Driving web traffic from YouTube is critical for businesses serious about video marketing. Sure, it is nice to create brand awareness on YouTube and hope prospective customers remember to Google your company name later. But did you know you can get links directly from YouTube to your website? Sometimes we hear complaints from businesses that they tried linking from a YouTube video but the link is dead and does not drive any traffic.
If you are having trouble with linking from YouTube back to your website there is a simple fix. It is very reasonable that someone might just link to their company website using the standard www.domain.com convention. However, Google likes to make life more interesting and the link will not work unless it has the http:// piece in front of the www. I’m sure Google could fix the YouTube url linking problem but so far they have chosen to insist on the http:// piece in order for the link to go live. The best way to see if your YouTube link back to your website is working is to check and make sure the link turns blue. Once you see the link has turned color you should click on the link and make sure it goes to the exact page you intended.
Also, the link should be placed in the YouTube description field. Specifically, the link back to your website should be placed at the very beginning of the description so that it is not obscured when only the description snippet is visible. (as seen below)
Most YouTube users cannot link to their website directly from the YouTube video itself. However, YouTube does allow videos in their partner program and non-profit program to link directly back from within the video. Below, you can see an example from a video Rewatchable produced for a non-profit that helps women with post natal issues. The link back to WAI’s website appears at the end of the video. (to learn more about video annotation linking checking this post YouTube Annotations – Instructions & Help )
Rewatchable is a video editing service and production company based in Beverly, Massachusetts.
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