The Revolution Will Be Televised...

As it turns out, the revolution will be televised, or sort of televised anyway. Actually, it starts as a commercial. Google introduced a new age of advertising earlier this week by announcing plans to distribute video commercials on websites in its pay per click AdWords network. The move opens the once exclusive marketing channel of televised ads to a far wider array of small and medium businesses. Video advertising on websites is not, as such, revolutionary. Online readers of major newspapers such as the New York Times or Wired News are likely familiar with the 30-second IBM dinosaur-head commercials or video ads from the History Channel and Microsoft. The spaces these examples run in often cost as much or more than standard TV ads would. The revolution, as always with the web, revolves around an axis of access and contextual distribution. The sudden appearance of Google's online video ad distribution service is going to have multiple repercussions for the $38 Billion US television advertising market. It is also going to present multiple opportunities for search marketers and their clients. Google users shouldn't expect to see video ad content on Google branded websites such as Froogle, Google News, or in the general search results, not yet at any rate. The DiggThis | Furl Jim Hedger is the SEO Manager of