It’s no secret that video adds immense value to a site. Videos are simply more engaging than static content and have proven to be an effective way to reach and maintain a solid audience. Not only does video provide a better user experience for the viewer, but, as digital video ad spend continues to surpass that of search and display, it’s also the best way to generate revenue.
We’ve seen first hand how video, when distributed across their article pages, can help publishers maximize the value of their site real estate. Our publishing partner National Review has seen a huge increase in both revenue and video output since they integrated both Wibbitz video players onto their site. Once they added our widget player at the bottom of every page, National Review saw their revenue increase by 16%. Then, when they placed a second player within their articles, their number of viewable views increased more than 12 times.
Advertisers are increasingly adopting viewability requirements into their strategies, and will only pay for ads that are viewable to users for a certain period of time. So how and where publishers place video players on their page can greatly affect the amount of revenue their videos generate. We’ve noticed how one video practice in particular has been leveraged by most leading publishers–and our own publishing partners–to ensure optimum viewability and, in turn, monetization: sticky video players.
When a player is sticky, once a user scrolls past a video, the player will jump out and “stick” to the upper or lower, left or right side of the page, so it remains in-view as they move through the article. Before they’re scrolled past, these publishers’ video players are always above the fold and set to autoplay, so they’re always the first thing that a user sees. Check out how CNN, Time, Forbes, HuffPost, and USA Today have all implemented these best video monetization practices into their on-site video players – then make sure your site does the same.