• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, July 26, 2011

In the last two years, music video powerhouse Vevo.com has become not just one of the top video sites, but one of the most popular Web properties overall. In June, it ranked as the 14th-largest site, with 66.4 million U.S. visitors, according to comScore.

After expanding to mobile less than a year ago, Vevo appears to be a hit on handheld devices as well.

The company's rise has also dovetailed with that of smartphones and tablets, helping extend its youth-skewing audience to mobile screens and bring big brand advertisers along. Vevo said almost half (48%) of its mobile users are in the highly coveted 18-to-24 age demographic and two-thirds are male, according to findings based on a survey of 376 mobile users.

Separate Nielsen data has shown people in that age range are among the heaviest mobile video consumers, watching an average of six hours, 30 minutes a month. Given Vevo's youth-leaning audience, brands such as Clearasil and Neutrogena are buying advertising mainly on its mobile properties. Other marketers that are spending entirely or partly in mobile (as part of wider Vevo buys) include McDonald's, Trident, Target, NBC Universal's Bravo network, Wendy's, Ben & Jerry's, and Yellowpages.com.

About 40 to 50 marketers buy mobile inventory exclusively, according to David Kohl, executive vice president, sales and customer operations at Vevo. And more than half of the site's core advertisers are doing some mobile advertising.

The study showed that Hispanics also make up a large proportion of Vevo's mobile audience at 40% -- partly a reflection of the high proportion of Latinos who own smartphones. More than three-quarters of all Vevo mobile users have watched seven or more videos, and the number of streams has increased 365% since January to 85 million monthly as of May.

Most viewing on Vevo via mobile takes place in the evening, when 79% tune in. More than two-thirds (67%) also watch in the afternoon. Perhaps more surprising is that users are more likely to watch Vevo via mobile in their bedrooms, in the living room or on the go. That points to two-screen viewing.

Mobile apps have played a major part in Vevo's mobile push. The company has launched versions optimized for different platforms, including the iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7, across smartphones and tablets. The iPhone app has earned a respectable three out of five stars in the App Store, based on 27,350 ratings to date.

Vevo has had 7.5 million app downloads to date, and that total was up 33% in June from May. People spend 53 minutes on average per month with Vevo apps.

Vevo Android app users skew older than those on iPads and iPhones, and Vevo iPad users tend to be older than their iPhone counterparts. Vevo iPad owners also tend to be more affluent, with a higher percentage earning $100,000 or more, mirroring wider usage trends for the Apple tablet.

Looking ahead, Vevo plans to expand to more mobile platforms and provide improved integration with social media properties to expand video discovery and sharing. It will also add more features that capitalize on the particular attributes of mobile, including location-awareness and portability.