YouTube is undoubtedly the number one video website on the internet and is second only to Google in terms of search volume. Let me run some quick numbers to show how HUGE YouTube is as a source of potential website traffic. YouTube went from 0 to 4,000,000,000 MONTHLY visitors in 3 months. More than 75,000 new videos are uploaded every day and more than 100 million videos are watched every day. In January 2009, a US survey shows that 147 million US internet users viewed an average of 101 videos per person. In March 2009, YouTube reached 100 million viewers in the US alone. YouTube ranks 4th most visited website in alexa.com statistics.

Those numbers mean only one thing: YouTube has a huge source of potential website traffic. If you’re not using YouTube to market your website or blog, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities. YouTube is a powerful tool to promote your website. But the question is how? This is how you can use YouTube more effectively in your internet marketing efforts.

Step 1 – Create a video related to your niche

Create a video that is related to your niche and suitable for the type of target audience you intend to create the video for. If your target audience is teens or college students, colorful, “MTV” type videos are best for grabbing their attention. DIY videos are great if your niche is in household things. A more classic presentation will be adapted to the professional and job market.

Think of a video that will provoke and engage your target market. Your videos should be short but the message is clear. Avoid making videos longer than 5 minutes as people are busy and looking for instant gratification most of the time.

Make them curious, if you can, try to shock and get people out of their usual indifference. Make sure you clearly identify yourself with the video. Your video should have your logo or company name on it. You can put your website URL at the bottom of the video, so your viewer can follow it to your site.

Step 2 – Find a strategic location for your video on the web

The best way is to get your video on the “Featured Videos” section of YouTube. Featured videos typically stay in this section for about a week, often receiving millions upon thousands of views over the days and weeks that follow. By strategically placing your videos on YouTube, you’ll increase people’s interest and get them to watch your video. This is where viral marketing would start to work. Your videos will be seen and shared by more and more people.

Quality and promotion are important in this regard.

Step 3: Create a backlink to your website

YouTube has a PageRank of 9 out of 10 possible. YouTube is a good way to get a strong backlink. By creating a comprehensive profile and including a link to your business website, you can transfer your increased exposure on YouTube into increased traffic to your site, blog, or any other content you’ve created. But you should avoid a direct sales pitch in your video. Excess marketing is frowned upon by YouTube. Be subtle in promoting your site or your product.