If you're looking at which options you have for video hosting, then this guide is for you.
Inside, we've ranked and reviewed the top video hosting sites and platforms for your to choose from depending on what you'll need.
Why Do I Need A Video Hosting Site?
It really boils down to the purpose of why you're creating your videos in the first place.
But the biggest reason is that you don't want to upload your videos directly to your site and bog down your website resources.
Video files are rather large files so it can take a while for them to load and as a result, hurt the website peformance, hurt the user experience, and create more frustration for you and the end user.
Do I Need A Paid Video Host Where There Are Free Options?
Each of the platforms we recommend have their own purposes.
Most everyone knows about Youtube (which is free) definitely has it's place, but only for certain instances.
Most of this guide we will focus on video hosting sites that aren't named Youtube even though it's a great platform to get traffic from that we'll dive into a bit later on.
Choosing the right video site to host with is extremely important because as you'll see from our very own experiences, these tools can actually increase your plays as well as conversion rates.
Video Hosting For Video Sales Letters and Lead Generation
One of the more important aspects in your business is the lead generation as well as your sales videos.
That's why we have it's important we have something that loads fast, increases watch time, and one that we can use advanced tagging features so we can know who has seen our offers.
That's why our # 1 pick for this is Vidalytics.
Vidalytics
Vidalytics is our go to whenever we launch a new video sales letter, lead generation piece, or webinar replay.
The reason?
It just flat out works.
It's great for conversions because of some of the more advanced features packed inside the dashboard.
You can see the full Vidalytics review here, but here's a quick rundown of what we think separates this one from everything else.
Features
What's It Used For?
Vidalytics is mainly used to help you boost your conversions and increase your lead flow.
Disadvantages
Pricing Details
There are 3 pricing options to choose from that will work for you even if you're just starting out with the pricing starting as low as $25 per month and going up depending on the number of videos you'll need and your bandwidth.
That means you can grow with Vidalytics as your business grows as well as test driving it for 14 days by going here.
We highly recommend it.
Membership Platforms
If you sell coaching, consulting, or digital products, then you'll need a video hosting platform to protect your members only content and to keep your members from getting distracted.
While it's ok to go with Youtube if you're just starting out on a shoestring budget, realize with the suggested videos inside Youtube and with ads, it's not a long term solution for a video host.
Vimeo
We've used Vimeo for years and have been extremely happy with the ease of use and the pricing options you're given along with the complete customizations over your videos.
It's our top resource for your member's area video content and while it's not our go-to for sales materials it is a better option than Youtube because there's less distractions.
Features
What's Vimeo Used For?
Vimeo can be used for your sales material and lead gen (even though it's not our top pick for this), as well as your membership sites, and generating traffic.
For traffic generation, Vimeo's pages rank well in the search results and provides an additional source to distribute your content through in addition to Youtube.
These can do really well for ranking your brand name and distributing your content.
Disadvantages
Pricing Details
The cost starts out as low as $7 per month and comes with a free 30 Day Trial for you to test out.
SEO And Traffic Generation
If you're looking to use videos to drive leads and sales, then there's only one source I'd recommend you go with and that is Youtube.
Youtube
Best part about it?
It's free and considered to be the # 2 Search Engine in the world owned by the # 1 search engine - Google.
While we haven't recommended Youtube for your members area or for sales pages or lead generation pages due to all of the distractions that come from using the Youtube Platform.
However, it is hands down the best video platform for getting traffic, leads, and sales.
Features
Disadvantages
Pricing Details
Youtube is 100% free and we highly recommend you use it to pull traffic, leads, and sales from it, however you'll want to avoid it with your sales materials due to ads playing before, during, and after your videos, along with the suggested videos at the end of your video often creates disruption which can affect the sales process.
To signup, go to https://youtube.com
Important Factors to Inspect When Searching For Video Sites
As we mentioned, it's all dependent on the purpose you're using videos to begin with but here are the most common concerns and factors to look at when choosing which video hosting provider is the best option for your business.
Traffic and Search Engine Optimization
If you're looking for traffic and the SEO benefits, the right platform will make all the difference in the world.
Since traffic is the lifeblood to your business, it's an important point to keep in mind when choosing the video platform.
If this is your outlook and approach, you'll want to start a Youtube channel, then customize it for the SEO benefits.
It's 100% free and easy to upload with their interface.
The best thing to do is make a list of all the topics and video content you intend to make and start a weekly or monthly schedule where you knock out the list as many as you can at a time.
Social Integration
Sharing on social media is going to help your traffic, getting your videos ranked, as well as getting eyeballs to your content from your best customers.
It's pretty easy on most of the top video sharing sites.
CRM Integrations
If you'd like to use your videos as part of your overall sales process, then Vidalytics is the recommended software as you can see advanced analytics of your videos as well as create "tags" to your viewers allowing your CRM to get notified of who's watched your videos and how long.
This is important so you can "tag" them appropriately to ensure they get the proper follow up sequences.
Final Wrap Up
Use and leverage Youtube as much as you can because it's massive and can bring a surge in traffic over time as well as build an audience inside the platform.
For your sales messages, use the Vidalytics platform because it's geared toward boosting conversions.
If you're running a membership site and you're not using an all in one tool like Kartra, then Vimeo is a solid answer for hosting your videos.