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The Second Biggest Search Engine

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The Search Engine wars continue to rage on.

We all know that Google dominates and that Bing (Microsoft‘s search engine), Yahoo! and Ask.com continue to hold their own. What many people fail to realize is that if you look at the overall amount of queries/searches done across all of the major websites, portals, etc…, that the second largest search engine is not Bing or Yahoo!… it’s actually YouTube.

We do like searching for answers and seeing a video response to our queries.

Does that seem hard to believe? YouTube (which is owned by Google) is the second largest search engine. Back when I was having my conversation with Julien Smith (co-author of Trust Agents along with Chris Brogan and a co-host on Media Hacks) about ways in which I could get the word out (even more) about this Six Pixels of Separation Blog and Podcast, Smith also recommended taking all of the audio interviews from the Podcast and releasing them on YouTube (along with some semblance of a visual slideshow by grabbing photos of the guests from places that allow it). It seemed like a lot of work, so when I kept on prodding him for why, he was the one who reminded me of the magnitude of traffic and searches that YouTube represents in the overall scope of the Internet and media (more on my conversation with Julien right here: Five Reasons Why This Blog Is A Failure).

It’s more than just the traffic that online video generates.

It’s also about the education. Recently, I was looking for a strong tutorial on the basics of Keynote. The default thought is to look at both Blogs and books to see if a Dummies Guide is too basic or what the options are. After doing a couple of generic searches online, I came across this amazing video series/Podcast by EmpowerMac called, Keynote For Beginners, which is a twelve-part video series (each episode running about ten minutes). Amazing content, easy to watch and simple to follow along to.

YouTube is the new encyclopedia.

Not sure how to wash a dog? Change a diaper? Jailbreak an iPhone? Build a deck? Do a magic trick? Play the solo in Van Halen‘s ‘Running With The Devil’? Understand what Google TV will be? Whatever random question you have, someone, somewhere has created a video with the answer and the tutorial on how to do it.

It begs the question: how well are you (and the brands you represent) leveraging the power of online video to really connect to your consumers as a thought leader and a brand that cares?

8 comments

  1. I couldn’t agree more with this post. We try to upload several YouTube videos a week. I know some people don’t feel comfortable doing video but its worth it.

  2. This is a good start, but…
    I look at far too many companies who see Youtube and their own website as the two legs of their online video strategy. They completely miss the opportunities in the syndication markets – either they don’t know how, don’t know that they exist, or think that they don’t need them; all fatal mistakes.
    There is a large Canadian national food marketing board that has made some passable videos that give consumers real world uses for their products (recipe video). However they only use Youtube, and these videos have been lost in the noise; most of them getting 100’s or less views after 6 or more months. If they had engaged a syndication strategy that saw these videos in front of viewers targeted by interest (food and cooking) they could have 300,000+ views in the same time period.
    Usually this first mistake is coupled with video that is too slow, too long, and jammed with too much ‘Marketing Speak’ that could be read right off the back of the packaging. Give consumers real world uses – not how many amps your motor is, or fast the spindle turns – though these are valid points they make for boring video that turn away consumers. Have you seen ‘Can it Blend’ These are amazing and show me everything I need to know about Blentec Blenders.
    So I would suggest that agencies and brand managers find companies that can produce engaging video AND distribute it to a wide and targeted audience.
    Glen.
    Le Gourmet TV
    heavyGFILMS

  3. Video’s powerful but it’s more work than a blog post or podcast for a novice. If you’re working from a script, there’s the challenge of looking at the screen while reading. Lighting matters too. There’s editing to deal with also. These issues are surmountable. There are probably videos explaining what to do 🙂
    PS As an experiment, I’m planning to turn a PowerPoint presentation into a video series.

  5. Hello all, thought I would jump in here and give my thoughts,
    Going to share a testimonial for the power of video, and YouTube:
    Working with FaithLife Financial, based out of Waterloo, we developed a strategy to connect them with potential employees, who were looking to the financial industry for careers.
    Included in the strategy was YouTube videos. These videos showed FaithLife, Managers, and Financial Reps sharing stories about their overall experience working for this organization.
    A small viewership overall, that didn’t matter. Their goals of interesting new prospects, being engaging online, and starting to build relationships, were accomplished.
    It’s a powerful tool!

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