YouTube ads fall into the Display Network Category, but they work a little differently because they integrate seamlessly into the YouTube video interface, and users are forced to watch, at least in part, before they can start playing content.
Creating a campaign is very similar to other Display campaigns, and there are only a few different settings that can optimize performance for those who have e-commerce. The first aspect to consider is related to creatives because making an advertisement in video format can be very expensive. To get started, you can create ads that share tips on using your products or, better yet, share video reviews from your customers if you’ve already collected any.
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YouTube A Formats
Once you’ve created your ads and uploaded them to YouTube, it’s time to start building a campaign. In Google Ads, when you create a new video campaign (without choosing a goal), you have the following options:
- Skippable in-stream ads: These ads appear before, during, or after another video and can be skipped after 5 seconds;
- Non-skippable in-stream ads: These ads cannot be ignored and play for 15 seconds;
- Video Discovery Ads: These are ads that appear as sponsored videos next to a video that’s playing or in search results;
- Bumper Ads: Ads with a duration of 6 seconds or less that cannot be ignored;
- Outstream Ads: These are video ads that run outside of video ads;
- Masthead Ads: Ads that occupy the YouTube homepage;
- Shopping Ads: Video ads linked to a Shopping feed.
As you can see, there are many formats. Try to use them one at a time and see which one works best. And don’t forget that most of the traffic on YouTube comes from mobile devices; therefore, always choose a video format that can adapt to smartphone playback.
Target Options On YouTube
Many of the targeting options are the same as on the Display Network, but on YouTube, you have access to a couple of interesting ones:
- More detailed demographics;
- Positioning on the competition channels;
- Personal events: people who are about to move, graduate or get married;
- Retargeting of people who interacted with your channel.
Bidding Strategy
In Shopping and Search campaigns, the central metric is clicked, but with YouTube ads, we are primarily concerned with views. Again, however, there are different bidding strategies available, which depend on the ad format used by the campaign. For example, for some video ads, you will be charged per impression, while for others, you will only pay when someone watches more than 30 seconds. In summary, all YouTube bidding strategies can be divided into three large groups:
- Conversion-based bidding: Maximize the chance to generate a conversion with the target CPA;
- CPM-based bidding: You will pay the cost per 1,000 views;
- CPV bidding: You will pay the price for each picture.
As always, the best option depends on your campaigns and goals, although conversion-based bidding is preferred in most cases.
Place Advertisements On YouTube
You may have come into contact with google advertising through your webshop – for example, through regular search ads or Google Shopping Ads. Ads for all Google products (like YouTube) are managed via the web interface of Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) or the free program “Google Ads Editor” for Mac and PC.
The advantage of the central administration interface is obvious: If you are already familiar with a Google advertising product, it is much easier to start with YouTube Ads. If not, that’s not a problem either – there are hundreds of videos, guides, articles, and more on this topic on YouTube. In principle, you can place YouTube ads yourself or outsource them to an agency. It is often more a question of time and not know-how because the barrier to entry for your first paid advertisement on YouTube is negligible.
TrueView Ads For Shopping
Regarding YouTube Ads for e-commerce stores, the latter ad format cannot be left out. We’re talking about a combination of an “in-stream” ad and Shopping ads, and they’re great for linking a video with some natural products, so be sure to check them out.
