When it comes to advertising, video is the future. Consumers have a demanding appetite for video, with billions of hours of videos being watched every single day on YouTube.
Fortunately, video advertising pays off for brands. People are four times as likely to use YouTube to discover brands and products, and twice as likely to buy something they see on YouTube.
The bottom line? If you’re not advertising on YouTube, now is the time to start. Here’s your guide to putting ads on YouTube.
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What Kind of YouTube Video Ads Are There?
There are three types of video ad placements you can run on YouTube. These include:
- TrueView Ads, where you only pay when someone has actually watched or interacted with your ad (hence the name). Skippable TrueView ads must be watched for at least 30 seconds, while non-skippable TrueView ads must be watched in their entirety (15 or 20 seconds). These ads can show up throughout the YouTube interface, including the home page, search results, and related videos on the sidebar. They can also appear “in-stream,” or before a video begins.
- Pre-roll Ads, which are short, non-skippable ads that can play before, during, or after a video. These can be 15 to 20 seconds long and include a CTA at the end.
- Bumper Ads, which are the shortest videos of all, at only 6 seconds long. These play before a video begins and are non-skippable.
You can also create YouTube ads that don’t include video. These include:
- Sponsored cards: These YouTube ads show up in the right-hand corner of a video with a small information icon. These can be useful for highlighting other videos or products.
- Banner ads: These ads appear as an overlay along the bottom of a video, and can feature images or text.
- Display ads: These ads appear throughout YouTube in various sizes, and can feature images or text. Learn more about display ads.
Just like Instagram, YouTube has strict requirements for its video ads regarding what they can include, how long they can be, and more. Here are links to Google’s technical specifications, content requirements, and video ad formats.
How Much Does YouTube Advertising Cost?
YouTube advertising costs from $0.05 to $0.30 per view, or $50 to $300 for every thousand views, and $500 to $3,000 for every ten thousand views. That’s the average cost of YouTube advertising. YouTube recommends starting with a spend of at least $10 per day.
The cost you’ll pay to advertise on YouTube depends on a lot — including the type of video ad, the video’s length, your bidding and targeting selection, and how well you’re managing your campaign. For example, if your location or audience targeting criteria is competitive, your ad will cost more.
Different ad types also cost more or less. For example, skippable ads are often cheaper than non-skippable ads since you won’t be charged unless they watch at least 30 seconds of your ad.
How to Put Ads on YouTube
Once you’ve created your video, upload it to YouTube. Then, it’s time to set up your campaign. Here’s what to do:
- Go to your Google Ads account and click the red +Campaign button, and select New campaign.
- Choose your goal, whether that’s sales, leads, traffic, brand consideration or awareness.
- Select Video under “Select a campaign type,” then select your campaign subtype. Here’s where you’ll make a decision based on your goals (e.g. driving conversions) and your ad type (e.g. non-skippable in-stream).
- Click Continue.
- Next, you’ll choose your bid strategy, enter your budget, and set a start and end date for your campaign. As a reminder, Google recommends spending at least $10 per day.
- Then, you can set up your targeting criteria. These include the networks you want your ad to display on (YouTube search, YouTube videos, or Google’s Display Network); the language preference for your audience; geographic locations for your audience; and whether there are any types of content you don’t want your ad to show beside (like competitors or sensitive content).
- Refine your targeting by creating ad groups. You can choose different demographic and audience targeting criteria, and add keywords and topics.
- Finally, enter your video information. Enter the video URL of your YouTube video, and choose your video ad format.
- Then, enter the URL you want people to visit when they click on your ad, and a call-to-action.
- Enter a headline and companion banner to go along with your ad
- Name your ad and click Create campaign.
Get Started with YouTube Advertising
As you can see, a lot goes into advertising on YouTube. There are tons of video formats, all with their own requirements, and it can be overwhelming to decipher which is going to be most effective at driving your business goals.
Your Marketing People can help. Contact us today. Let’s discuss what we can do for your brand.
