WordPress plugins are such a fantastic set of features. There are so many, that do everything from adding shortcodes to enhancing productivity, content marketing and SEO. But my favorite are those that allow you to add multimedia in the posts. Especially anything connected to YouTube, where I feel some of the best videos are located. Also, some of the worse, but we don't have to talk about those.
Thankfully, WordPress has a whole lot of YouTube related plugins to choose from. I have personally tried dozens of them, some still around and some that fell into obscurity over time. These are five that are still up thanks to their high quality and popularity. They also happen to be my favorites.
1. YouTube Channel Plugin
This cool little tool is a fun way to create an entire gallery from any channel. It embeds it into the post, which you can resize and fix to your own specifications. Earlier this year, it was further improved to allow you to select which videos you want shown instead of showing whatever it updated on the chosen channel. Those videos can also be rotated as you like.
2. Artiss YouTube Embed
Anyone can embed a video easily using the embed code. However, most of them are not that customizable, and that causes a lot of frustration for bloggers that want a specific format for all of their posts. This has a higher list of features, which are HTML5 and XHTML compliant. You can also make different profiles, which will let different posts have different looks. So you don't have to constantly customize each one. There are also translations available, among many other useful features.
3. Video SEO For WordPress
Videos are not great on blogs for SEO, because they are held to a different standard in results. You can now make your videos SEO rich in connection to the post itself, and make it look a lot better in the process. Just imagine being able to have your post show up as a video result on Google. It does cost $89, so that might put some bloggers off. But if you are going to be using it on a regular basis, this is a powerful and handy tool to have at your disposal. Add it to the WP SEO plugin for best results, and you will be sure to see a boost in your rankings.
4. Tubepress
This one doesn't just show YouTube videos. It is also compatible with Vimeo, another popular and fantastic video sharing site that is sadly underrepresented in the world of WP plugins. It looks great, and I have enjoyed the way the visuals are more attractive than you usually see in a post. Instead of a video just plopped in the middle of your article, it will look prettier.
5. Smart YouTube Pro
Do you want your post videos to be mobile compatible? This plugin will let your readers watch your videos on iPads and iPhones. It has a sidebar for widgets, and the tool itself is small and easily customizable. It also has video thumbnail support, and video widescreen for either YouTube or Vimero embedded clips. It has a few problems, but if you want something basic that will give you a lot of features, you will get it here.
Conclusion
Adding videos is an easy way to improve your SEO rankings, engage your readers and bulk up your content. It is also a very simple means of making your posts more social. So skip the basic embed codes and use these plugins to make it better than ever. Also be sure to check this old but very concise guide from DirJournal on Youtube marketing.
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