YouTube vs Vimeo for Hosting Videos

But for businesses, YouTube isn’t always the best bet. In fact, many have made the switch to Vimeo, another video platform that’s newer to the Internet scene.

Before you choose one to the other for your business needs, it’s important to compare YouTube and Vimeo to see what they offer. Both services have their pros and cons.

YouTube vs. Vimeo

When you’re comparing both video sites, it’s important to maintain objectivity so that you can evaluate them fairly and accurately. You also want to gauge each service based on a handful of important questions.

• Is this going to be relevant for my company?
• Does this change the way I feel about either YouTube or Vimeo?
• Will making a change affect my company’s future growth?
• Does one of these platforms make more sense than the other given our corporate mission, vision and direction?

Basically, there’s no blanket statement as to which service is better than the other, even based on different industries. You just have to do the homework yourself.

Using YouTube

YouTube is the better-known option in this dilemma, partially because it’s so often associated with rising young stars, independent artists, and viral videos. And there are some definite ups and downs to using it.

The Advantages of YouTube:

• YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. This means that when you put a video on YouTube, you have a massive potential audience that can see that video. And on top of that, you practically have a guarantee that someone somewhere will watch it.
• YouTube is incredibly popular for both amateur and professional content of any kind. It covers everything from cell phone footage of comedy club standup to the high-budget music videos of musical superstars.
• YouTube is consistently the highest ranking web-based video platform in the world.
• YouTube is completely free to join.
• YouTube is owned by Google, so it experiences a very small percentage of downtime and glitches when compared to other websites.
• If you have a Google AdWords account, you can automatically have your ads running on YouTube.
• YouTube offers a robust analytics package.
• YouTube gives you embed code so you can add your videos to your site.

The Disadvantages of YouTube:

• YouTube recommends more videos on the sidebar of your video. Often, the videos are innocent enough. But some may not align with your company’s values, which could misrepresent you to your audience if they don’t know YouTube well.
• Your competitors’ videos may show up alongside yours in searches.
• YouTube is filled with advertising, and depending on the viewer, they may not want to sit through a 30-second ad for a 60-second video.
• Some corporations have blocked YouTube. This means your videos can’t reach people while they’re on the job, even if it’s relevant to their field.
• When you embed a YouTube video, there’s a small button users can click to watch the video on YouTube instead of your site.

Using Vimeo

Vimeo is much younger than YouTube, but it still offers several competitive advantages. Of course, there are a few downsides, but that doesn’t mean Vimeo can’t work for your needs.

The Advantages of Vimeo:

• Vimeo doesn’t use any ads. Viewers who click your video will only see your video, and nothing else.
• Vimeo has a niche user demographic that creates high-quality content. That means your video won’t be associated with low-effort, ugly content from someone’s phone.
• Vimeo emphasizes community with its members, rather than just being an outlet for entertainment.
• Vimeo subscribers have the option to reduce the amount of bandwidth to play their videos. That means the videos will load more quickly without sacrificing the video’s quality.
• Vimeo allows you to customize the logo in your video.
• Vimeo offers a robust analytics package.

The Disadvantages of Vimeo:

• Vimeo costs money to join. Though it’s currently less than $20 a month for businesses, some corporations still think this is too much to ask for a site to host their videos.
• Vimeo receives significantly less traffic than YouTube.
• Vimeo has a set amount of videos that you can upload, even if you’re a premium member. While this reduces the amount of low-quality clutter on the site, it also limits your business’s potential with video.

Which is right for you?

The basic idea is that YouTube has the traffic, but Vimeo has the quality. It’s up to you to decide what’s most important to your business and how you want to pursue your goals. And if you really want to, you can use both — you just have to be selective about what you upload to Vimeo.

WebFX knows video sites like YouTube and Vimeo

At WebFX, we pride ourselves on knowing exactly how to promote companies by using video. Our Internet marketing specialists have extensive experience using both YouTube and Vimeo to help our clients grow their revenue, and they’ll do the same for you. When you partner with us, we consider your success to also be our success — and that’s why we pull out all the stops to make sure your business is successful.

Do you want to reach more customers with your videos? Contact us today to start laying out a YouTube SEO strategy that’ll make your company stand out on YouTube or Vimeo!