UK internet users make over a billion visits a month to video sites
Just a week after it was revealed that YouTube has over a billion unique monthly users a month, research from Experian Hitwise has found that visits to online video sites now account for five per cent of all online usage.
It was discovered that UK internet users are now making over a billion visits to video sites a month, an increase of 16 per cent year on year.
In February 2013, the UK Internet population spent 323 million hours watching online video content, accounting for 100 million more hours viewing compared to the same period in 2012
James Murray, digital insight manager at Experian Marketing Services, said: “Although the primary source of video is still entertainment, more brands are taking advantage of this medium and using it to drive traffic to their web pages. Our data shows that nine per cent of video downstream traffic is going directly to retail sites.
“As online video continues to evolve as a marketing channel, it is starting to have a greater impact on online traffic in the retail, travel and finance industries. Brands would benefit from incorporating video as a core part of their digital strategy, driving awareness traffic to their sites and helping to generate further sales.”
It was discovered that 70 per cent of all visits to online video sites come from YouTube, with UK Internet users spending 203 million hours watching YouTube content each month, with an average session time of 20 minutes.
Visits via mobile are also on the increase, and perhaps plays a role in the overall increase in video views, with one in five visits to YouTube coming from a mobile device via wi-fi compared to one in 20 in 2011.