YouTube Red, Google’s new premium video service, was officially announced today and the internet is already drawing references to a porn site with a similar name. So why did YouTube decide to name its latest product Red?
“Choosing a name for a product is a challenging thing,” a YouTube executive said in a press Q&A session. “As we talked to users and fans in our studies, the term ‘red’ is often associated with YouTube. It has a lot of meaning in terms of love and the red carpet.”
With ad-blocking about the Web, YouTube also thinks that searching for that term will bring up related hits to its product and not RedTube.
“We’re not too worried about that other site.”
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From an SEO standpoint, it’s actually pretty clever. Search for a video site with the names “Red” and “Tube” and you might just come across the Google product instead. It’s still a bit questionable from the branding point of view, however.
As far as why the iOS version of YouTube Red is $3 more expensive than on Android or the Web, YouTube says it’s because Apple charges a 30 percent premium, which is why the company is passing on that additional fee. Thanks, Obama.
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