Vimeo vs YouTube – Which is Best for You?

Recently I posted this question on Facebook and Google Plus to get input from others on which video hosting platform they preferred and why.

In a nutshell, the overall consensus seemed to be something along these lines…

Vimeo is preferred because of:

• a cleaner, less cluttered user interface
• better playback quality (if you’re uploading HD) and options
• more options in how you distribute the video (ie, publicly, privately, only on your website (and not on Vimeo), to your followers, etc…)
• more of a video portfolio feel

YouTube is preferred because of:

• better SEO and viral potential
• higher traffic potential

Overall, I’ve found that people who are more serious about their video content prefer the quality and user experience of Vimeo. People who are more concerned with using their videos as part of the content marketing programs prefer the potential of YouTube.

Why Not Use Both?

The cool thing about this is you don’t have to have a “this or that” kind of mindset. It can be “this AND that.” If I’ve created something like a screencast of how to do something in WordPress, YouTube will work well for that. But, since I’ve gotten into photography I’ve started to dabble in video as well, and if I create something with more of an artistic nature I’d like to have the options that Vimeo offers. But I also want the SEO and marketing value that YouTube offers.

In a case like that I will upload the video to Vimeo and use that for deliberate distribution, then also upload the video to YouTube to get the search engine benefits that it provides.

More info about Vimeo

In my quest for the optimum video host I found this informative video by Nick Haubner, of Magnetic Sponsoring. Nick talks about some of the differences between these two platforms and also shows some of the cool features and reasons why you might want to take a better look at Vimeo.

What’s Your Experience?

Do you use either of these sites for your video? I’m very interested in your thoughts on which you prefer and why. Or maybe you’ve got some tips you use to get more out of these networks?