I was happy when my friend, Howie Jacobson, dropped me a note a few months ago to tell me he was writing a "For Dummies" book. I got even more excited when he asked me if I would contribute to his book in the area of web video...

Howie Jacobson

Because Howie is an Adwords expert (and one helluva a smart and funny guy, too), it made perfect sense that Wiley would invite him to pen AdWords for Dummies. (AdWords, by the way, is Google's marketing solution that helps web site owners turn clicks into cash by attracting targeted visitors to their sites.)

In his book, Howie shows you how to find the best search terms to help build your business, as well as how to research your market, build a direct marketing strategy, analyze ad success, and turn a tidy profit. In chapter 12, "Building a 'Climb the Ladder' Web Site," he discusses how to use multimedia to get closer to your customers, as well as the different tools that help turn visitors into buyers.

And if there's any one solution that will help you get closer to visitors, and turn more of them into buyers, it's web video. So I put together a few pages of material on the subject, and sent it off to Howie. He and his editors then boiled it down to what they felt were the most important points to understand when getting started with web video. And here is the result...

How to use Web video to increase sales

Adding video to your Web site can help attract visitors, add value, and increase site visibility. But you've got to do it right. If you're not careful, putting video on your Web site can actually backfire, chasing people away and causing a lot of headaches for you in the process.

It's never been easier to create and add video to your Web site. But just like with anything else, there is a learning curve, and there are pitfalls. Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. You need to know when and where to use Web video - and when not to.

In addition, not everyone has the same programs and players on their computers. For example, if you produce all of your videos in QuickTime .mov format, people who don't have (or want to use) QuickTime will never see your video.

Your goal should then be to create videos that are accessible to the greatest common denominator. You'll want to make sure any video you offer is viewable to as many visitors as possible, while minimizing hassles and tech problems for your viewers.

And while it's true that placing video on the Web is now quite easy, that doesn't necessarily mean it's always a good idea. Sometimes, your message can be better told using text with a few images. In other instances, an audio message will suffice. Video isn't the end-all solution for everything you have to say.

So before you rush into posting video on your Web site, consider these important points:

1. Web video done poorly is worse than no video at all.

This is especially true if your video clips don't play properly, or if the quality of the video reflects poorly on you or your site. In these cases, it would be better not to use Internet video on your site.

2. Internet video may not work for all visitors.

Some Web surfers are still using Windows 98 or older operating systems. Many of these older systems do not support the playing of video very well. One solution is to offer your video clips in as many different video formats as possible. Unfortunately, this can be a frustrating and time-consuming process for you.

3. Know your target market.

Not everyone experiences the Internet the same way. People access the Web at very different connection speeds. While more than half of the U.S. Web-connected population now enjoys a high-speed broadband experience (and for these people, video is no problem), there are still many people connecting via painfully slow telephone modems.

By knowing who you are targeting, you can better determine if video makes sense for your site, as well as the best way to deploy it.

4. Video requires a lot of storage space.

On average, a one-minute video clip of average quality and resolution often requires at least 2MB of Web hosting space. If you offer that same clip in the six most popular formats, it is possible that you would need 20MB of space -- just for that one minute of video! And if you offer a total of 20 minutes of video, and provide it in all different formats, you could easily consume 400MB of Web space.

5. Video is a bandwidth hog.

If 100 people click to view your 5-minute video at the same time, they could jointly require and consume 2GB of bandwidth, all at the same time! Depending upon your hosting package, that alone could exceed your allocated monthly bandwidth.

Imagine what would happen if 1,000 people clicked to view your 5-minute video . . . your Web host would likely crash, due to the inability to fulfill the huge bandwidth request. And your Web host won't be very happy. And neither will you, when they send you they bill.

6. Clicking away from your site and your Internet video is effortless.

Even with the fastest Web connection, viewing high quality video on a computer monitor can be tedious - especially compared to watching that same video on TV. For best results, Web video clips should be short (under 3 minutes) and to the point.

Once the novelty wears off - and it will, once video becomes commonplace (very soon) - people are going to be less willing to sit there and watch some idiot skateboarding off his roof.

In order to grab and hold attention, and get some kind of result, Internet video needs to be: compelling, useful, and/or entertaining.

7. Be careful when choosing an Internet video format.

Whether the video you plan to offer is a computer screen tutorial, or live video footage shot with a camcorder, you may want to offer your video in multiple formats, making it viewable by as many people as possible.

But at the same time, too many choices may confuse and overwhelm your audience. In addition, there are time and cost considerations for creating and deploying your videos. If you offer five different choices, you need to create and upload five different videos (and what happens if you need to make a change to the video?).

Here's one review of Howie's book at Amazon.com...

The Complicated Made Simple
I've played around with purchasing ad words for several years, but I've never really understood enough to get the results I was hoping for. Despite the high potential, it's a subject that can very quickly get complicated.

Then along came Howie Jacobson's wonderful new book, and suddenly it all began to make sense. In typical "Dummies" style, this book makes it clear how ad words work and how to set them up to your advantage, and miraculously, it does it all in a painless (okay, enjoyable) way.

If you've been wanting to take part in the biggest thing to hit advertising since the invention of the 30 second TV commercial, but didn't know how or where to start, buy this book and you'll be on your way. You'd be a dummy not to.

Buy AdWords for Dummies at Amazon.com