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YouTube U.S. Viewers Await Features Allowing Them To View Videos Offline, Measure Ad Performance

youtubeSearch the phrase "video marketing" on Google, and query pages of YouTube videos serve up in query results. A simple search on the word "video" returns clips from ESPN and Fox News, among others.

While some are short-form, just as many, if not more, are long-form movies and television shows. With more video views coming online, slow video load times and broadband speeds have become an issue -- especially in Asian countries with a mobile-first attitude.

For months, Google has been promising a way to view YouTube content offline. While fans in the United States will need to wait a bit longer, those in Asia now have the option. If a carrier's Internet connection slows or drops, no problem. A YouTube app available in India, Indonesia and the Philippines allows viewers to take videos offline to watch later during short periods of low or no Internet connectivity.

In countries where this feature is available, viewers can choose to add the video for offline viewing by tapping on the offline icon. Once taken offline, viewers can play back videos without an Internet connection for up to 48 hours, eliminating the worries about slow connections.

Making videos available for offline playback helps people move past challenges of slow data connection, allowing them to enjoy a buffer-free version of their favorite content, Jay Akkad, YouTube product manager, wrote in a post. 

Some 60% of marketers participating in a study from the Content Marketing Institute believe videos are effective in supporting their B2B marketing strategy. Analytics helps to measure the effectiveness, and about 72% said they use YouTube.

Advertisers and content producers will need to wait for the download feature to hit the U.S. market, but those wanting data on how their videos perform can get it through a new version of video reporting. It offers more YouTube Analytics-style performance metrics in AdWords for Video. The version launched last week.

The Video Analytics page features a visualized representation of video's views, divided into paid and non-paid to give a sense of how videos perform. The page also brings powerful audience retention graph to AdWords for Video, formerly only available in YouTube Analytics. The new features lets advertisers fine-tune creatives by visualizing when audience interest improves or declines.

Google believes the analytics package will help build audiences on YouTube. In the AdWords account, brands can monitor video performance and viewer metrics for TrueView video ads, along with percentage of views and cost of each video, audience retention, and demographics.

Youtube photo from Shutterstock

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