YouTube Ads

What are YouTube Ads?

YouTube Ads are video ads shown before, during, or next to YouTube videos. You don't book them in YouTube Studio but in Google Ads via the Video campaign type. The same building blocks apply as in Search: campaign, ad group, audience, bidding strategy, and daily budget. Only the creative changes, because instead of text you supply a video.

The Ad Formats at a Glance

• Skippable in-stream ads: Run before, during, or after a video and can be skipped after five seconds. Billed per CPV, the workhorse for explanation and remarketing.
• Non-skippable in-stream ads: Up to 15 seconds with no skip button, billed per CPM. Only worthwhile with precise targeting.
• Bumper ads: Six seconds, non-skippable, CPM. Too short to explain anything, strong as a reminder after a longer ad.
• In-feed video ads (video discovery): Appear in YouTube search, on the home feed, and next to related videos. You only pay when someone clicks the thumbnail, so it's the one format with genuine search intent.
• Shorts ads: Run between vertical short videos and require a 9:16 portrait video.

How YouTube Ads Are Billed

There is no fixed price and no minimum booking, so you're not buying airtime. You set a daily budget and can change it at any time. How that budget turns into cost depends on the format:

• CPV (cost per view): Cost occurs once someone watches 30 seconds, finishes a shorter video, or interacts with the ad. Someone who skips after five seconds costs you nothing.
• CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions): Cost occurs on every delivery, whether or not anyone pays attention. Standard for bumper and non-skippable ads.
• CPC (cost per click): With in-feed ads you only pay when someone deliberately selects the video.

On the bidding side you have maximum CPV and target CPM available, plus "maximize conversions" and target CPA once conversion tracking reliably delivers data. Without conversion data the algorithm has nothing to learn from.

What You Need Before You Start

1. A Google Ads account: The campaign is built there, not on YouTube.
2. A linked YouTube channel: Connect channel and ad account under "Tools" and "Linked accounts", otherwise view and audience data are missing.
3. An uploaded video: Public or unlisted, both work as a creative.
4. A landing page: The click lands on your website, so the same requirements apply as for any other campaign.

Pro tip: Start with remarketing to website visitors instead of a broad interest audience. Those people already know you, and you'll see faster whether your video carries. From my experience, the first five seconds decide more than the production budget.

Further resources

• YouTube Ads: costs, formats and campaign setup
• Demand Gen campaigns guide
• Campaign types in Google Ads
• Remarketing and retargeting