How to Embed Live Stream on Website: Essential Tips for More Viewers
by Rafay Muneer on Oct 31, 2024 7:42:14 AM
Did you know video has the power to attract visitors to your website?
According to a Wyzowl survey, 86% of video marketers stated that videos helped them increase website traffic. Another 82% of the same respondents said that having a video on the page helped increase visitor dwell time.
It's a similar case for live streams. Live video brings a unique dynamic to your website, captivating audiences and driving engagement like never before. Let's take a guess: by now, you're probably wondering how to embed live stream on website.
For organizations, live videos are powerful tools for getting more viewers and enhancing user experience. Embedding them directly into your website can increase engagement, boost conversions, and strengthen brand connections.
In this blog post, we'll discover how embedding live videos on a website can help attract more viewers. But first, let's understand how you can embed your video.
How Should You Embed Live Stream On Website?
Before we brief you on practical tips to embed live stream on website, let's understand what live stream embedding is.
Simply put, when you embed live video to your website, it is displayed there directly. Viewers don't have to flock to another platform to enjoy the live stream. They can do it directly from your website.
There are obvious reasons why you would want to do it this way. The biggest reason is that you can keep your viewers hooked to your site without having to push them off to other platforms. This can lead to increased engagement and potentially higher conversions.
Another benefit is that it improves the overall user experience. Navigating to another platform can be disruptive while embedding the video keeps everything smooth and seamless for your viewers.
While you're at it, you can even showcase your brand image by customizing the appearance of the embedded player to match it with the theme of your company website. This helps create a cohesive and professional look for your website.
Sounds good, right? Now, how do you do it?
The process of embedding a live video onto your website can be very simple. First, you need to make sure that your live stream is being streamed from a platform that supports embedding (more on that later). Then, you want to grab the embedding code it provides, such as iFrame code.
Once you have the code, you'll need to integrate it into your website. This part depends on the platform you're using to build your website. Most website builders offer a simple way to embed code, usually by adding a custom HTML block.
And that's it. You can now enjoy the live video player being embedded into your website.
The Different Ways to Embed Live Video
Now that you have a basic idea of how to embed the live stream on website, it's time to explore the different ways to do it. Remember how we talked about having a platform that gives you an embed code for streaming video live on your site?
To embed a live video, you'll need somewhere to host that live stream. Here are different ways this can be done:
Self-hosting
This is where you have your own streaming server pushing out a live stream. As you can imagine, this means you'll need specialized hardware or software to manage the video stream.
This option offers the highest level of control but also requires technical expertise and significant investment. Because of the massive cost and management undertaking, it isn't feasible for many.
Social Platform
Another common method of live video embedding is hosting the live stream on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. These platforms offer an easy way to get started, but they do have a few drawbacks.
The biggest problem with using a social platform to host your live stream is that they are designed to pull traffic away from your site and onto theirs. Besides this, the embedded player will still have their logo and branding, which will clash with your own branding.
And, of course, then there are the content guidelines that each platform decides for itself. You can find yourself at the mercy of having your livestream taken down or spliced with ads and other annoyances that hamper the user experience.
Live Streaming Platform
A live streaming platform splits the difference between the two options listed above. It has the ease of use that comes with using a social platform and combines that with the flexibility and control of self-hosting.
Live streaming platforms come with a user-friendly interface that lets you ingest live streams and broadcast them to your viewers using pre-configured CDNs. On top of embedding videos and live streams, they also allow you to do more like share your streams securely, add interactive elements, and view live analytics.
Benefits of Embedding Videos and Live Streams to a Website
We've talked briefly about how you can embed live video into your website. But why would you want to do so in the first place? After all, why not just post a link to the video on your website?
Well, there are certain benefits that you can get from embedding videos and live streams that you may not get from directly linking videos on your site. Here are some of these benefits:
Viewers Can Be Retained on the Website
One of the biggest benefits of video embedding is to keep viewers on your site. When you link to a video or live stream hosted on another platform, you give them the opportunity to go there instead.
Say, for example, you include a link to your live stream on YouTube Live. When a viewer clicks on the link, they are directed to YouTube. Once there, they are exposed to YouTube's own branding and ads that conflict with your message. They may even switch off to other content on the platform. All your hard-earned traffic is now YouTube's traffic.
Even if your viewers stay loyal to your streams, they have no incentive to come back to your website anymore. They can simply load up YouTube and check your latest streams without having to go to your website at all.
Thankfully, embedding helps you retain your website traffic. Your viewers will know that your website is the only place to watch your streams and that they don't have to go to any other platforms.
Site Visitor Engagement Can Be Increased
When viewers are kept on your website, the chances of them engaging with your content increase. They are more likely to interact with other elements on your website, such as your blog posts, social media feeds, and call-to-actions. And that's exactly what live streams help with.
Think about it: videos tend to be more captivating, they tend to deliver information more effectively, and they're much more sharable. For you, this means that viewers are more likely to be drawn in, captivated by your stream, and will be eager to participate.
Live streams, in general, encourage viewers to stay tuned, comment, and share their thoughts. This level of engagement can significantly boost audience interaction and loyalty.
Besides, it's often good practice to offer your audience a variety of content formats to cater to different preferences. When combined with other content types like blog posts, podcasts, and social media updates, live streams help keep your audience interested and coming back for more.
SEO Rankings Can Be Potentially Impacted
You may be surprised to know that doing something as simple as embedding a stream to your website can potentially affect your SEO rankings. While it's hard to gauge the exact impact that embedding videos or live streams has on a website's SEO ranking, there are several factors that help.
For one, when you embed a live stream to your page, visitors are likely to spend more time on your page. That means a significantly lower bounce rate across the board.
Additionally, videos often include relevant keywords and descriptions, which can help search engines understand the content of your page. This can lead to improved search engine visibility for those specific keywords. This is why you'll often see some web pages ranking in the 'video' tab of search engines.
Lastly, live streams can generate social shares and backlinks, both of which are positive signals for search engines. When people share your live stream on social media or embed it on their websites, it can boost your website's authority and credibility.
It Helps with Customer Conversion
If you're a video marketer, then you know the power of visuals in capturing and retaining audience attention. Live streams take this a step further by creating an interactive and engaging experience. When viewers feel connected to your brand through live video, they're more likely to trust and engage with your products or services.
Naturally, webpages with videos also tend to have lower bounce rates and higher user engagement rates. This simply comes down to the fact that viewers have to spend more time on a page with an embedded live stream.
Moreover, live streams provide a unique opportunity to showcase your brand personality and build a loyal customer base. By interacting with viewers in real time, you can create a sense of connection with your brand that helps customers take the next step.
A good example of this could be hosting a webinar on a specific product or service. During the webinar, you can demonstrate the product's features, answer questions, and offer examples of potential use cases. And since the live stream will be on your website, viewers will have an easier time being led towards pages that convert that interest into a purchase or trial sign-up.
Tips for Embedding Live Streams on Your Website
Now that we've touched up the basics of how you can embed live streams on website and the benefits of doing so, let's explore some practical ways to do it effectively.
Of course, embedding videos is not a hard task, especially if you have the right tools for the job. However, there some pointers you might want to keep in mind if you want to make them accessible to more viewers. Here are some of the common tips to embed live video to your site in a way that gets the most results.
Customize Your Player and Playback Settings
One of the biggest advantages of an embedded live video on your site is that you have complete control over how it looks and feels. If you link a live stream from YouTube or some other social media platform, you're stuck with their dreaded logo in the corner. And that 'Watch on YouTube' button is just waiting to siphon your traffic to their platform.
This is why it's important to have an embedded live video that seamlessly integrates with your website's design and branding. You can do this by trying to customize the player's size, color scheme, and UI elements for a more professional look. Additionally, you can control playback settings like the player behavior to optimize the viewing experience for your audience.
For example, you can enable 'autostart' on your player so that the live stream plays without any need to press 'play.' That way, when a viewer comes to your site, it will automatically begin playback for them. This helps increase engagement and reduce friction for viewers coming to your site.
Another way to do this would be to change the player fits on the website. You can either define the dimensions of the player or set it to 'responsive' so that it automatically adjusts its size to fit the available space on the screen.
Make Sure to Schedule the Stream
You don't just want to start your stream at the last moment and hope it will all work out. Proper planning is essential for a successful live stream. You want to ensure that you have enough time to test the embedded stream and make any changes before going live.
By scheduling your stream in advance, you give yourself ample time for technical preparation and event promotion. This makes intuitive sense, too. A well-planned stream is more likely to attract viewers and generate higher engagement.
So, while you're considering why embed live stream on website, you might also want to think about the best way to do so. Scheduling the live stream on your live streaming platform is one of the ideal ways to do so.
Only Allow Embedding Specific Domains
While you want your embedded live video to reach as many viewers as possible, you also want to be careful of unauthorized embedding or misuse of your content. After all, you want to increase the number of viewers on your website, not someone else's.
It's not that hard for someone to get a hold of your embed code by extracting it from your webpage. They can then use it to embed your stream and enjoy the fruits of your labor. And if that stream contains exclusive content that you don't want viewers to access elsewhere? Well, you can say goodbye to that.
In these scenarios, you might consider having your users authenticate using their accounts or through SSO. However, if your purpose is to get more viewers, then this can have the opposite effect. Instead, you may consider only whitelisting your domain for video embedding.
By allowing specific domains to embed your live stream, you can control where your video appears and protect your brand reputation. This feature is essential for preventing unauthorized distribution and ensuring that your content is displayed in a suitable environment.
Make the Embedded Stream Interactive
One of the best ways to increase your viewer count is to make sure your live stream captures attention. It should lead your viewers to keep coming back for more and cause others to flock to your streams through word of mouth.
Of course, you can do this by creating high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your audience. But another great way to do this is by making your livestream more interactive. This means adding interactive elements that your audience can interact with, such as live chat, FAQs, social media feeds, etc.
These interactivity features help your viewers feel more engaged with the content. Viewers can ask questions, voice their thoughts, learn more about your brand and products, and feel engaged with updates occurring on social media.
Based on a survey, 70% of participants agree that interactive video has the potential to create engagement. When you embed live video with interactivity on your site, you have the potential to turn viewers from passively watching content to feeling like they're a bigger part of it.
Promote the Stream on Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool for reaching a wide audience and generating excitement about your livestream. To maximize the impact of your live stream, consider creating engaging posts that highlight the unique value proposition of your stream.
Use eye-catching visuals, compelling copy, and relevant hashtags to capture attention and encourage shares. Consider running contests or giveaways to incentivize participation and boost engagement.
Don't forget to leverage social media to create a sense of urgency and build anticipation. By consistently promoting your live stream across different platforms, you can increase your chances of reaching potential viewers and driving attendance. You can even do this by sharing promotional videos and media to create excitement around your stream.
Track Analytics of How Live Streams Perform
No strategy is complete without careful data analysis. Tracking key metrics is essential for understanding your audience, measuring the impact of your live streams, and making data-driven decisions for future broadcasts.
It's not enough to simply embed a stream and call it a day. You will also need to keep an eye on the live stream analytics. This will help you see how the content is performing and rework your strategy if needed.
You can also take a look at performance analytics to gauge whether your stream is running into any issues. This can help you identify technical problems, such as buffering or low video quality, and address them promptly to ensure a smooth viewing experience for your audience. After all, 50% of viewers abandon a live stream in 90 seconds or less if the quality suffers.
By analyzing viewer demographics, engagement rates, and content performance, you can identify trends, optimize your strategy, and ultimately achieve better results.
How to Embed Live Video on Websites Using Live Streaming Platforms
If you recall, we talked about how you can embed live stream on website using different methods. While there are various approaches to embedding a live stream, not all of them end up being the most suitable choice. Instead, the most efficient and effective solution often proves to be using a dedicated live streaming platform.
Live streaming platforms are designed specifically to handle the complexities of video management and delivery. They help you stream live effortlessly to your audience while offering a range of features and benefits that can significantly enhance your live streaming experience.
Live and on-demand video embedding using a live streaming platform is super simple. All you need to do is generate an HTML code for embedding video, define the settings, and integrate the code into your website.
Apart from that, live streaming platforms open up a world of possibilities for live streaming. They provide advanced analytics, interactive features, and robust customization options. These tools empower you to create engaging experiences, gather valuable audience insights, and optimize your live streaming strategy.
Embed Live Video to Your Website with Ease Using EnterpriseTube
Looking to embed a live video to your website? Look no further.
EnterpriseTube is a Gartner-recognized live streaming platform that simplifies the process of embedding live streams into your website. With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, EnterpriseTube empowers you to create captivating live streaming experiences that engage your audience and drive results.
Explore EnterpriseTube's extensive feature list to get an idea of what it is capable of.
Ready to try out EnterpriseTube? Sign up for a 7-day free trial or contact us for more details.
People Also Ask
Why should You embed live stream on website?
You can embed live stream on website to boost audience engagement, increase dwell time, and strengthen your brand connection.
How to embed live streaming video on your website?
You can embed live streaming video on your website using a live streaming platform that lets you create an embed code, specify the settings, and deliver the video smoothly.
How do you get an HTML code for embedding video?
Most live streaming platforms offer an option to generate an HTML code for embedding video. This code contains the necessary information to display the video on your website.
What are live streaming platforms?
Live streaming platforms are tools that allow you to broadcast live video content to a broad audience. They provide tools for broadcasting, managing, and embedding live streams.
How do I host a live streaming video?
To host a live streaming video, you typically need a live streaming platform. These platforms provide the infrastructure and technology to deliver your video to viewers.
Can you secure an embedded live video?
Yes, most live streaming platforms offer security features to protect your embedded live video, such as encryption, access controls, geo-restrictions, and more.
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