Google recently announced the launch of a new advertising tool called Buzz Targeting. The method revolves around the popularity of videos on YouTube. The tool uses an algorithm to predict videos that are about to go ‘viral’.
Viral videos are those that suddenly gain an immense amount of popularity. Buzz targeting can detect when a certain video is already being promoted in blogs and social networks. Once the tool identifies a video about to gain popularity, it offers space on the video to advertisers. Investors can then put their ads at the bottom of the screen.
This is part of Google’s endeavor to make more money off the YouTube website. Google has been constantly seeking to make more money off its acquired video sharing website. Previous efforts to make money off the website included placing inline text ads in searches. Advertisers were also offered the chance to place ads within video players. Overlay ads are placed inside the website’s video player. These ads pop-up before or after a video plays.
Google sells ads by offering categories for the advertisers to choose from. Samples of categories being offered are “Entertainment” and “How-to”. Whenever a search is made in YouTube, ads are displayed based on the words placed in the search field. This allows advertisers to target the kind of users who should see their ads.
Most of the advertising offered in YouTube is targeted towards specific audiences. Buzz targeting is the first option that gives advertisers access to a broader audience. It is the first advertising tool that is based on the popularity of a video rather than the type of audience that sees it.
Google acquired rights to YouTube in 2006. The company bought $1.65 Billion worth of stocks in exchange for being the major shareholder. In the terms of the acquisition, the two companies agreed to remain separate entities. The deal gave YouTube wider reach in terms of access and availability. Google was also given a chance to become a key player in online videos. Both companies have agreed to work out a way to increase income from advertising.
The search engine giant recently admitted that YouTube has not yet yielded the kind of profits they are expecting. Google is still experimenting with ways to serve advertising on the website. Buzz targeting is one of the first advertising tools publicly announced by Google.
The popularity of video sharing has turned YouTube into a household name. 11.5 Billion videos were viewed online in March 2008. 38% of the videos were hosted by Google sites. YouTube accounted for 98% of Google’s share.
