For quite some time,  Google has offered video thumbnails in their search results.  Smart businesses optimize their videos so that even if Google does not show their website for certain keywords at least maybe a video will pop up in the search results.

For example, our client Vic’s Boathouse wanted to show up in Google for the term “Salem MA Live Music”

Salem MA Live Music Screenshot

Now, Yahoo not only shows a video thumbnail but also gives the user the ability to play the video without ever leaving the search results.

By simply clicking Play Video, the user can start watching the video immediately.

This a great opportunity for businesses to get their message out on Yahoo but we shouldn’t expect the same from Google anytime soon.  Google wants to drive traffic to YouTube to get users to watch a few more videos at their video sharing site once they see what else YouTube has to offer related to the same subject.

If you would like to see the Vic’s Boathouse Video, you can try searching in Google or Yahoo or you can also just click on the embedded version below.

Vic’s Boathouse is a restaurant lounge in Salem, MA that is part of the famous Victoria Station Restaurant

Rewatchable is a Boston Video Production Company