YouTube Expands Ecommerce Platform

Google has announced it is expanding YouTube’s click-to-buy ecommerce platform it launched last October to now include Germany, Spain and the Netherlands in an effort to further monetize the property.

The YouTube Blog has more details. "Today we’re expanding the program beyond the US and the UK. Links to songs from the iTunes Store will now appear in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, so users from those countries who are drawn to a particular song can easily purchase it. And it’s not limited to tracks on videos uploaded directly by our partners – partners can add these links to videos uploaded by users by using our Content ID tools to claim videos that match their content."

YouTube also says it is improving the way links are displayed. Users will start to see click-to-buy links appearing as semi-transparent overlays at the bottom of a video for a brief period of time. The company says it should lead to more viewers using its program.

YouTube says its ecommerce platform has been successful and it cites the launch of the Monty Python channel on the site last November.

"Not only did their YouTube videos shoot to the top of the most viewed lists, but their DVDs also quickly climbed to No. 2 on Amazon’s Movies & TV bestsellers list, with increased sales of 23,000 percent."