You can embed Google Hangouts on Air on your website and easily promote a static URL ahead of time to your audience.
Launched in late 2012, Google Hangouts on Air is your one-stop shop for live-streamed broadcasts with multiple participants. This makes it very easy for you to do webinars for a live audience with video, audio and chat.
There are some valuable features of the Google+ Hangout Onair that can help you propel your business to new heights.
- Broadcast Publically: You live Google Hang Out can be seen by the world! What great visibility for you and your business. And with Google’s integration of products and services, viewer can watch from Google Plus, your YouTube challenge or any website you embed your Hangouts on Air.
- Track Engagement: During the Google Hangouts On Air broadcast, the number of viewers is shown to the Hangout host. This will give you a good idea of engagement. If people drop off during the broadcast, you can make it more engaging next time.
- Recordings: Here is the best part! After the Hangout, Google automatically uploads a recording to your YouTube channel. If anyone missed your live webinar broadcast, they can easily catch it later!
Best Way to View Your Hangouts on Air
There are many ways for people to view your live Google Hangouts on Air. The best way is to Embed Google+ Hangouts on a static website page.
There are advantages to promoting your Hangouts via a static WordPress page on your website. Here are three top benefits:
- You will have a single URL that you always use for any Google Hangouts on Air that you broadcast. For example, http://yourdomain.com/hangout
- It will be broadcast from your website, so you automatically drive more traffic there.
- You can track activity with the same statistical or Analytics programs you usually use.
Google Hangouts on Air – Embed the Live Player
This is so easy! Here are the steps to embed the live Hangouts on Air into your webpage.These instructions assume WordPress.
- Create and Save new Page. Name it hangout.
- Add any promotional content that you want to appear on the page.
- From Google Plus, start a new Hangouts on Air broadcast.
- Enter the required information and then click Start Hangout on Air.
- At the top of the new window that appears, click Embed.
- Copy the unique embed code. Paste the embed code into your WordPress page. Make sure you update the Page so your viewers see the Google Hangouts on Air broadcast when they refresh it. Each broadcast you do will have its own unique embed code.
That’s it! Now viewers can watch your broadcast directly from your website.
Here’s a hot tip. If you have an opt-in form below the where the Live Google Hangout appears on your page, you can get a boost in leads!
Wow! I have been using google on air hangouts for a while now. Not really to broadcast live, but because it enables me to record my computer screen using the screen capture tool. Broadcasting from my personal website can be huge!
I’m already brainstorming ways to have webinars right in my businesses main “hub”.
Lisa, would you say the biggest advantage of having it on your personal site would be the ability to have advertisements/opt ins right on that page?
Hi Al!
One big plus is that people would access your broadcast via your webpage. More brand awareness, more traffic, and the fact that you can add an opt-in form on the same page is even better 🙂
Lisa
If you do a weekly webinar and use the same embed code on your site, will each new webinar appear on your site or will you have to get a new embed code each week?
Great question Martin. I just updated the article. Yes, each hangout has its own unique embed code. You have to get a new one each time.
Have a nice weekend.
Lisa
Hi,
If we are pre planning our hangout and want to build a page ahead of time, how far ahead can we get the embed code? How does it work if we are a week or so from the broadcast? Thank you!
Hi Christina! Great question.
I use a webpage so I just give that page URL out to others (wealthmissionpossible.com/hangout).
When you start the Hangout, that is when the embed code and youtube URL is avalable. you will not be in live broadcast mode until you click the button so you can get the code on your webpage etc. I usually start the hangout 30 min. ahead to get my webpage set with the code and take care of any technical issues with my co-hosts prior to the broadcast going live.
Hope that helps!
Lisa
Hi, I would also like to host via my own domain. But how are you dealing with viewer comments? or do you not answer questions live?
Hi Rich! Great question. Using the regular hangouts, viewer comments / Q&A are NOT a feature.
Hope that helps.
Lisa
Lisa, I’m looking to embed this into a Squarespace website. It is not WordPress. Will it work with this platform
Hi Kathy
I am not familiar with Squarespace. However, if you can add a piece of embed code to a page, then I would say yes 🙂
Lisa
I pasted the code on my wordpress page, but all I got was the code in text, not the window. Using google chrome. 🙁
Hi. In wordpress, did you click the HTML tab? If you paste while in the Visual tab, the code will display as text and won’t be recognized as code.
See the image under Step 6 to see the HTML tab.
Hope that solves it!
Great topic, thanks! I’m trying to solve the riddle of having live chat/comments for viewers on the same page during the Hangout. Is there a G+ functionality that would do this? I’m going to gate the users thru an OAP form on another page called /joinhangout
HI Mark! Thanks for stopping by! I haven’t solved that problem yet…if you find out, please let me know so I can share the solution with others 🙂 Have a great day!
Lisa
Nice Post – Liked it will use it on my Training IT Education website AIK IT Support.
Thank you so much for this post! I needed this exact information and you made it so simple. I was expecting the process to be far more complicated. Great information!
Hi Lisa,
Great article I just put an embed link in my page this was new to me and it quite easy. But as every marketer online you keep learning new things every day.
Have a nice week
I realize this is an old article, but I came across it on a Google search! I have my hangout on air embedded on my site, but is there a way to change the default image that is showing up before the hangout goes live? It seems to be grabbing my YouTube Cover photo. I would love to get an image up there in its place that has to do with the hangout (webinar), without having to change the cover photo.
I also tried adding the “trailer” video on the hangout page, thinking it would play on my website in the embedded video, but it did not.
Any thoughts?
Thank you!!