Embedly is a WordPress plugin that helps you easily embed external content in a post on your blog. For example you can insert videos from YouTube without the need for the embed code. I first learned about Embedly from Ann Smarty through a tweet she sent out the other day.
I installed the Embedly Plugin and created a screencast to demonstrate how efficiently it handles embedding a YouTube video in a WordPress blog post.
Embedly Plugin for WordPress Video Tutorial
Once you copy the url from the provider that you wish to embed, be careful to paste it on a line without any other content – and (as I learned while creating this screencast) – be sure to unlink the url. If the WordPress editor finds a hyper-link, the plugin will not be able to work it’s magic, and the content will not appear in the published post.
Tweets are a snap with Embedly
In the past, I avoided embedding Tweets in my blog posts because it seemed like such a hassle. Embed.ly takes all the hassle out of the process. Here’s the Tweet from Ann that caught my attention (all I needed was the url).
@seosmarty
Ann SmartyRT @makeuseof Embedly WordPress Plugin: Embedding Content On Your Blog Has Never Been Easier! http://bit.ly/9eV4li
Favorite Retweet
Since there are over 100 services supported by this plugin, I’ll list a few you’re probably wondering about:
- Amazon
- Craigslist
- Digg
- Flickr
- Last.fm
- Prezi
- Scribd
- Screenr
- SlideShare
- Yfrog
Follow Embedly on Twitter to find out which new content providers are joining the ranks, or you can update the provider list directly on your WordPress dashboard; simply scroll to the bottom of the page and click Update Provider List.
I’m going to use Embedly in addition to the Viper Video Quicktags plugin going forward. And it’s far simpler than embedding Tweets with Blackbird Pie. Will you install the Embedly plugin? Let me know if you have any plugins for YouTube optimization and more that can be replaced by Embedly.
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{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh very cool! count me in as someone who lives for the embed code meself, but I can definitely see how this would be most popular with normal people (ie, non-hackers).
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach recently posted..57 Stellar 2010 Black Friday Bright Shiny Resources You Do NOT Want To Miss including Red Friday to boot!
Twitter: Ileane
November 27, 2010 at 5:19 am
Hey Barbara, I love how simple it is to use. I never even thought about embedded content from some of these providers. Hopefully this will give me added incentive to start using Scribd and Prezi – which are both on my to-do list.
I’m going to install Embed.ly right away. I saw some videos that I want to embed and I’m sure the Amazon thing will come in handy too. Thanks!
Estava Morioka recently posted..Get 30 off of Your Entire Order
Twitter: ditesco
November 27, 2010 at 9:44 am
I like this lots Ileane and I can see my “evil” marketing mind working already, lol. Thanks for this introduction. New to me so off I go to explore.
DiTesco recently posted..4 Vital Tips to Help Increase Your Affiliate Sales
Twitter: Ileane
November 27, 2010 at 2:15 pm
DiTesco, I hope you find lots of use for Embedly. Keep me posted. Thanks.
Twitter: JustKissie
November 27, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Hey, I don’t have a lot of plugins and never know which ones I really need until, of course, I stop by Basic Blog Tips!
I got an email from one of my readers asking how I was able to accomplish all I did; after I verified it wasn’t a scam email, I responded by sharing your site with her. I led her to the water.
Kissie recently posted..My Favorite Movie Contest and Winner
Really cool!
How could anyone not use this? Thanks for the hook-up, Ileane. Nice tutorial as always.
What makes this extra attractive is the number of services it handles. Great stuff!
Jimi Jones recently posted..How to Create an Effective Daily To-Do List
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 3:06 am
Jimi, I guess I made the Embed.ly video tutorial for my own good too, because I had this post in draft for almost a week but I couldn’t get the embeds to work correctly.
I even contacted Embed.ly in a panic, and they assured me that it was working properly. So I decided to give it a try on an old post instead, that’s when it hit me. When you add the URL it cannot be hyperlinked. I just giggled to myself as I turned on the microphone, opened up Screencast-o-matic and started recording. If it sounds like I’m really happy in the beginning of the screencast, that’s because I was still laughing at myself.
You likely saved me the headache of that same lesson. LOL
Jimi Jones recently posted..7 Reasons to Become an Early Riser
Ok THAT… is pretty awesome! Thanks for the tip on the plugin, Ileane! Post enjoyed and retweeted
Tristan recently posted..The Poor Man’s Complete Guide to Outsourcing an Entire Freaking Blog
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 3:08 am
Thanks Tristan!
This plugin is very useful for all the blogger because often need to embed videos in our blog post.I was not aware about this plugin, it will surely make videos or tweets easy to add in blog post. Will give a try right now. Nice share Ileane
Whiztechy recently posted..Hostgator Cyber Monday Discount- 50 OFF Coupon- CYBERMONDAY2010
it was very helpful info for us, Ileane. and thanks for this. embedly will be very helpful for me as well. i’ve not used it yet and this is totally new to me. so, i must try it.
I have been looking for a way to embed my tweets. Thanks for the tutorial.
Easy internet business recently posted..Mini Clickbank Guide – How to Research Products Like The Pros
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 3:23 am
Hey easy internet business, embedding Tweets is so much easier with Embedly. Enjoy!
Twitter: daclements
November 27, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Hi Ileane,
Initially, I thought this plugin was a bit gimmicky, but as I read through your tutorial, I was more and more convinced that this was a well developed plugin. For those who have a frequent need to embed tweets or any of these other websites, it seems that the way the information is styled is really professional and well worth installing a plugin for.
Great find
Dave recently posted..Exclude Admins From Google Analytics on WordPress
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 3:25 am
Hi Dave, I agree. The folks at Embedly are very professional, I contacted them the other day and they responded almost immediately. That made me smile. Thanks for your comment.
Ileane, it’s awesome to have a universal plug-in to embed everything into your blog. I used to use Youtube Embed plug-in to embed videos into my blog but now, I think I’ll just need to install this one. Thank for introducing this plug-in to us, Ileane
Mike recently posted..How To Use Ping Services To Leverage Not Only Traffic to Your Blog- But Also Your Income
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 3:51 am
Hi Mike, it’s my pleasure! Thank you for commenting, let me know when you start embedding cool stuff in your posts.
Dear Mam,
I am trying to have a elearning school where I can post in videos of my niche industry and people who pay for it can be given a username password and they can watch the screencasts videos and attacjed example files n learn…However Blogger does not allow forums…what can be the best way around for it….Kindly Help..
Regards
Deepeendra Vikram
Deependra Vikram recently posted..A beautiful Imperfection!!!!!!
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 4:53 am
Hi Deependra,
Using Blogger or any other free blogging platform for what you describe is really not an option. I would suggest that you find a web host (now is a great time because everyone seems to be having a sale) and download CMS software like Wordpress 3.0 with network options (this was formerly known as WPMU) or forum software like vBulletin.
Best wishes with your site.
Embed.ly looks pretty interesting, it reminds me of a video plugin I used in the past. It was a nice little plugin until it stopped being supported and broke all of my video embeds as Wordpress came out with more and more new versions. I have a post on my blog somewhere, it’s like “The #1 Reasons to Pick Your Wordpress Plugins Wisely” or something like that.
I am still fixing embeded videos from that nightmare, now I try to stick to the actual embed code. Stops any future issues before they become one
Hey Ileane I always have to say, you do some excellent screencasts.
Extreme John recently posted..How Using Social Media Marketing Affected My Black Friday Sales
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 9:11 am
Hey John, thanks for the terrific feedback! I’ll keep my eye on Embedly and keep my fingers crossed too. I hope you have a good football day this week!
The pluging list provided by you are great and is of great use to bloggers.
Denver Web Development recently posted..The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Internet Explorer
One thing to mention– follow @embedly for latest updates on what sites they’re adding to their API. You can then go into the plug-in control panel and hit the “update” button at the bottom of the page.
Also there is an embedly powered comments plug in as well– useful on sites such as mine when commenters want to refer to videos, pictures, or even tweets.
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 9:44 am
Hi J. L. I did mention the update button, I guess you didn’t have a chance to read the post. I understand, this plugin is pretty exciting. Go for it!
Seriously awesome plugin!!!
I haven’t tried these two things — Embedding tweets and videos. Will do it right now. Thanks for sharing buddy!!!
S.Pradeep Kumar recently posted..Yogile — Group Photo Sharing Made Simple
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 9:43 am
Hey, I’m glad you stopped by and found out about Embed.ly. Let me know what you end up embedding. Thank you.
Twitter: JustKissie
November 28, 2010 at 1:31 pm
I want to know what you do when you do it, so I expect to hear how this worked for you in the near future.
Like Ileane, you never miss a beat!
Kissie recently posted..Who Taught You That
Twitter: lavenderuses
November 28, 2010 at 9:52 am
Hi Ileane
I will show this post to my techie friend who seems to understand all this techie stuff! You are always finding something new and by the sound of all the comments, all the geeks are happy lol
I don’t touch anything on my blog without consultation as most of it is still a mystery to me. Will get it checked out as you sound excited by it, so must be good.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia recently posted..So Little Time- So Much To Do
Twitter: JustKissie
November 28, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Patricia, I’m with you and my consultation basically starts and ends with Ileane. Very seldom do I follow another suggestion without running it by her … most of the people I trust usually already have her endorsement.
There has been a time or two when I knew it first, but who’s counting.
Kissie recently posted..Nonsensical
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Hey Patricia, don’t let the fancy name make you think this is above your head. This is one of the easiest plugins I’ve installed recently. Installing plugins is super simple with Wordpress 3.0 even a non-techie can do it. Go for it!
Hi Ileane:
Recently saw you around and was happy to see in the round up by Jimi Jones today. Congratulations.
Your blog post have good information that can be used by everyone.
I have started a new series at my blog too from today.
Ileane, I liked your blog and of course your pleasant personality. I will come again to read and comment.
Have a great Sunday
fran A
Fran Aslam recently posted..Think Again Before Planning Strategy For financial Success
Twitter: Ileane
November 28, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Hi Fran, nice to meet you and welcome to Basic Blog Tips. I really appreciate your company. You have a good day also.
Excellent tutorial Ileane, I plan to get into video, not to mention photos once things are running smoothly again.
Dennis Edell recently posted..Sub Categories and Drop Down Menus – What’s YOUR Take
Ileane – I love wordpress plugins and this one seems to be great too. I have been struggling to implement a youtube video in one of my posts last week, but this video demonstration of how easy it is to use Embed.ly has definitely gotten me excited. Thanks for the link to the plugin, I can’t wait to install it and try it out.
John recently posted..Trace That Mail Sender Fast
Twitter: Ileane
November 29, 2010 at 8:53 pm
John, I’m really pleased that you found the post helpful. Let me know how you make out using Embed.ly to get your video in the post.
Twitter: marketsecrets
November 29, 2010 at 8:07 pm
To answer your question at the end of the post this seems a lot like Apture which works like a charm for me plus along with what you’ve mentioned Apture also has the ability of adding audio, pdf files, google map views, related web pages and more just by highlighting a given word or phrase within your your post editor..
caleb recently posted..Traffic Tips From Yaro Starak
Twitter: Ileane
November 29, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Hey Caleb. I wish Apture would expand the provider list. Last time I checked Twitter and Facebook were the only ones available. Has that changed recently? Thanks for commenting, I appreciate the visit!
Twitter: marketsecrets
December 1, 2010 at 6:12 pm
You must haven’t seen or used it in a while because it has been greatly updated. They even offer the ability to add videos from Comedy Central and ESPN plus Wikki content inserts and I also just saw potential links from US Congress’s senate.gov site!
There’s so many types of stuff you add to spice up your posts..
Once you click the Apture Embed icon just above your post editor,you enter in search phrases then simply select what types of references you want and how ever many of them you want
Caleb recently posted..Your Own Unique Facebook Address
Twitter: Ileane
December 3, 2010 at 6:50 am
That’s awesome. I will need to look at the Apture plugin again. You are becoming my plugin guru Caleb.
There’s another one I saw on your blog that I wanted to ask you about. What’s the name of the one you use for your floating social profiles?
Thanks again and have a great weekend!
Twitter: marketsecrets
December 3, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Like I once said, I’m sort of a plugin fiend..thanks for the “plugin guru” title as this gives me ideas on specialty areas I can focus on!
As for my floating profiles, you’re either referring to the Fixed Social Buttons plugin I use for the right side floaters or the Digg Digg plugin as both have specific functions that are just too cool for me to ignore and I use the Sexy Bookmarks plugin at the end of posts
Caleb recently posted..Your Own Unique Facebook Address
Wonder full post thanks this is a handy tool for bloggers, especially in case of wordpress.com. Excellent for video sharing youtube links and pod casting, it’s a magic tool. I have started using it. Thanks you once again.
Nice! I have been having problems with embedding YouTube videos for quite some time now and I hope Embedly will work its magic!
Nice share. This will be a very helpful plug-in for my blog, since I sometimes need to embed YouTube videos. Thanks for the tutorial! – Joy
Twitter: liveurlove
December 8, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Hey, I didn’t know about this plugin! I love it, because I am uploading some videos to Youtube now and will use them for some posts.
I have two questions, not directly related to the Embed.ly but after reading this post, I want to know these two things
1. What software do you use to make the screencast?
2. How do you get a tweet URL?
Thanks
Brankica recently posted..Drink refills for Europeans in USA
Twitter: Ileane
December 9, 2010 at 3:52 am
Hey Brankica, Let me know when you have your videos uploaded so I can take a look. I use Screencast-o-matic to record tutorials most of the time. Screenr is also a site that I use to record screencasts.
I’m not sure what you mean in the second question. Do you mean a url shortener? Show me an example and I’ll be happy to share what I know.
Twitter: liveurlove
December 26, 2010 at 4:15 pm
For example, the tweet you have in the post (by Ann Smarty). How can I get the URL of the tweet so I can embed it that way in a post.
When I click to try stuff, I either get to the users wall or something else.
How can I find the tweet URL to embed.
Hope I asked it right this time, I am not a native English speaker
Thanks for the help! And Merry Christmas!
Brankica recently posted..Wanna blog better Top 5 blogs to learn from
Twitter: Ileane
December 27, 2010 at 6:53 am
Hi Brankica, Here’s the answer.
http://screenr.com/Xuu
In case you have any problems with the video, the answer is to navigate to the original tweet on Twitter and click on the time stamp in order to get the url. You can also use this same method on HootSuite. Let me know if you have any more questions on this. Thanks so much for your comment!
Twitter: liveurlove
December 27, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Thank you so much
Twitter: BrianHumek
December 11, 2010 at 10:46 am
Sounds like a great plug in, I’ve been looking for something like this. Thanks for giving this Embedly plug in a plug : )
Twitter: Ileane
February 21, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Hey Brian, Embed.ly came in handy for me once again earlier when I embedded a tweet in my latest post. I could have embedded a chart from StatCounter but I used the jpeg instead. I just wanted to switch things up a bit. Thanks for your comment.
Ileane recently posted..Link Building Mastery- Master The Art of Link Building
Excellent Wordpress tutorial, I learn lot’s of functionality from this tutorial. Thanks for sharing…
Sachin Gupta recently posted..Web Hosting
going to have to try that plugin out!
greg urbanop recently posted..Photo of the Year 2010
Twitter: Ileane
February 21, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Hey Greg, let me know how you like Embedly!
Ileane recently posted..Market Samurai – Great for Keyword Research and More!
OOOH! Awesome! I’ve been having this issue where Wordpress will not let me embed YouTube videos using their embed code. I’m not sure why. Maybe this plugin will fix that problem. Anyone else having that problem?
Jenn recently posted..VoIP company Skype buys Qik
Twitter: Ileane
January 7, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Hey Jenn,
I always use a plugin to add video to blog posts. Before I installed Embedly, I used Viper Video Quicktags. I have noticed problems with embedding video on some of the blogs I guest post for, so you’re not alone. Give Embedly a try and come back and let me know what you think of it.
really its nice and informative news with unique content so thanks for sharing such a useful information.
I like your article, your mind will be adding more articles similar to this one with additional info? It would be very useful and beneficial for me and my friends.
thank you for everything
Twitter: Ileane
February 19, 2011 at 10:07 am
You’re welcome. Yeah, the Embed.ly plugin for Wordpress is awesome isn’t it? They recently updated the provider list and Embed.ly now has over 200 services.
National Geographic
All Things Digital
Qwiki
Aniboom
Grooveshark
Clipshack
GrindTv
iFoodTv
Logo: Fierce Tv
Lonely Planet
StreetFire
TroopTube
Guardian
Bravo Tv
Thanks a lot for all of your tips and also for all comments, they are realy helpful for me, i’m going to adopt few of those plugins to my blog about lcd tv’s.
Twitter: Ileane
March 4, 2011 at 4:02 am
Hi Mike, I visited your website but I couldn’t find the blog. Let me know how you make out using Embed.ly. Thanks.
The’re many available useful plugins for WordPress. What you shared on this post are useful. You make it easy to follow. Thanks for making video tutorial on how to use Embed.ly plugin.
richard recently posted..Keyword Suggestion Tools Suck at Finding Exact Match Long Tail Keywords
Twitter: Ileane
March 11, 2011 at 5:28 am
I think your comment posted twice. No problem, thanks for commenting anyway.
Ileane recently posted..How Facebook Stays On Top
Embedly plugin for WordPress is one of the useful plugins. Nice video tutorial. I bookmarked this for future reference.
wordpress clickbank plugin recently posted..Keyword Suggestion Tools Suck at Finding Exact Match Long Tail Keywords
Twitter: netchunks
March 10, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Hi Illeane,
I never knew you had referenced one of my posts about Blackbird Pie here, I am just getting the pingback now, after around 3-4 months..lol. Seems Embedly is quite a cool plugin, I will certainly try this out
Shiva recently posted..What is Blogging What Are The Different Types of Blogs
Twitter: Ileane
March 11, 2011 at 5:25 am
Hey Shiva, I guess you can say better late than never right! Thanks for stopping by.
Ileane recently posted..How I Use My BlackBerry To Write Draft Blog Posts
Thanks,
Its really excellent post .
Web Design Company recently posted..Web Hosting
Twitter: Ileane
March 24, 2011 at 5:16 am
Are you using the Embed.ly plugin yet? Thank you.
Twitter: leansecrets
September 18, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Yayy! I could NOT figure out why the embedly plugin wasn’t working for me…un-linking totally did the trick! Thanks
Brenda recently posted..Your Weight Loss Contract…Sign Here!
Twitter: Ileane
September 19, 2011 at 2:15 am
Hi Brenda, the un-linking is so simple but yet so frustrating if you don’t get it right
Glad I could help.
Ileane recently posted..Quick Lessons in Live Blogging
Twitter: searchforsoft
February 4, 2012 at 1:00 pm
I can see the advantages of having a universal plug-in to embed everything into your blog: videos, tweets, etc. Thank your for sharing this handy plug-in, Ileane.
Twitter: Ileane
February 5, 2012 at 6:39 pm
You’re welcome. You should also check out my updated tutorial about Embedding Videos and Podcasts. http://basicblogtips.com/embed-multimedia-on-wordpress.html
Ileane recently posted..Blogger Interview: Marcie Hill of The Write Design
Twitter: chantel_mario
May 12, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Wow! Embed.ly seems to be fantastic! And the services like Amazon, Craiglist, Facebook etc supported are superb! Can’t wait to make use of this on my blog! Thanks for this Ileane, really!
Twitter: Anklebuster
November 30, 2010 at 7:08 am
This is a nice-looking plugin, Ileane! I’ve been so used to embed codes that I probably wouldn’t even consider Embed.ly – except for one thing …
TWEETS!
I was using Jing to capture tweets for my posts, the few times I bothered to include them. Somehow, Embed.ly makes it seem COOL to add relevant tweets.
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Mitch
Mitchell Allen recently posted..Community Networking Meme
Twitter: Ileane
November 30, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Mitch, the embedded tweet worked pretty nicely and I definitely plan to use that feature of Embed.ly again soon. The other service that I’m looking into is Picplz for bundling images with bit.ly links. It’s on my to do list. Thanks for the awesome and much appreciated feedback.
Twitter: marketsecrets
December 1, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Just noticed you got Kramer working for you now
Caleb recently posted..Your Own Unique Facebook Address
Twitter: Ileane
December 3, 2010 at 6:45 am
Caleb, the Kramer plugin just started sending trackbacks out of the blue. I guess there’s no need for the Technorati API key anymore since they got rid of it. Thanks for your advice about Kramer.
Twitter: Ileane
December 3, 2010 at 8:24 pm
SWEET!! You’ve done it again and you’re wearing your Plugin Guru Crown proudly.
I got the Fixed social buttons and they look pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing your secrets with me. You rock my friend!
Twitter: marketsecrets
December 6, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Glad you got it working
..I see you went with rather unique positioning so let us know if it adds to your overall social marketing aspects.
btw,
That plugin list post I mentioned a whyile ago would have been published, it’s just that I keep running into more great plugins! But I shall be posting it soon
Caleb recently posted..ClickBank TopSites Review
Twitter: Ileane
December 7, 2010 at 5:19 am
I’d really like to see it floating on the left rather than the right, and a YouTube profile would be a great addition. So I’ll keep it up for awhile and see how it goes.
I’m going through the same thing you are when it comes to Chrome Extensions. I ready to do a post but then I keep finding new ones to add!
Twitter: marketsecrets
December 7, 2010 at 1:43 pm
There is a YouTube profile…you must have missed it. It’s right above the Twitter profile in the Fixed Social admin setup.
As for it displaying on the left, I’m sure you could find the place for changing that somewhere in that particular plugin’s css file..while in your admin click on ‘Editor’ under ‘Plugins’ and select Fixed Social from the dropdown menu.
btw,
Did you see my latest guest post on FamousBloggers?
Caleb recently posted..ClickBank TopSites Review
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