It’s nothing new, you’re having a bad day and need something to lighten it up, or you’re creating a new PowerPoint presentation and want to start with an ice-breaker, you know something funny. What do you do? You start searching for funny videos that will make you laugh, break the ice, or jumpstart your day.

How do you search for funny videos?

Earlier this month, Hitwise UK published some interesting metrics showing a correlation in changed search behavior for funny videos and YouTube popularity. What’s changed? Well, instead of using your favorite search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN) and typing in the keywords “funny videos“, searchers are bypassing all other video providers by using the keyword “youtube“. This, my friends, is a vertical branding coup! And just another positive step forward for the YouTube team in leading and dominating a still young online video market.

This is no surprise since YouTube seems to be dominating every inch of the online video space, at least in the US. Look for this space to heat up even more with new general search sites, like MegaVideo, and tons of vertical search sites, like JokeFilms and the rest of the gang popping up, it seems, daily.

Good luck fighting GooTube guys.