YouTube boasts over 2.5 billion monthly active users in over 100 countries and supports over 80 languages. Given this huge reach, YouTube advertising campaigns can bring big results to many types of businesses.
Are YouTube ads better than other social media ads? There is no right or wrong answer here, as it depends on multiple factors. Every digital marketing campaign needs to consider factors such as where your target audience is, how much budget you have, and other resources to create, set, and manage assets.
Let’s look at the main types of ads you can run on YouTube, how much they cost, and how to track results.
Types of YouTube Ads
YouTube Ads can be shown before (“pre”), during (“mid”), or after (“post”) a video and can have multiple formats. To enhance the viewer’s experience, Google decides when to show them and whether they’re skippable or not.
Let’s cover the main types of video ads you can create on YouTube.
Skippable in-stream ads
Skippable in-stream ads, previously known as TrueView in-stream ads, are the most commonly used video ad type on YouTube. These ads can appear before, during, or after other videos or as a full-screen interstitial ad that plays before a viewer can proceed within a mobile app.
You can launch skippable ads on YouTube watch pages and across websites and apps running on Google video partners. Since users can skip these ads, they provide valuable insights into what captures attention and encourages viewers to either click or continue watching. This makes them a good fit for brand awareness.
The main bidding option for skippable in-stream ads is cost per view (CPV). This means you will only pay for these ads if users watch them for at least 30 seconds (or until the ad ends if it’s shorter than 30 seconds) or if an action is taken, whichever comes first. The bidding option for skippable in-stream ads is cost per view (CPV).
Alternatively, you’ll pay based on impressions with Target CPM, Target CPA, or Maximize conversions bidding. We’ll cover bidding strategies in more detail later.
Non-skippable in-stream
Google launched non-skippable in-stream ads in early 2024. This YouTube Ad format is 30 seconds or shorter and plays before, during, or after a video. They can be shown on YouTube videos and across websites and apps running on Google video partners.
The bidding option for non-skippable ads is cost per thousand impressions (CPM), meaning you pay for the total number of impressions.
Use non-skippable ads to drive brand awareness, but be mindful of your audience’s time by making your ads memorable. You don’t want to trap your viewers into watching a video that is not educational, entertaining, or relevant to them, as this could easily backfire and harm your brand.
In-feed video ads
In-feed video ads, previously known as TrueView video discovery ads, appear either on YouTube search results, alongside related videos, or on the YouTube mobile homepage. Depending on the placement, they can show in different sizes and appearances but usually consist of a thumbnail image from your video with some text. Once a user clicks on them, the video ad will play on the watch page or channel homepage.
The bidding option for YouTube video ads is cost per view (CPV), meaning you’ll only pay when someone interacts with a video thumbnail to watch the ad video.
Use this ad type to drive awareness of your brand and product.
Bumper ads
Bumper ads are YouTube’s shortest ad format. They can be 6 seconds or shorter and play before, during, or after another video. These non-skippable ads can show on YouTube videos and across websites and apps running on Google video partners.
You’ll pay based on impressions, making them great when you want to reach a broad audience with a quick message.
Masthead ads
Masthead ads are premium types of ads only available on a reservation basis through a Google sales representative.
They work on desktop, mobile, and TV screens. Masthead ads should be used when you’re looking to drive awareness for a new product or service, as they allow you to easily reach a big audience.
The bidding strategy for Masthead ads is CPM, and you’ll need to work with a Google advertising team representative to estimate your campaign’s potential impressions and cost.
YouTube Shorts ads
YouTube short ads are video content that appears between Shorts in the Shorts feed on YouTube. They are a good ad format for reaching a large audience of engaged mobile viewers.
Short ads work similarly to organic Short videos. Your ads will display randomly between videos, and users can skip them by swiping up or down.
This ad format is only available on tablets, mobile devices, connected TVs, and streaming devices.
You’ll pay for an impression, view (10 seconds of autoplay), or engagement, such as clicks on the CTA set.
YouTube Audio ads
Launched in October 2022, Audio ads target users who engage with voice content on YouTube. This means audiences listening to music or podcasts, interacting with their smart speakers, or watching other audio content on YouTube.
This format works well for expanding your reach and increasing brand awareness among specific users.
You can also experiment with audio ads by adding abstract, simple, and dynamic visuals. Tools like an audio waveform generator can help create engaging visuals synced with your audio.
Audio ads are less expensive to produce than video ads, making them a great alternative to classic video ads. The campaign setup is the same as for other ad formats.
Overlay ads
Overlay ads have been deprecated since April 2023. They were an ad format that showed on desktop only, and Google decided to remove them to improve the viewer experience.
YouTube Ads targeting
YouTube Ad targeting has a direct impact on the cost and results of your campaign. Some target audiences can be more expensive, and your message will likely not be heard if you fail to reach your ICP.
Here are the different ways that you can target potential customers on YouTube:
- Demographics: Choose age, gender, parental status, and household income.
- Detailed demographics: Reach users with common traits like college students, homeowners, or new parents.
- Interests: Narrow down your audience to users interested in specific topics. These can include affinity segments (people who have a strong interest in a topic), life events (people who change behavior and brand preferences during life milestones), or in-market segments (people who are researching or actively buying).
- Your data segments (remarketing): Target users based on engagement or interaction with your videos, video ads, or YouTube channel.
- Customer Match: Use your 1st party data to reach specific audiences.
Best practices for creating effective YouTube Ad content
To achieve better results and reach your goals, consider implementing some best practices when incorporating YouTube Ads into your marketing strategy.
Optimal video lengths for different ad formats
When creating YouTube video ads, remember that you are interrupting your viewers and asking them to “invest” time into listening to what you have to say. Therefore, it’s best to create short ads that get the message across quickly.
To get more views and impressions, aim for ads that are below 15 seconds.
Crafting compelling calls-to-action
Tell a viewer to “click here” and the result will probably be no clicks at all. A good CTA should clearly inform users what to do and why they should do it.
Avoid using generic calls to action in your YouTube videos, as these can confuse viewers and result in poor outcomes. Use language that aligns with your campaign goal, and make sure the action you are trying to push comes as a logical next step a viewer should take after watching.
For example, a CTA that urges viewers to subscribe is more suitable for content-focused ads, whereas a “shop now” CTA on an ad showcasing a product or service will be better.
Using auto end screens effectively
The auto end screens at the end of your YouTube video ads are a good “next step” alternative.
These interactive elements automatically appear at the end of your video, encouraging users to take action. End screens are generated automatically based on your campaign information. For example, if you’re running a mobile app installs campaign, the auto end screen will show details about your app and a link to install the app.
Auto end screens are only available for YouTube in-stream ads for mobile app install campaigns.
Budget and bidding strategies
Each ad type has multiple bidding strategies available. The one you choose will directly impact your budget. Here is what you need to know about YouTube ad bidding.
Understanding bidding options
Several factors contribute to the cost of your YouTube ads. These include targeting options, ad type, and bidding strategy. Let’s understand the main ones.
CPV (Cost-per-view)
Target CPV (cost-per-view) is a bidding strategy that lets Google and YouTube optimize your ads primarily for views. Choose this strategy when you have an essential message to deliver, like an upcoming event.
CPV is available for Skippable in-stream ads and YouTube Short ads.
CPM (Cost-per-mille)
The CPM (cost-per-mille) bidding strategy involves paying for every 1,000 times your ad is viewed by users. This strategy works well for top-of-the-funnel campaigns that aim to drive awareness.
CPM is available for Skippable in-stream ads, Non-skippable in-stream ads, Bumper ads, Masthead ads, and YouTube Short Ads.
CPA (Cost-per-action)
While CPC (cost per click) is a common bidding strategy for Google Ads, YouTube offers CPA (cost per action). This is similar to CPC, meaning you only get charged when a user performs an action, including clicks.
Use CPA bidding when you want to drive conversions such as leads, sales, or website traffic.
CPA is available for In-feed video ads and YouTube Short Ads.
Automated vs. manual bidding
An automated bidding strategy uses Google AI to set bids for your ads based on the likelihood of the ads resulting in a click or conversion.
Unlike manual bidding, you won’t have to set bids for your ads. Google optimizes the use of your set budget to maximize conversions.
Determining your ad budget
How much budget do you need to get results from YouTube ads?
YouTube advertising costs vary between $0.11 – $0.50 per view or action, with a daily budget of $10.
To determine your budget, choose the ad format and bidding strategy based on your goals. This will serve as the starting point.
Next, you can calculate the minimum budget required using industry benchmarks and the desired results.
- CPV bidding: $0.31-$0.4
- CPM bidding: $4-$10
- Bumper Ads: $10 CPM on average
- Non-skippable ads: $6-$10 CPM
- Masthead Ads: $300K-$400K per ad
- In-feed video ads: $0.1 CPV on average
Using average prices, you can estimate how much of your budget you’ll need to achieve your goal. Remember that how much you decide to invest in YouTube ads should also depend on other factors.
Consider where your target audience spends time, the additional budget needed to produce videos, and what budget you need to invest to generate ROI.
Measuring and analyzing performance
You now understand how each YouTube ad type can help and how to determine your budget. The next important thing is how you will measure results. YouTube ad campaigns are like every other marketing campaign. You need to continuously track and adjust them to achieve the best ROI.
Now, let’s go over the specific metrics you should be looking at and how to track your results using Google’s native analytics and custom-built dashboards that will make you look like a pro.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) for YouTube ads
There are several metrics to keep track of when measuring the results of your campaigns. Here are some important ones that can influence your optimization efforts:
- Impressions track your campaign’s reach and tell you how often viewers are exposed to in-feed thumbnails, the initial in-stream portion of your video, or the playback of your Shorts ad.
- Paid Views track the number of times viewers have seen your ad (including partial views). This is a good metric to use for awareness campaigns.
- View rate (=views/impressions) represents the percentage of impressions resulting from a view. It’s a good reflection of how engaging your ad content is.
- The “Video played to” metric counts the percentage of viewers who watch 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of the video from the viewers who initiated the player. This metric can help determine whether your message resonates with your target audience.
- View-through conversions track conversions recorded when users see your ad (but aren’t counted as a view or click), and then convert on your site within a set conversion window. This metric can tell you if your campaigns drive awareness and have compelling messages.
- Regular conversions count the conversions that happen after a user clicks specific buttons on your ads.
Now that you understand the main metrics you should track for your YouTube Ads, let’s look explore how to track these.
Using Google Ads reporting tools
YouTube Ads run via Google Ads, which is where you’ll find all the metrics related to your video campaigns’ performance.
This makes your Google Ads account the primary analysis, tracking, and reporting tool.
You can use the predefined Google Ads reports as a starting point to view your data and personalize them to your needs by adding or removing columns.
We have described the details of Google Ads analytics and how you can build reports for it.
Coupler.io also provides a ready-to-use dashboard to track the performance of your advertising campaigns on Google and hence YouTube.
The dashboard is available as a template for Google Sheets, Looker Studio, and Power BI. You only need to connect your Google Ads account using the built-in connector by Coupler.io and follow the instructions to load your data to the chosen template version. The dashboard will refresh automatically and display up-to-date information.
In addition to the Google Ads/YouTube Ads dashboard, Coupler.io allows you to export YouTube analytics data and offers many reporting templates for other PPC platforms and YouTube analytics.
For example, the YouTube traffic performance dashboard template allows you to analyze the performance of videos on your channel based on the traffic that came organically from YouTube videos.
Explore Looker Studio YouTube template.
It’s a great alternative to cluttered reports in Google Analytics 4. However, It won’t show the traffic from YouTube Ads.
Conversion tracking
You can measure conversions directly in your Google Ads account using Google Analytics 4. Google Ads provides a preset report called Conversions for this purpose.
However, the abovementioned Google Ads dashboard by Coupler.io offers more insights into conversions such as conversions by type of campaign and device, top campaigns by conversions, and all conversions breakdown.
GA4 allows you to get an overview of your campaigns, analyze your main conversion metrics, and understand which YouTube ads generated them. For all this, you need to make sure your GA4 account is linked to your Google Ads account. Then, you’ll find multiple insights in the Advertising section of Google Analytics.
Note: Keep in mind that conversions in GA4 are now called key events.
Can YouTube Analytics provide insights into ad campaigns?
YouTube Analytics provides insights to help grow your YouTube channel, while YouTube Ads are designed to drive users to a website or build brand awareness among target audiences.
Examples of YouTube Ads
Many YouTube users use adblocks to avoid being bombarded with video ads. Remeber, ads that aren’t done right can become annoying and actually harm your brand image.
To enhance engagement and ROI, it’s important to follow best practices and draw inspiration from successful YouTube ads.
Here are some of our favorites:
ClickUp YouTube ad: Jira gets fired
Jira gets fired by ClickUp YouTube campaigns received a lot of attention and engagement. This awareness campaign focused on emphasizing the pain points of Jira’s users to showcase the benefits of ClickUp.
It captured users’ significant struggles and portrayed ClickUp as the savior through amazing storytelling techniques. This led to people not only watching the ad until the end but also sharing and commenting on it.
Zapier: It doesn’t take a magic wand to grow your business
Zapier’s YouTube campaign follows the same principles ClickUp used. They tap into the users’ emotions by recreating a scenario that everyone can recognize – a marketing meeting.
Through engaging storytelling, Zapier explains what their software does in simple language without showing the app at all.
The examples shared above have a few things in common. They’re both short, engaging, and educational.
When done right, YouTube ads can be a powerful tool for driving awareness. Start by identifying your user persona’s pain points and craft stories your audience can relate to. Test different ad formats to understand what works best for your brand and track results.
We recommend setting up custom reporting dashboards to truly understand how organic and paid YouTube campaigns impact your bottom line. And check out our digital advertising guide to learn more about other ways to attract customers.
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