This is the 4th blog post I’ve written about YouTube in the past year.

I keep coming back to this topic because almost everyday I am reminded how much YouTube has helped grow my presence, traffic and income online.

I never thought the Sony HD HandyCam that I casually purchased in 2006 would turn into an investment that pays me over and over again.

If you haven’t jumped on the YouTube bandwagon yet, here are more reasons you may want to think about taking that leap…

1.  The YouTube Partner Program

As a YouTube Partner, you get the opportunity to display ads alongside your videos and earn money for every click.  Most of the time, YouTube will display a graphical ad, but sometimes AdSense ads will also appear.

To apply you must be an AdSense Publisher and your YouTube channel has to meet undisclosed traffic and subscriber criteria.

2.  It’s Owned By Google

While Google continues to dominate the organic search market, I try to make use of any of their tools that could positively affect my rankings.

As a YouTube channel owner you get the opportunity to display your website address on your channel’s homepage.

Google treats the channel homepage just like any other site and assigns a PageRank. So as your channel becomes more popular, it can be considered a high-quality backlink for your site.

3.  It’s So Darn Easy

I remember the pre-YouTube days when uploading video to the Web seemed to require a degree in computer technology. ;)

YouTube has made it so simple and accepts a multitude of formats so adding your videos to the Internet is no longer the challenge it once was.

Not to mention, embedding them into your site or blog takes 5 seconds of copying and pasting.

4.  Get In Front of the YouTube Audience

I know people who go to YouTube almost everyday in search of anything from the latest entertainment gossip to basic “how-to” information.  Having videos on YouTube will put you and your site in front of a whole new audience.

5.  Embedding Benefits

Produce useful / entertaining videos, and no doubt, people will want to embed your videos into their sites.

I’ve gathered a ton of new customers, subscribers and followers from people who have found me through 3rd party sites that embedded my YouTube videos.

6.  “Response”-ible Promoting

One way to promote your own videos is to use YouTube’s “response system.” If you come across a video related to your niche, you can respond to that video with your own and your video will appear beneath the one you’ve responded to. This will instantly give you the opportunity for more exposure.

Due to spamming, many YouTubers have disabled the response feature, but every now and then you can find someone who has enabled it for their channel.

7.  Video Annotations

If your video editing software is not advanced enough to add text overlays, Google allows you to use their Annotations feature to add text and caption overlays to your videos in a few simple steps.

This is great if you want to call out certain parts of your video or even promote a website address.

8.  Build Credibility

People often underestimate the amount of credibility you need to establish before you make good money online.  This is especially true if you have chosen a niche related to making money online.

There are so many scams and schemes out here when it comes to that niche so people are rightfully more skeptical when it comes to sites and blogs about making money.

This is not to suggest, of course, that scammers don’t use video.  But many people find it comforting when they can sit and watch the site owner present their information in a video format.

If done properly, video can add a dose of personality to your site while giving you a nice credibility boost, no matter the topic.

9. Free Promotion

Of course you have to pay for the video camera (if you don’t have one already), but I think that’s a small price to pay for the benefits that can come from a free service that may generate thousands and thousands of new visitors to your site.

One of the most common questions I receive from people is “How do I drive traffic to my site for free?”

YouTube is definitely one way to do it. Not only can you verbally promote your site in your videos, but YouTube allows you to add a description alongside your video that can contain hyperlinks.

Remember, just like writing content, the more useful your videos are, the more traffic you will generate from them in the long run.

10. It’s Just Plain Fun

Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something enjoyable and empowering about creating a video for the world to see.

I’ll admit, part of it could be the fact I am sort of a ham when it comes to video cameras. Watch any video of my family vacations and I somehow always managed to find my way in front of the lens.

Perhaps I was a TV personality in a former life. ;)

Not to mention, some things are just better said with video than content. I’ve found that video is a fun way to add some pizazz to your website or blog! Plus, it gives you a break from writing.

My YouTube Channels

Take a peek at some of the videos I’ve published in the last year…

2 Create a Website - Just The Facts

2 Create a Website Screencast Tutorials

2 Plan a Website

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