Report: YouTube tinkers with e-commerce program
Video site has expanded e-commerce offering into Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, and appears to be experimenting with new click-to-buy links.
Google is trying to expand YouTube's e-commerce profile by offering viewers in Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands click-to-buy products, something that it had offered only in the U.S. and Great Britain, according to Peter Kafka at All Things Digital.
Kafka reported Wednesday that in these countries YouTube isn't satisfied with just posting links to Amazon or iTunes at the bottom of the video page.
The company is now linking in the form of transparent overlays that appear within the videos. The links can only be seen while watching clips on YouTube and can't be found on embedded clips.
A YouTube representative was not immediately available for comment.
Expect to see an increase in this type of experimenting at YouTube as Google tries to turn the Web's No. 1 video site into the cash cow many once predicted it would become. Google has acknowledged struggling to generate significant revenue from YouTube.