Youtube ads

Youtube ads

Youtube ads: Video ads that appear across YouTube Since Google owns YouTube, YouTube ads share many of the core features of Google Ads, but with 1 big difference: they’re videos. Ads can run before, during, or after the video someone is watching. Some YouTube ad formats may be skipped by viewers after playing for a few seconds; Others are non-avoidable. YouTube ads can be pay-per-view (PPV) or pay-per-click (PPC) based on their length and placement.

What is YouTube advertising?

YouTube ads are video promotions that appear on the channel’s website and app, as well as on its partner sites known as the Google Display Network (GDN). Because YouTube is part of Google, its advertisers benefit from Google’s depth of user data This information—gathered from visitors’ Google search history and their YouTube viewing habits—can be used to narrowly focus an ad campaign. Targetability is what makes YouTube advertising so attractive, as your company’s video promotions can be featured alongside relevant YouTube videos that millions of people choose to watch for fun or education.

Also Read: : How to earn from Google Ads

Types of YouTube Video Ads

YouTube’s 3 video ad formats offer different placement and length options. Read about each one below so you can find the best match for your campaign goals

TrueView advertising

TrueView ads are good for building awareness and gaining exposure YouTube offers 2 types of TrueView ads:

• TrueView video discovery ads appear on YouTube where people discover video content. This can be in the YouTube search results, on the YouTube homepage, or in the right sidebar next to related videos They are marked with a small, yellow square that identifies them as an advertisement Unlike other YouTube ad formats, video discovery ads require people to click on them to start watching This makes TrueView video discovery ads great for surfacing high-potential leads After all, if someone chooses to click on your ad, that’s a strong signal that they’re interested in what you have to offer.
• TrueView in-stream ads play before, during or after the video you watch across YouTube or GDN As an advertiser, you can overlay call-to-action (CTA) text on in-stream ads or, in some cases, choose to display a companion banner next to the ad even after it ends. Ads appear and automatically start playing when someone is ready to watch another YouTube video They may skip after a few seconds. You don’t pay for skipped ads, but if your ads get nothing but skips, they may be flagged as low quality, meaning you’ll have to pay more to get them in front of viewers. This is a great reason to make sure your video content is compelling.

Bumper ad

Bumper ads are the shortest YouTube video ad option, lasting only 6 seconds They are non-skippable and can play before, during or after other videos across YouTube and GDN The brevity of bumper ads makes them suitable for quick promotion as part of a larger video campaign For example, some YouTube advertisers use this format to increase brand awareness by creating long promos to introduce their company to first-time viewers and supplemental bumper ads to reinforce their brand message.

Un skippable ads

Non-skippable ads, sometimes called pre-roll ads, can run before, during, or after someone watches a video. Ads can be up to 15 seconds long in the US and other parts of the world, and up to 20 seconds in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mexico, India, Malaysia and Singapore. They can appear on YouTube and across GDN Non-skippable ads allow you to tell a more complete story and captivate your audience than other ads.

While this is a great opportunity to deepen someone’s relationship or understanding of your company, telling a good story is important. “Good” means educational, entertaining and targeted. The stakes are high. If you miss both counts, viewers will click away. If you can turn it off, people can share your ads on social media.

How to launch a YouTube ad

The following steps can get you off to a strong start on YouTube. After you’ve uploaded your ad to YouTube, make sure your campaign is set up correctly:

1. Linking Google AdWords to your YouTube channel.

2. Within your AdWords dashboard, click the “+” and select “New Campaign”.

3. Choosing a campaign goal from predefined options—for example, “brand awareness” or “new leads.” This will provide a list of available promotion types. Select “Video”.

4. Choosing a YouTube ad format (TrueView, non-skippable, etc.).

5. Enter your campaign name and your budget. In most cases, you’ll set your budget based on cost-per-view (CPV). Choose the maximum amount you want to pay for each view or target the daily average You’ll also have the option to increase or decrease your bid for ads delivered to mobile devices.

6. Enter the networks where you want your ad to appear Options include YouTube videos and search results, as well as videos shown across GDN.

7. Narrow your target audience.

• Choose the geographic area and language you want to target.
• Filter by demographics like age and income as well as audience interests like sports and technology.
• Target people who have visited specific websites or shown through their search habits that they are interested in an offer like yours.
• Refine your targeting on mobile devices by specifying operating system, device and carrier.
• If you’d benefit from more refined targeting, choose specific YouTube channels or videos where you want to run your ads.

8. Assigning the ads you want to run in your campaign

9. Use advanced settings to set your campaign’s start and end dates and maximum daily impressions

Optimizing Your YouTube Video Ads

Once you launch your campaign on YouTube, build and maintain momentum with these best practices.

Think beyond demographics

While it can work to target your ads to people by age, location or gender, you can get higher quality leads by focusing on behavior and interests. A person who frequently visits sailing websites, for example, may have better prospects than someone who lives near the water. As you gain experience with your highest potential YouTube audience, you can eliminate factors related to your ads that have performed poorly in the past. You can also match your ad to relevant pages on GDN or target ads to reach people who have engaged with your company in the past.

be direct

Include specific calls to action (CTAs) in your YouTube ads to direct viewers to the action you want them to take. Common CTAs include visiting your site, requesting more information or making a sales call, signing up for an event, or placing an order. Avoid generic CTAs like “click here” as specific CTAs will out-perform them every time You can also increase response by including a special offer, ideally for a limited time, to create a sense of urgency. For longer YouTube ads, include an end screen, a final visual in your video that drives home the action you want people to take.

Set up conversion tracking

Add some behind-the-scenes tracking code, called tags, to your website to see what happens after visitors click on your YouTube ad. This will tell you which ads are driving the most valuable activity and which are underperforming You can use this information to spend on ads that deliver the best results. For example, you might discover that a certain CTA drives more form submissions, or that ads targeted at a certain region drive more sales.

Understand the bidding process

What you pay for YouTube ads depends on the type of ad and how successful it is. For skip ads, YouTube charges you every time a visitor clicks on your CTA, watches for at least 30 seconds, or watches your ad all the way through (if it’s less than 30 seconds). Unskippable ads and bumper ads are charged per 1,000 impressions (CPM) —more on that in a moment. YouTube charges YouTube for TrueView video discovery ads when someone clicks to watch your video, regardless of how long they watch (CPV).

The amount you ultimately pay for your ad will depend on how much you bid per view or 1,000 impressions. Remember that your bid per view isn’t always the price you have to pay—it’s the maximum price you’re willing to pay. Your actual cost will be 1 penny above the second-lowest price that anyone else is willing to pay. An example might help. Let’s say you set your CPV at $0.30, but the next highest bid is $0.20, you’ll only be charged $0.21 per view.

In general, the more narrowly you target your audience, the more you should be prepared to pay. Finding the right amount to bid may take some experimentation. Bids that are too low may prevent your ads from running as often as you’d like, and you may find that higher bids help your ads appear in better positions.

Monitor your metrics

Familiarize yourself with the various metrics you can track to track campaign performance View rate and CPV are good places to start. A view means someone clicks on your ad for at least 30 seconds or until the end of your ad (whichever is shorter). Your view rate is this statistic divided by the number of times your ad was shown. In general, shorter ads have higher view rates. A high view rate suggests that your video and audience targeting are in good shape.

As you start tracking this information across different ads, you’ll learn what works best to achieve your goals You’ll also get an idea of which YouTube ads are your best performers, so you can decide how to spend your budget. Tweaking your bid strategy, targeting and video creative can help improve your results.

Launch your YouTube

Bottom line? YouTube advertising can be a cost-effective way to get your message in front of the people you want to reach It is highly customizable and connected to Google’s rich data resources.