Telling you video is huge is a bit redundant at this stage, however… video is huge.

The question you need to be asking yourself isn’t “should I be using video,” but “how do I get the most out of putting my videos online.”

That’s where this great sticky tips on videos comes in handy, compliments of Webproworld.

Your videos are found via “clues on the page” where your video file is embedded. The discussion does cover both hosting videos on third party web sites like Viddler and the all-famous YouTube and the pros and cons of self-hosted videos.

Spreading your videos around is also a good thing. We’ve found that while you could host the video yourself, viewing times are greatly “speeded up” for your viewer when they are hosted on sites optimized for video viewing.

In addition, pick your third party hosting sites carefully. For example, should you choose Viddler, you are able to edit the title (use your keyword in the title), provide a (keyword rich) description, and tag it. YouTube is great, but at the moment spots like Viddler top our list. And, search engines pick up your video very quickly!

Here’s a bit more about optimizing your video online, condensed, of what you’ll find when you visit the Webproworld forum link above:

1. Sitemaps …video sitemaps are a recommended way to give Google information about the video content of your site…

2. RSS Feeds …Google loves to crawl RSS feeds of various types, and this includes RSS feeds that focus on video content…

3. Metadata …metadata is the best source for search engines to determine what your video is about…

4. Provide a transcript …embedding a transcript in the video viewing page will provide the search engines with a wealth of content to index…

5. Optimize the video page …where the video is embedded focusing on the key topics of the video. Context seems to be an important factor…

6. Use friendly URLs …provide the search engines with additional clues as to the relevant topics of the video.

7. Be consistent when distributing your video …this will give you more opportunities to show up for your target term…

8. Prepare for the future of video search …By taking these steps now, your videos can remain relevant as search engines improve their scanning and indexing capabilities.

Again, a trip to the forum is in order to fill in the gaps of what I did not include.

Also, the responses to this sticky post on video optimization are worth the read.

Not everyone is prepared to jump on the video bandwagon at the moment, but arming yourself to use this immensely popular form of internet and social media marketing in the future is a sure winner.

Related articles

• Netvibes: The new social media dashboard (vator.tv)
• YouTube Video Alerts For Your Inbox (performancing.com)
• Viewzi Launches Site Search (centernetworks.com)
• Sitemap Submission Made Simple (googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com)

You’ve got to admit that blogs that give you visuals help ease the “text only” versions, and tonight I was lucky to come across a free to join website called Acobox.

Sort of along the Flickr line, Acobox gives you free signup access as either a blogger or a photographer (actually as a blogger I do see I have the ability to upload images to their site).

Then you just go hunting for interesting pictures they call “hotlinks.”

For example, you’re looking at one right now.

It was very easy to get and insert, too – don’t you just love that!

This particular image came from their Animals Gallery under Birds, which lists 316 additional images. And, of course if you opt to add yours into their system, just think of the advantages of having your images hotlinked on other peoples websites and blogs.

The only trouble I seem to be having is what I see inside the wp-admin is space between the picture and my words. Outside on the blog, the words hug tight to the image. I’ve tried playing with the horizontal alignment, but it doesn’t seem to do much of anything (sorry I’m a bit of a stickler, but I’m sure there is a workaround for this).

Oh and as the title tells you, this isn’t just for bloggers. Website owners can come to Acobox and get their images, for free, too!

So don’t be shy. Again sign up is free, and I had this image inserted in the blink of an eye.

Enjoy!

After reading our friend and fellow Whole-Hog-Blogger, Judy at More Than Sew So and her current (at this time) post Who Is This Man, today I figured presenting some educational and highly enlightening new sources might be a better way to serve our Sunday readers (and beyond).

So I’ve compiled a short list of highly rated, highly regarded blogs whose sole purpose is to present news – current event style – on what’s really going on in Washington, as well as great pieces about the entertainment industry, sports, etc.

Here is the list:

The Daily Beast
Ana Marie Cox, writer and featured speaker on MSNBC news
The Huffington Post

Granted one must have an OPEN mind to read the above. I’ve heard them take all sides on all issues versus some out there that are strictly “old guard” trying valiantly to uphold that which clearly a majority of our nation turned down – emphatically – in November and celebrated – joyously – just a few days ago in Washington, D.C.

No one knows the future, but heading into the future without a plan, and flying on the old “wing and a prayer (and screw your fellow citizens) plan” obviously did not work. Wanting to stick to the same – for reasons unknown, but perhaps it is the “unknown” that scares some people – has moved our great country more than giant steps backward not forward.

My mind reels actually to hear most of what comes out of these news sources not because it’s BS, but what our government believes it can get away with (and until recently has) – and as We The People, we have let them.

I should at this point mention my two favorite news shows (television) which are programs over at MSNBC:

Countdown With Keith Olbermann and
The Rachel Maddow Show

But before I close, in the interest of maintaining a fuller spectrum of where to get your news, if you’re dead set on getting just the rhetoric of the die-hard GOP base, and feel it necessary to cling tenuously to the past, here are a few news sources online just for you:

Thinkgprogress.org (a misnomer, not much on “progress” but worth a laugh), along with FoxNews (which originally aired The Simpsons – a creative and very much “progressive” cartoon show for its time – but showed its true colors very early on – lopsided and biased and staunchly right winged – way right)

Enjoy your Sunday, and remember….

Give us your opinions – it is a free country let alone a “free” internet – your comments most welcome! Please comment!

The new year has brought us some new ideas, along with the return (revisiting) of some old concepts.

Scott and I have been working on programs outside our typical realm of “service oriented.” Strangely enough, our newest blog, a facts about what other people are searching for blog named ImWebNiches.com, is a return to one of those “old” concepts. It’s an experiment really to answer the question, “Is adsense really dead or not?”

(However, while there are some adsense ads on that blog, it is not just an adsense page. That’s the experiment part.)

With other projects in the works, I’ve also discovered that ImWebNiches is a fun blog to put together (like this one). The difference between the two is that this one deals with internet and social media marketing strategies, and the other… can be about anything we want it to be about. That brings a bit of freedom to me (in particular) since I’m a gabby sort and like stepping outside the realm of marketing every now and again.

Our other projects? Well since they are still “under construction” we’ll keep them secret for now. In the meantime, a test of our new search engine directory blog is underway.

We shall see.

Articles of Interest

• 12 Marketing Minds, One Free eBook
• Marketing in 2009 (free eBook)