You Tube Can Help Your Rankings

There is a new ally for people wanting to increase their ranking on web search engines.  YouTube videos are now surpassing top spots outranking sites such as eBay and Amazon.  Creating a video for YouTube is easy, fun and can increase traffic to your website.

How to create a captivating video:

The key to a successful is make it short, entertaining and to the point.  By keeping the video short and to the point you are also reducing on production time, upload and download time.Remember not to mutter or stumble it is preferred to have a script prepared.Crisp, fresh videos receive more attention than blurry or hard to see videos. Because of this always film to the cameras highest quality format.Allow everyone to be able to view your video; do not set the video on private.Welcome comments to your video.  User interaction will help increase your video’s ranking in YouTube.

Text is food for the search engine!

Text boxes can help to deliver your message and promote your company or website. However, remember to not overuse remarks since they can become aggravating and can divert from your main purpose. For a successful YouTube marketing campaign make sure your keywords appear in the title, description and any tag. The more text the better the chance of someone finding and viewing your video, maximizes the amount of text! Create a user name with your brand or website so that it will be easily referenced.

YouTube visitors want to see original content. Use original titles and descriptions this will help your video not to get lost in a sea of videos. Now that the video is created, the next question is how to get the most traffic to your video.  According to YouTube there are guidelines which affect the factors which influence rankings and can help optimize your video.

Some of these are:

• Video title


• Description


• Tags


• Incoming links


• Comments


• Subscribers


• Ratings


• Playlist additions


• Flagging


• Embeds


• Shares


• Age of video


• Channel views


• Views


• The number and quality of sites that host or point to your video

Remember that YouTube is a community. You want to interact by making friends, creating channels, commenting on other videos.  This type of interaction helps to create credibility in viral marketing and this will help to increase the number of views to your video.

Creating External Traffic

Even if your video is viewed from outside source it still counts as viewed on YouTube so keep posting your video on blogs and other websites.Another good idea to increase external traffic is to use outside link pages which lead to your YouTube videos. Remember to use keywords related to your video when linking in another website.If you incorporate your YouTube video on another website make sure it is both relevant and appropriate for your video.The ultimate goal is to reach YouTube’s homepage under Spotlight, Most Viewed, Most Discussed and Top Favorite Videos. These categories allow for more exposure. Some ideas on achieving these coveted spot are:

Build a following, participate in social networking sites, create connections with other members and provide valuable content Create an e-mail blast to any targeted list Place your video on your website as well as other websites.

How to submit your video

There are major video sites such as Tube Mogul and Traffic Geyster. These software programs allow you to submit your video to all major video sharing sites. Enter the tile, description, and tags for your video and it will appear on all the major video sharing sites. They offer analytics and tracking for your videos in one place making it easy to analyze and tweak your videos. When using YouTube, YouTube Insight is a great to tool that will give you the stats and detailed information you might need. You can see things such as how many page views, how popular it is, what country people are watching your video from, how popular it is and which section is the most or least watched.

There are also programs called video tube automators, which are designed to build hundreds of YouTube accounts so you can view, comment, subscribe, and vote on your own videos. This run into the black hat area of marketing and is seen as spam. This is unethical and can get your account permanently banned from YouTube.

Once you have established traffic to your YouTube video, you can easily add an Ad Sense account in combination with your YouTube so you can start receiving money every time and ad is clicked from your video.

Flash developer is a high-demand job

By BRIDGET CAREY

Posted on Tue, Dec. 30, 2008

Steve Cucinotta's job lets him work with state-of-the-art software, create the latest Facebook applications and collaborate with equally cutting-edge co-workers.

And Cucinotta, 27, works in the Hollywood office of the marketing firm Sapient, developing animated Web content using software like Adobe Flash.

And his skills are in demand: Industry insiders say the hottest fields in the tech world include those, like Cucinotta's, that help companies market themselves on the Web.

While many Flash developers have college degrees, it's not necessarily a requirement. Many get hired just from learning Flash on their own or after taking a few Web development and design classes. Becoming an expert with the programs can be a part of on-the-job training.

What is a requirement, however, is natural creative talent and a problem-solving spark.

Cucinotta was no Flash expert when he first got this job. He studied digital media in college but ended up working at a sign shop doing graphic design when he graduated. A friend told him about a job opening at the interactive marketing firm ichameleon/group/ -- which was later acquired by Sapient.

When he interviewed for the job, he said, ``I haven't touched Flash in a bit, but if you give me the chance to learn, I'm all for it.''

They gave him that chance. Two years later he's leading a team of creative techies to do all sorts of digital media, such as creating Facebook applications for Coca-Cola and online advertising banners for Toyota.

''Every day is a learning experience here because there is always some kind of new thing that's coming out or some kind of new product,'' Cucinotta said.

EXTRA HOURS

When the deadline draws near for one of those projects, it's typical for Cucinotta to put in about 50 to 60 hours a week. And in a crunch, he has worked through all hours of the night. But it's rare, and with a relaxed work environment, he says he doesn't mind the occasional long hours.

''It's like a family here,'' Cucinotta said. ``Everyone here is just very warm and welcoming. And that to me is the biggest thing. It feels like I'm going to hang out with my friends and do work while I'm here. I don't see it as a job. I see it as a place to go and learn.''

He said he has learned more on the job than he ever did at school. Most of the Flash developers he's come across are either self-taught or took a few classes in school.

There are several adult education programs in South Florida that teach Flash and offer a certificate in Web and digital design.

Jim Jarnagin teaches Flash and related skills at McFatter Technical Center in Davie. He said lately employers want workers equipped with more than Photoshop skills to make brochures -- ``they are looking for experience in Flash and Dreamweaver.''

He has taught at McFatter for 20 years, and what started as traditional computer art classes has shifted focus to Web design and Flash to meet the demands of local employers.

His nine-week evening 'Digital Design' classes cost roughly $200, and he tailors them to what the students want to focus on. He also teaches an online course called ''Web Design Services,'' which costs about $630 full time or about $330 part time.

Gaston Legorburu, Sapient's chief creative officer, said South Florida is a hotbed for Flash talent.

''I think South Florida has transformed itself over the last 10 years,'' Legorburu said. ``It's a young culture -- very hip, very connected to what's happening in the world. And I think Miami is that kind of place. It attracts those souls. The folks that live out in South Beach and live in the Design District are highly creative. That's kind of where those guys run.''

Boston-based Sapient has roughly 350 employees in South Florida. Legorburu works out of Miami and said the tough economy has been somewhat of a benefit for the company.

''We're getting clients that are spending less overall, but are spending more with us -- spending more in the digital channel,'' he said. ``I actually think that hard times are accelerating that shift.''

He says the company is getting more résumés these days, but they are continuously looking for new talent as the company continues to expand.

TOP BRANDS

''Over the last six months to a year, we've probably won business from four of the top five global brands,'' he said.

``So we're hiring pretty aggressively and we're hiring around all creative disciplines -- Flash and 3D developers being two of the hottest areas.''

He says on-the-job Flash experience isn't always a requirement, but they do want to see a portfolio of examples, even if they are just from class projects. The most important attribute is having a creative, problem-solving mind.