YouTube Redesign focusses on Search and AdSense

YouTube has launched a home page redesign which brings search more to the fore. Not surprising given it is the second biggest search engine on the web, after parent company Google. However I suspect the redesign is more about the launch of YouTube AdSense.  

An evolutionary change reducing clutter and putting focus on search. YouTube  ran an astoundingly large multivariate experiment with over 1,024 versions on the US-English homepage. Utilizing Google Website Optimizer, they made small changes to three key sections on the homepage with the goal of increasing the number of people who signed up for an account. They claim the results were impressive: the new page performed 15.7% better than the original, resulting in thousands more sign-ups and personalized views to the homepage every day.

The push on search and the imminent launch of YouTube adsense, further prioritises the need for companies to ensure their content/message is not only on video sharing sites like YouTube but that their online video is also correctly tagged and optimized. We have achieved good results for our clients in this area, and this change further prioritises our focus on YouTube marketing.

Check out the YouTube blog on their multivariate experiment.