While having a well ranked video on YouTube is certainly not the equivalent of having a top ranking page for your best keyword in Google, it is comparatively easier to accomplish, and may yield productive results much quicker.

YouTube has become an important part of online web marketing these days. Many online marketers haven’t even scratched the surface as it relates to capturing exposure and capitalizing on the marketing power of YouTube.

One of the keys to understanding and using YouTube effectively is to understand the search parameters that are available for sorting and organizing YouTube searches. These can be found by selecting “Advance Search” in the search bar.

The search parameters are important because the search results are presented in a manner that can be extremely helpful to the online marketer. By default, the search parameters are typically sorted by “Relevance”, however there are several different ways that you can sort search results.

Here’s just a few:

Relevance: Returns your search results sorted by relevance to your search term. This is helpful whenever you want to make general searches for topics specifically of interest to you. This is also helpful for developing long tail key words associated with a specific topic. As many marketers know, long tail keywords present unique opportunities for finding new clients.

Statistics & Data: This feature allows you to see statistics & data about your search term. This sort feature can be especially useful when sorting YouTube search results. These groupings tend to attract people that are quite passionate about specific subject matter. If your marketing efforts are targeted at specific target markets. This is a great way to identify people that are interested in your market. URL’s are also noted.

This is also a great way to find herds of people that are interested in your market. Most marketers try to find web traffic opportunities and “lure” the traffic to their web portals. Using “statistical” search parameters on YouTube, you can find the market and go stand “smack dab”, right in the middle of it. Find groups that are of interest you and engage them in conversation.

Date Added: This feature allows you to find playlists or videos organized by the date they were added. This sort function is great for finding “clusters” of current videos on common topics. This can be a very good source of finding videos for re-branding, particularly if you need current and relevant content.

View Count: This sort allows you to sort videos base on videos that have been viewed the most. This is another hidden jewel within the YouTube search options. When sorting your search by “view count”, you’ll be conveniently provided with information that tells you which videos were viewed the most. In some cases, tracing the source of the video back to it’s original home can provide you with great ideas for advertising and promotion. This is also a great way to use video branding (http://www.cyberincomesolutions.com/affiliatevideobrander/splash.html).

Here’s how it works. Search on your topic, find a very popular video and see if you can trace it back to the original site. It the video is “really” popular, there’s a good chance that others have done exactly what you just did. Contact the web site or blog owner and negotiate the placement of one of your advertising banners on their web site or blog. Find the traffic and stand in front of it!

Rating: Sort by “stars” ratings. This is a good sort parameter as well. Though not as useful as some of the other sort methods, it does give you an idea of how popular a particular video has been. Use this as a factor, when considering popularity that could possibly lead to larger gatherings of like minds.

Refine by Category: This is pretty self-explanatory, you can search by what topic of video you are looking for. This is a great “drill down” tool to get to videos that are quite targeted to a specific term or theme. Depending upon your goals, refining a category for specific criteria can also be useful.

Though most people think of YouTube as a directory of videos, it may be a good idea to look a little deeper. YouTube can also be used as a great tool for accomplishing a variety of online marketing tasks. Probably one of the most over looked uses of YouTube is the “Search” function. This is a great place to find gatherings of similar interest. Use YouTube to find specific targeted demographics and stand in front of the traffic you need.

Are you a Tweeter? If so, what does that mean?

Is it simply another opportunity to expose your offerings? Is it simply another channel to convey the benefits of your products or services?

I would suggest that it’s all of the above, but it’s also much more…

Maybe it can be best described with this analogy.

Let’s say you’ve just walked into a room filled with lots of people. A room that that is filled with people that (for the most part) you don’t know. Some are simply standing around talking and chatting with one another.

Some of these people may or may not be interested in your products, services and most importantly some of these people may or may not be interested in YOU.

Here’s the question?

How do you effectively find out “who’s…who”? How do you develop a strategy that will allow you to interact with some of the people in the room in hopes of exposing your products, your services and most importantly exposing yourself?

Let’s face it, most business relationships start with the simplest of conversations. On Twitter, your objective is to begin to start conversations with people to find out if they are of “like mind”. If they have interests that mirror your interest. Maybe just maybe, we can establish friends, prospects, customers, and other types of relationships that can grow to become business alliances that share “mutual interest”.

Now back to our analogy… Would you walk into a room filled with people that you don’t know and stand on a table and begin shouting about your great products and services? Would this be the most effective and appropriate means of achieving your objectives?

This approach may yield minimal results however it probably won’t maximize your potential for long-term success. Another more effective approach may be that of “mingling”… or gently injecting yourself into existing conversations that interest you.

This is a very effective approach when marketing on Twitter. An approach that lays the foundation for relationships that may prove a bit more fruitful. This approach is also much easier than simply branding yourself as a product or service promoter.

Joining an existing conversation is much easier than starting your own with the hope of attracting those who may be remotely interested in what you’re trying to say.

One effective way to do this is the Twitter Search function. This allows you to search for topics that may interest you and respond or “join in” on conversations to expose yourself to others. It also allows for “targeted” followers.

This approach is far better than standing on a table in a crowded room (Twitter) and shouting about your products, services and offers in hopes to attract those prospective business partners.

If you’re trying to attract new targeted followers on Twitter one of the best ways to do this is to “join” existing conversations by responding, contributing and engaging in the conversation that are parallel to your interests..

This can be done with comments, videos that are relevant, of even quotes or jokes that are consistent to the existing conversation. An occasional “ReTweet” of interesting elements of an existing conversation will also get you noticed quickly. Think about it, we are all flattered when someone else “validates” our perspectives or shares our views with others.

In some cases you can even introduce other like minds to one another. This immediately brands you as a “valued” follower.

Try expanding the conversations of others when Tweeting and you’ll find that your presence “in the room” will rapidly increase. People will begin to take notice of your thoughts, views and yes even your products and services because of the relationships that you’ve established.

Once you’ve established yourself as a valued contributor, collaborator and someone that brings people of like minds together… then gently add your prospective, products, offerings and other interesting elements to those conversations.

Consider a different approach to your Twitter marketing to get better results.

As always I enjoy reading your comments…

As online advertising continues to play more of an important role in the vast arsenal of organizational advertising practices it is important to understand a few key points with respect to super charging your online ad performance.

These 3 critical elelemts will help you maximize your online ad performance.

For now, we’ll describe the process as a system that will “triangulate” your advertising campaigns to insure that your ads reach maximum potential and insure surfer response.

“Traingulation”, you say? What the heck is that?

Simply put, the term triangulation focuses on three major but incredibly important aspects of your online advertising process.

You may want to visualize the triangulation of ads as being the 3 critical points of a typical triangle. Each with a specific pupose and each highly important to the infrastructure of the complete triangle. In this case, each point will be critical to your online advertising success and ultimately your online advertising goals.

The first point of the triangulation process, and a very important point is the selection of specific keywords, keyword phrases and/or images within the ad itself. This is obviuosly of extremely importance to the overall sucess of the ad.

1- Does The Keywords In Your Ad Describe The Core Benefit Of Your Offering And Arrouse Interest?

When constructing your online advertisement, whether it’s a text ad, a banner ad or simply an image, make sure that you are exposing the prospective surfer to the most enticing benefit of your offer in an extremely obvious manner. It’s important to “over-deliver” on this point. This is an area that is sometimes overlooked when creating compelling online ads.

It’s very important that you’ve chosen keywords, keyword phrases and/or images that are well targeted. These keywords, phrases and images should entice the interest of the targeted prospect in a “granular” way… meaning the benefit of your offer should be very specific, well stated and undeniable in scope. This will illiminate clicks by “tire-kickers” and others that simply waste your advertising dollar because they don’t understand the core benefits of your ad.

2- Where Does The URL In Your Ad Point To? Is it well targeted?

The second key point of the triangle or second point of the triangulation process is one that is commonly overlooked or under analalyzed by many online marketers. Don’t make this mistake, as it is extremely important to “zero-in” on this and get it right the first time. Failure to do so will cost you dearly.

This triangulation point focuses on the actual URL that is used in your ad. Where does it take the prospect or surfer when it is clicked. Is it well targeted? Does it take the surfer to the “front door” of your web site or blog, is it “deep-linked” within your web site or blog and pointed to a “specificl” location on your site that further expands and illuminates the offer?

When the surfer arrives at this page will it require further action of the surfer to find the key benefits that your ad conveyed? Don’t point this URL to a page that required further action.

To often than not, many surfers click on an online ad that immediately brings them to a page that is entirely irrelevant to the ad that initially spurred their interest. In many cases the surfer will be forced to hunt around the page for additional navigation or information to find the core point of the ad. All to often they’ll simply click away from the page or continue their search else where. In some cases the surfer will be come distracted by some unrelated link on the page and loose the focus of their original intent.

3 – Have you optimized the target page to re-enforce the fact that the surfer has arrived at the right place?

The third critical point of the triangulation process involves the target page itself. This certainly sounds simple but is often a key shortfall of effective ad results.

Have you optimized the target page so insure that it reinforces the fact that the surfer has arrived at the right place and the content invokes ACTION from the reader?

What do I mean by action you say?

Well, certainly we would prefer an action that has commercial intent, a purchase or subscription of some type… However if the primary action does not occur, are there rrasonable and accessible options that move the visitor towards your final objective? Do you offer a secondary offer that enables you to further cultivate the prospective new relationship?

Make sure you’ve closely examined these 3 critical elements of the online advertising process when creating and implementing your online ad campaigns. These key elements will insure that you’ve increase the probability of having surfers take positive action when they arrive at the targeted location of your web site or blog. At minimum you will entice the reader to move the “relationship” process forward.

Triangulating your ad campaigns will contribute to the ultimate goal of creating online advertising success.

The next time you’re developing a strategic online advertising campaign remember this simple triangulation process and make sure that you’ve nailed down all 3 important point of the triangle. This will insure that you’ve positioned yourself well and maximized your online advertising efforts to produce desirable results.