challenger to YouTube or universal search on Google.
Search News: How Election 08 Became a Boon to Key Online Platforms – The Final Post (We Mean it!) on the Election
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Written By Noah Mallin | November 7, 2008 | Share This
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The election is over, which means many of us will have to go back to obsessing about other stuff – the economy, fantasy sports leagues, Neko Case- whatever floats your boat. Still, in reviewing the last two years of what has surely been the most exciting and fascinating election of a lifetime it’s worth noting not just the impact of online platforms on the election – on which much has and will be written. The inverse effect has been less noted - the fact that the elction also impacted the platforms that exists online.
So what was the impact of the election on online platforms?
Minimal. Hah, just kidding. In fact it was quite substantial and fascinating to see:
Social Media: Content Burglars Punished With Advertising – Making Crime Pay for the Victim
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Written By Noah Mallin | November 5, 2008 | Share This
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Media companies have been spending much time, effort, and money on stopping online piracy at sites like YouTube and MySpace through expensive lawsuits and vigilance. In essence they end up playing a game of global whack-a-mole – shutting down sites or suppressing content only to have their copyrighted material pop up somewhere else overnight.
So if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
That seems to be the impetus behind YouTube and MySpace’s recent forays into a new form of advertising – video ads on pirated copyrighted content. YouTube uses the same technology that allowed content owners to pull down videos, VideoID, to help media companies identify targets to monetize.