Tag: Web Video

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How to Get Rid of Ad Overlays When Posting Videos on Your Site

Here are a few web video tips you may find helpful as you consider if you are ready to expand your video postings on your website.

Google loves it when a site uses YouTube for videos, but customers hate putting web videos on YouTube due to the ad overlays.

I recently ran into an issue where we were putting a video on the home page of a website in a key position that is the very first thing any visitor will see. Once loaded to YouTube and embedded in the website my first reaction was URGH look at those ads mid-stream and at the end of the video that stay up obscuring my clients work.

There are two things that you can do to prevent ads on your videos. 1.) Turn off monetization in your YouTube account so ads do not appear on your videos. 2.) Use a free service like the Basic Vimeo account.

You can watch these videos for nice instructions on how to turn off ads in YouTube. It is a 2 step process. First turn off ads and then go into the info/settings of each video travel to the monetize section and turn off for each video.  This video shows you how to turn off the pre-video ad in your channel settings. This is a nice video that explains the second process.  What is important to know is that you are in control of the monetization of your own videos. But by default, it looks like if you don’t manually turn monetization off, Google will slap ads all over the start, middle and end of your video.

Alternatively you can use Vimeo. I like the interface and like that you can customize the player. The downside is that Google loves it’s owner properties. I see YouTube videos in the search results all the time, but would be hard pressed to say that I regularly see Vimeo videos in the search results.

The choice is yours which service you’ll use, but for now, I am actually using both.

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Adding Video to Your Website

As you cruise around the Web, you see videos just about everyplace. Video is an important new way to reach out to customers on your website and in your advertising and one that you should strongly consider.

Not only is a video interesting and adds a dynamic component to your web pages, it can communicate your message in a very compelling way. Yes, video can be overdone, like anything else, but when done tastefully and professionally it can create a compelling call to action that text just can’t do. That being said, not all sites are strong candidates for video integration, but many are.

When you integrate video into your website, it is important to keep in mind the load time. Sometimes a smaller screen and shorter clip are more important than a huge screen with a debilitating download.

Flash is an excellent format for video as most browsers will already have the plug-in in place and typically the download time is snappy. We have also found that using Windows Media Player instead of QuickTime may allow you to show your movie more quickly. Still the best option is sometimes to allow multiple viewer options. Mac users will not have Windows Media Player installed, but they will have QuickTime, and nearly everyone will have Flash already in place. Offer your viewer choices for viewing your video unless you are using Flash.

Other things that you may want to consider before filming and installing a video on your site are:

  • Will you be in your own video? Are you photogenic? Is there someone on your staff who would be better in the role of spokesperson or model than yourself?
  • Will you produce your own video? You can using most digital cameras to create a Quick Time movie.
  • Make sure you have a script and stick to it.
  • Make sure you have good additional lighting. Keep your movie images from being too dark. We’ve seen low lighting as a frequent problem on client movies.
  • Consider using professional video services for the very best results.

Video is definitely a happening Web media and one that you may want to consider adding to your own website.