Knowing how searchers look for videos online can help you formulate a strategy for optimizing and distributing them. The numbers below are from a June 2007 study on the subject by the Online Publishers Association.

A large part of what we learn from these numbers is that people may not necessarily search for online videos. Instead, they are delivered to them by trusted sources or they simple run across them while on the internet.

The least popular way of finding video online is through RSS video feeds, with only 4% of watchers reporting that they use this method. However, I suspect that this is because most people have not yet discovered media RSS and these early adopters are just cracking open the door to the potential that they hold for the future of online video.

27% of video viewers click on links delivered to them within email newsletters to which they have subscribed. If they have subscribed, there is a very high level of interest. So, the question that arises is “Are marketers not putting enough links to videos in their email blasts?”

The other 4 methods of finding videos online are almost equally used:

• Perform Search Engine searches - 39%
• Go to favorite websites for watching videos - 43%
• Click on email links sent to them by their friends - 43%
• Randomly discover videos while browsing the web - 44%

The statistics indicate that many people use more than one method of finding videos on the web. I use all of them and you probably do, too.

Although I often click on video links in emails, I hadn’t given that much serious consideration as a marketing method. However, as you can see, it can be a powerful one. Think about how you can leverage your email marketing using videos - I will be.

Then make certain you are taking advantage of the potential of “Send to a Friend”, as this has such great potential for the viral distribution of your video message.