The recent explosion of online video is undeniable.  Within a matter of months, online video peddler YouTube went from being a niche website with a limited following to a $1.65 billion dollar acquisition of Google.  Coupled with the expansion of broadband internet connections, video seems destined to become a staple of the internet experience.

The challenge now falls to internet marketers to discover ways to get their messages in front of the video-watching public.  According to "Pre-Roll Not the Answer for Online Video," an article by Kevin Newcomb, that accomplishment may be more difficult to reach than with other online mediums.

While the majority of video advertisements come in the form of a pre-roll ad, or a message that appears before the video content, it's not because of any notable successes with that form of video marketing, Newcomb says.  More likely it's because pre-roll ads are easier to implement at present and finding alternative means of video advertising has posed a great challenge.

Master of online advertising Google has begun testing different ways to target video watchers with it's now famous text-based advertisements.  And with it's purchase of YouTube earlier this year, Google seems a likely forerunner in the video advertising arena.

If pre-roll isn't the answer, what is?  Video advertising is about to hit the internet with force and will become an important part of any internet marketing plan.  Will Google find the answer in time to make its $1.65 billion purchase look like a great buy?

Or is it going to take something totally new and totally fresh to master online video advertisement?