Google has recently released a new testing platform of a ‘Video Experiment’ for existing video advertisers. A YouTube video with Greg Finn and Barry Schwartz airs surprise about a Google Shopping image which popped out into a short video advertisement this week.
The video below is the whole episode, here’s the timestamp url to the Search Engine Roundtable clip of the topic discussion.
A Seasonal Traffic Grab: Video and YouTube Future Features and Advertising Enhancements
On October 16th, 2024, Google Ads announced new video testing features, and on October 23rd another foretold Performance Max update about Video Enhancements. Whispers in the UK SEO community predict as soon as this month (November 2024).
What other YouTube video features that haven’t been released yet would be attractive to advertisers in 2025? What does a conversion mean for your corporate video advertising campaign? Whist it’s definitely true for eCommerce, a YouTube clicky title feature allows customers to buy instantly from a hyperlink. If the YouTube titles were blue hyperlinks, that single click eliminates the need for lengthy forms. This would work really well if you already use Google’s Auto fill feature for your profile payment credentials
YouTube Video Hyperlink Titles for Instant Purchase and One Click Conversions
Here’s an idea, what if YouTube titles were clickable, and enabled a conversion with one click? Drastically decreasing the gap time vs satisfying a consumer desire.
The chemistry of one-click conversions can lead to impulsive purchases and a disregard for the long-term consequences of our choices. Remember that time when you won that eBay auction and totally forgot about it until the package arrived?
That dopamine rush of success is instantly yours for the low low price of your confusion when a mystery delivery appears on your doorstep. Back in the early eBay bidding days, this was given the moniker ‘a beerloom‘
How about live music passion and impulse to buy MP3’s without a platform? YouTube’s video advertising could shift at a fundamental level and reform how unsigned musicians reach new audiences, where strategic teaser clips in search results create immediate emotional connections with potential fans. Through a direct-to-fan distribution model, viewers could instantly download MP3s to their devices, eliminating traditional barriers while ensuring the majority of profits go directly to artists.
This creates a sustainable ecosystem where emerging bands can access affordable promotional opportunities through minimal platform commissions, helping Google maintain revenue streams while genuinely supporting independent music sector growth through targeted discovery aligned with viewer search intent.
Whilst Google’s ownership of YouTube (under parent company Alphabet Inc.) enables seamless integration of video ads into search results, this powerful cross-platform advertising ecosystem provides user behavior data from both platforms. The intent is to refine targeted marketing strategies and drive higher engagement rates. This is checkout cha-ching news if your record label has a healthy digital marketing budget and forecasts number 1 potential sales.
The Paradox of Convenience: How One-Click Conversions Offer Knee-Jerk Purchases
When the path of least resistance is so readily available, it becomes all too easy to bypass careful consideration and critical thinking.
Convenience has become a paramount factor in our decision-making processes, which companies will exploit to cement the future of their business success. Amazon’s “1-Click” purchase patent was first filed in 1997 and granted in 1999 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The resulting ambivalence by the worldwide media, and consumers alike, raised questions about the downsides of this simplicity, when the advantages to both consumers, and Amazon, resulted in a significant marketing use case study for this proprietary eCommerce feature.
Bypassing the typical checkout process, making purchase with a single click became a key advantage for Amazon, significantly improving the user experience. Amazon licensed this technology to Barnes & Noble (Nook e-reader), Apple (iTunes and App store) and Samsung Pay; but the patent’s exclusivity limited other e-commerce platforms from adopting similar features.
The patent expired in 2017, marking the end of Amazon’s exclusive rights to the 1-Click technology. The expiration allowed for broader adoption of one-click checkout processes across the e-commerce landscape, changing how digital transactions are streamlined.
Which brings us to the possibility of YouTube ads offering a One Click Conversion (OCC). Perhaps an amusing acronym such as an MFT (mobile finger tap). Old school SEO’s would terms like “Conversion Link” and “One-Click CTA”, terms that were designed to frame digital interactions in ways that reduce perceived friction and cognitive strain, increasing the likelihood of desired user conversions.
Decision Making with Single Click eCommerce and One Click Online Bookings
One-click conversions, with their simplicity and efficiency, have revolutionized the way consumers shop, book services, and even donate to causes. However, this seemingly effortless approach to consumption can have unintended consequences on our judgment and decision-making abilities.
For Digital Marketers, a single click can mean a purchase, or a conversion; both slot into the shoes of an overall Conversion model. The paradox of convenience lies in its ability to both simplify our lives and cloud our judgment.
By understanding the psychological factors at play, “Hotlink” and “Bluey” engage with the technical nomenclature of hyperlink taxonomy, yet the less formal monikers “Link Juice” and “Clicker” remain quite casual. New school SEOs have adopted more formal terms like “Hyperlink” and “Anchor Text,” which require more cognitive resources but offer greater accuracy in technical contexts.
If your conversions are not physical sales, integrating an appointment setting feature directly into Google SERPs from YouTube ads could be wizardry with an auto-complete function, these larger-scale companies can streamline the booking process, making it easier for customers to schedule appointments, even for urgent needs.
Local Businesses or homeowners can instant book 24hour services from providers like locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, emergency building repairs and gives wide ranging opportunities to businesses of all sizes.
Small businesses would benefit from every appointment, made at their customers’ convenience. Dentists, hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, massage therapists, veterinarians, auto repair shops, real estate agents, personal trainers, and HVAC technicians can use YouTube video advertising out of hours and wake up to a full book of appointments every day.
Sole Trader Benefits – or Bad for Business: Competitors Continually Comparing
Many of us have experienced the immediate gratification associated with one-click conversions and how they can hijack our reward systems, making it difficult to resist even unnecessary purchases. This can stimulate our dopamine receptors, sating the urge of success in seconds.
Many one-click conversions (OCCs) could present both opportunities and challenges for all small businesses and sole traders. OCCs streamline purchases and reduce operational costs, potentially driving more sales through convenience.
However, they may intensify price competition and reduce the personal connections that often distinguish small businesses. While the technology can boost efficiency, business owners must weigh this against potentially diminished customer relationships and increased competitive pressure.
But Why Does Google Continually Release new Advertising Features for Business?
Oh, come now, we both know the answer – it’s a jolly little dance, isn’t it? Digital Marketers and SEOs are forced to cha-cha-slide along with Google’s ever-rolling search algorithms and AI, even as zero-click SGE results threaten to steal the spotlight. All roads lead back to data harvesting, wouldn’t you know?
Gone are the battery or solar-powered calculators; we’ve graduated to far more sophisticated tools. Now it’s all SaaS this, AI that, with a dash of LLM and NLP thrown in for good measure – all in service of pumping up those year-on-year profits. After all, what business would dare turn their nose up at sales? So here we are, embracing the roaring 2020s, where forecasting the future of sales has become the hottest party routine at your nan’s ninetieth.
Reverse back to the 1960s: Reflecting on Revenue, Retail, and the Rise of Digital Revolutions
The 1960s marked the nascent stages of data-driven marketing, laying the groundwork for the sophisticated practices we see today. The invention of the tube television was not an inspiration for the brand name YouTube.*
While the tools and techniques were less advanced, the fundamental principles of collating, handling and storing data to inform marketing strategies were established.
- Companies began conducting in-depth market research to understand consumer preferences and behaviors. [Harvard Business Review]
- Markets were segmented into distinct groups based on demographics, psychographics, and other factors. [Investopedia]
- Targeted direct mail campaigns were used to reach specific demographics with personalized messages. [HubSpot]
- Retailers collected and analyzed sales transaction data to optimize inventory and identify trends. [Source: Salesforce]
Early CRM systems emerged to track customer interactions and preferences, enabling better customer service and tailored marketing efforts. Database marketing, spearheaded by pioneers like Robert and Kate Kestnbaum, laid the groundwork for CRM by using statistical analysis to better target marketing efforts. This period, starting from the 1960s, saw the first steps towards understanding customer preferences and interactions on a data-driven level in the early history of CRM.
Do You Remember These Three In-Person Data Collection Methods?
While the tools and techniques have evolved, the principles of collecting, deconstructing, and utilizing data to inform marketing strategies remain consistent.
- Qualitative data was gathered through focus groups to understand consumer opinions and preferences. Whilst the early process was time intensive, today’s online tools offer productive solutions. [Source: Qualtrics]
- Quantitative data was collected through in-person surveys and questionnaires, this still happens around the world today [Source: SurveyMonkey]
- AB Testing – Companies experimented with different product displays, signage, and packaging to measure their effectiveness. [Source: VWO]
1960s–1970s: The Emergence of Data-Driven Marketing and AI Development
In the 1960s and 1970s, companies began to use mainframe computers to process large volumes of data. This period marked the early stages of predictive analytics, allowing businesses to segment markets and target consumers more effectively.
Note: At the same time, artificial intelligence was being developed in academic and industrial settings, but its impact on marketing was still limited.
1980s–1990s: The First Shift – The Internet and Early Data Harvesting
With the rise of the Internet in the late 1980s and the explosion of the dot-com era in the 1990s, businesses began collecting data online at a massive scale. The introduction of cookies in 1994 overhauled online data tracking, allowing websites to gather information on user behavior. This was also the beginning of targeted online advertising, paving the way for today’s sophisticated ad platforms.
2000s: The Second Shift – The Dot-Com Bust and the Rise of Big Data
After the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, surviving companies started leveraging big data to refine their marketing strategies. With the rise of platforms like Google and Amazon, personalized recommendations became the norm, enabled by algorithms analysing vast amounts of consumer data. The launch of Google AdWords in 2000 further shifted marketing towards a pay-per-click model, where every user interaction could be measured and adjusted for conversions.
2010s: The Third Shift – Social Media, Mobile, and AI in Marketing
The 2010s saw the rise of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which became powerful tools for data collection and user-specific marketing. AI began playing a larger role in targeting ads and generating content, with platforms like Facebook and Google using machine learning to predict consumer behavior. Programmatic advertising automated the buying of ads in real-time, using data-driven insights to streamline ad delivery.
2020s: The Fourth Shift – AI, Privacy, and the Data-Driven Future
As AI advanced, marketers turned to technologies like voice search and predictive analytics to enhance customer engagement. However, the rise of data privacy regulations, including GDPR, forced companies to adopt privacy-first data strategies while still striving for target audience tailoring. AI-powered tools like simple ChatGPT4 SEO chatbots or highly advanced analytics further integrated into marketing processes, making it possible to predict trends and deliver hyper-targeted content to consumers.
2030s: The Fifth Shift – The Future of AI and Data in Marketing
Looking forward, the next major shift in marketing will be driven by innovations like quantum computing, which promises to process data faster than ever before. This, coupled with emerging technologies like AR (Augmented Reality) and the metaverse, will enable marketers to create highly immersive and unique experiences. The future of marketing lies in decoding consumer intent and delivering seamless, personalised experiences across both physical and digital spaces. Just like it’s been for millennia.
2025: Entice Impulsive Purchases, Music Downloads and Lead Generation
YouTube rolled out a new testing playground for A/B video advert clips. You can now create a video experiment to determine which of your video ads is more effective on YouTube. With a video experiment, you can test different video ads with the same audience, and then use the results of the experiment to determine which ad resonates more with your audience.
Initially, my YouTube blue clickable link in title idea was for an eCommerce purchase, but then I considered a conversion in the true meaning, So, if someone wants to buy your SEO course, your YouTube video would have a clickable title which leads to the lead generation page. Or for local services, either a calendar or a contact form, or a landing page with both.
The aim here is for people like myself, impulsive, looking for something, then decide on the spot to book a holiday in Majorca solo, that kind of thing.
In 2023, I bought a ticket for a local Bristol gig for Pop Will Eat Itself, I still own a CD and a cassette from their album releases in the 1980’s, however now I don’t have a cassette player nor a CD player.
When I was mosh pitting to ‘Def Con One’ I really wanted to download the track as my ringtone at least; or download the album or track on my mobile to carry the memory around forever.
Currently, YouTube content creators can add links to descriptions, comments, or use cards and end screens to promote external products. However, these methods require additional user interaction. The concept of making the video title itself clickable streamlines this process, offering a direct path from content consumption to product purchase. This would allow the viewer, already engaged with the music, to immediately click on the title and be taken directly to a payment gateway where they can purchase the track in just a few clicks.
This idea is rooted in the growing demand for friction less digital experiences. In an age of instant gratification, users expect minimal barriers to access content, and this solution capitalizes on that expectation. By integrating clickable YouTube titles, musicians can reduce the number of steps between discovery and purchase, increasing the likelihood of a transaction.