YouTube Ad Basics

It’s good for your business to stay at the forefront of marketing trends, and if you aren’t aware of what advertising on YouTube can do for your brand, it’s time you know a bit more about it.

Your competitors are advertising on YouTube because it is the number 2 most popular website in the world, bringing in an impressive 2 billion visitors each month. If you’re trying to figure out where you can get the most out of your advertising buck, YouTube is worth considering. Thanks to its wide reach and impressive targeting ability, it brings undeniable value to potential advertisers. 

Few marketers will tell you that YouTube ads are the simplest form of advertising. Learning the basics can take time, but advertising on YouTube will likely offer a solid return on your ROI. It’s best to begin by understanding the types of ads YouTube offers. 

Skippable in-stream ads are the ads that play before and/or during a video. They’re sometimes referred to as pre-roll or mid-roll ads. These ads are noted for the ability to opt-out after five seconds. Advertisers only pay when viewers continue to watch after those first five seconds. Ads are a minimum of 12 seconds long, with a recommended 3-minute max. Payment is made when the viewer watches the first 30 seconds or the entire thing. Also, if the viewer interacts with the ad (by clicking for example); whichever happens first. 

Non-skippable in-stream video ads are popular because reports show that around 76% of users report automatically skipping ads. It makes sense to use these ads when you are striving for greater brand awareness, or when you are confident that your ad is strong enough to retain the viewer’s attention for the entire 15 seconds. Bumper ads are also considered a sub-group of non-skippable. These ads are 6 seconds long and typically used as a brand awareness strategy. 

Discovery ads are similar to ads you might see on the search results page of Google. These ads are visible near organic search results. The intention is that if your video appears more relevant to viewers than the organic search results, they have the option of watching your video instead. 

There are three lines of text and a thumbnail with discovery ads. When interested users click on the ad, they’re forwarded, via the video, to your page, or your YouTube channel.

If you haven’t set aside a budget for video, non-video ads might be for you. Display ads, which appear on the sidebar to the right, include an image with text, and a link to your site. In video-overlay ads, your content appears floating on top of content from YouTube channels that are monetized. It would be nice to be sure these ads would appear along with relevant content, but the reality is, that’s not always the case. 

Once you decide which type of YouTube ad works for you, you’ll need to begin creating your campaign. This starts with creating a Google Ads account, followed by choosing your campaign goals, which are based on your marketing objectives. You will then select your campaign type, which includes selecting a video, or possibly discovery campaigns. 

The next step is defining the parameters of your campaign. This will include selecting a bid strategy, ad run dates, and where you where your ads will appear. You can also choose the language and location of your audience. For instance, you might choose to show your ad worldwide, or perhaps target a particular country. There is a sensitivity designation, where you can choose how much violence, profanity, or sexually suggestive content is agreeable to run near your ad. Be aware, these safety guidelines will most likely affect your advertising price. 

When it comes to targeting, take your time to be sure you know as much as possible about your audience. The better you know them, the better you can target them, which results in a higher ROI for you. Consider your target demographics, such as age, gender, income, education, interests, etc. All that’s left is going live! Your ad is off and running once you hit the “Create Campaign” button! 

With a little bit of research, you can try out YouTube advertising for yourself. If you find you need a bit of help, no worries! Simply reach out to us, and we will walk you through a tailor-made YouTube ad campaign to hit all of your advertising goals.

I hope this information on Youtube Ads provides you with tips and tricks to help you get an idea of your business campaign. With YuzzBuzz, a digital marketing agency, our experts offer a ton of useful information on different business ads. If you’d like to learn more check us out at YuzzBuzz.com or call today!