Selling Ads, Photos vs Videos

It's not easy generating ad dollars from online video. There are no good standards for tracking audience interaction. Stories and still photos are much easier to track and sell. Advertisers want to know who is looking, how long they stay and how they interact.

The statistics on still photo use is amazing. Many sites get from 50% to 80% of their total page views from people clicking through pictures. They make money too. Interstitials, page refresh, sponsorships are all easy ways to monetize a photo gallery or slide show. Statistics are easy to obtain and advertisers love detailed information about potential viewers.

It's not so easy with video. I'm looking for comScore, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and others to push for standards that will help companies monetize video in the same way they do with photos.

The short video below, by John Shinal of vator.tv, gives an excellent description of the problems in selling web video ads.