YouTube has begun testing a more prominently placed “Watch On YouTube” badge for embedded videos.
Typically, when watching an embedded video, once you begin playback there is a “YouTube” button in the corner that opens to the same video on the YouTube website proper. Otherwise, to open a video in YouTube instead of the embedded player, you need to click on the video’s title.
It seems that, for some, YouTube is now showing a prominent “Watch on YouTube” badge in the bottom-left corner of embedded videos. This button, as you’d expect, quickly opens the video or playlist on YouTube.com in a new tab.
The Watch on YouTube badge could be seen as Google pushing for more video viewers to watch from the more fully-featured YouTube web app. By using the full YouTube experience, you have access to video comments, your notifications, and numerous recommended videos, all designed to keep you engaged with YouTube.
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- This is a screenshot, not a real embedded video!
By contrast, embedded videos are often used to supplement the contents of a page, keeping the viewer engaged with the website they’re currently browsing. Given the prominent sizing and placement of the Watch on YouTube badge on embedded videos, creators may find their readers and viewers more likely to click through to YouTube rather than stay on their current page.
As this is not appearing for most people, it remains to be seen whether Google intends to push the new “Watch on YouTube” badging to everyone. Google could just as easily roll back the change instead, depending on feedback.
Be sure to let us know down in the comments what you think about the badge and what it might mean for the various creators on the web.
More on YouTube:
- YouTube site picture-in-picture mode working again w/ all browsers in iOS 14.5 beta
- YouTube Music playlists now preview what songs are inside with grid cover art
- Google releases separate ‘YouTube Music for Chromebook’ PWA on Play Store
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