To use or not to use YouTube - That is the question!

[Booj]

We often get clients asking us what is the best option for getting the most out of their videos.

We typically default to this blog post: http://moz.com/blog/hosting-and-embedding-for-video-seo

We have had clients question this information, sending us such links as:

http://marketingland.com/infographic-video-youtube-wins-google-universal-search-37971
http://www.seoinc.com/seo-blog/why-you-should-embed-youtube-videos/
http://www.sitepronews.com/2012/07/03/how-to-use-youtube-to-boost-your-web-sites-seo-rankings/

Would you consider the information in the Moz blog post to still be accurate. What are your opinions on the perspectives presented in the other posts? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you

[Booj]

Phil,

Thanks for taking the time to respond. This is exactly what I was looking for.

My best,

Ido

[PhilNottingham]

Hi team at Booj,

I've written quite a few things since that article which expand on the topic of video hosting and YouTube, which I recommend you have a look at. The most relevant one for you will be http://moz.com/blog/the-marketing-value-of-youtube which explains when YouTube is a valuable marketing channel.

You should also find this http://moz.com/blog/building-a-video-seo-strategy useful and there's a video on this page http://www.distilled.net/consulting/video-seo/ which covers the topic in some detail.

Additionally, my presentation from MozCon this year covers the topic in depth, so I recommend having a look through those videos when they're available.

Thanks,

Phil

[socialengaged]

I believe the Moz post is still very accurate, and that it provides very good info.

As well, I would suggest to, depending on the type of business you need the video for, (as well as on the video quality etc.), use the different strategic tools you have available, combining them as you best find it useful.

As well, you could easily have the video on several channels, plus the video embedded in your post to help (with rich snippets) increase the CTR.

Anyway, I would surely never (or almost never) discard youtube from my options, when dealing with video, knowing that few different channels can be used. (Think about social media, do you use only fb, twitter or plus separately, or do you try to have a strategic focus and line throughout all the channels? If you do so with socials, why not with video?

Hope I helped some how

[Linda-Vassily]

We currently put our videos up on our YouTube channel and then embed them on our site. We are exploring the option of self-hosting new videos and then "archiving" them on YouTube.

This might give some of the best of both worlds- no competition when they are fresh and more eyes when they are a little more mature.