Beginners Guide To YouTube Ad Types
The popularity of YouTube shows no signs of abating and can be an extremely effective way to advertise your business.
If you’ve not advertised on YouTube before, it can feel a little overwhelming. Here are the basics you need to know to get started.
YouTube ad types
There are multiple advertising options on YouTube. These include:
TrueView ads
Easily the most popular adoption on YouTube. These video ads play before the chosen video. Users are able to skip these ads but they can be a great option as you don’t have to pay every time they are shown. Instead, you pay when a user watches more than 30 seconds of the video, or the whole ad if less than 30 seconds or if they click on the ad.
There is an option to buy an ‘in-stream’ ad which users do not have the option to skip.
Bumper ads
These ads are short and not able to be skipped by the user. The videos must be under six seconds in length and be able to get your message across at this time. You’ll need to use a specialist video production company to help you get the right content and quality across in your video.
Display ads
These types of ads can be found on the right side of the video that is being played, above the list of videos that YouTube suggests. The ads can be a banner or a square.
Sponsored card ads
If you watch videos on YouTube, these ads appear in the corner right of the screen. There is an ‘i’ symbol that you can click on or hover over. These ads typically link to a Google Shopping URL or another video.
Overlay ads
These are small and simple banners that appear over the top of the video that is playing. Users can simply choose to ignore them, click, or remove them altogether.
Which type of YouTube ad should you choose?
As you can see, there are many different ad types to choose from. According to YouTube, approximately 80% of its advertisers use TrueView advertising. There are a lot of variables when it comes to choosing the best one for your company. For example, your advertising budget will dictate much of the direction of your campaign. In addition to the YouTube advertising fees, you will need to take into consideration any video production costs or graphic design. These can add substantially to the budget.
Some products lend themselves well to video, others look better as static ads. Whatever you choose, the important thing is that the ad is tailored perfectly for your target audience and that you use all of the YouTube advertising tools available to get your ad in front of the right audience. With over 2 billion users, you don’t want to waste your precious advertising budget on people who are never going to buy your products or services. Focused marketing will work much better here and give your better results and ROI on your campaign.