Earlier this year ComScore confirmed what we have all been suspecting for a while, that the use and inclusion of online video content is growing. YouTube is of course the largest video hosting site and is used by millions of people all over the world. Of course, this is not particularly new information; however one very interesting point which came out of this was the increase in videos for news reporting. This is an exciting time for companies and it is worth considering how the use of videos for news related topics could affect your website design.

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense for online news content to be viewed as a video as that is how people view it on the television. Although it is a natural transition, in the past the majority of people have preferred to read about news topics online rather than watch it, so what has suddenly changed?

As people become more familiar and confident with the internet they demand more and more from it. Simple words are no longer enough and we need to keep users stimulated and enticed. Video content also provides a visual and verbal way of communicating which is received well by most people. Adding video content to your site also gives your website a more professional edge and enables you to offer something different over your competitors, which is why more and more companies are including space for this kind of media in their web design The social media side allows visitors to comment on videos, feed back to your company and let you know their thoughts.

Most companies already use video content to some extent, however if you have made the decision to increase your video content and use it for more news related topics then you need to ensure it is working correctly for you. Some elements of this you can do yourself, others you may need to seek the help of a web development company. Either way, if you can get video news content right, you are onto a winner.

When people are searching for news related posts they are usually looking for the most up to date information. This is where real time searching can really benefit you. Always ensure you put the date in the video tags and if you make any amendments or upload a new version, always renew the date. You also need your videos to show up in search engines for the most relevant searches, so ensure your title and description tags reflect the video content as accurately and as detailed as possible.

Video content also needs to be user friendly. There is no point getting users to your video, helping with your link building by sharing with their friends, and then they cannot download them or the videos keep cutting out. Ensure file sizes are as large as they need to be for quality, yet not overly large that they slow down your page loading speed. If you do find that you are having trouble with video loading then you can either post a link to an external video hosting site or perhaps show a shorter version and then include a link to a host site were users can view the extended version.