As marketing trends change with time, YouTube advertising has become a preferred way for businesses to advertise online. Among different benefits, advertising on YouTube gives the opportunity to reach a massive audience of 1.5 billion monthly viewers. YouTube has grown to generate an average of over $2 billion monthly from ads. YouTube’s ad revenues are now double the size of a few years prior in 2019. Businesses must recognize the growth and change how they share video content online.

Growing revenues from ads on YouTube reflect the changes in how consumers interact with videos. YouTube ads give customization options to the way you advertise. This allows greater control over what audience the ad will reach and the format the ad will take. US audiences ages 18 and older watch YouTube more than any television network. The growing audience on YouTube and low-cost options make it the better choice over traditional television ads. YouTube ads, like Facebook ads, all take place in Google Ads.

How Do I Start YouTube Advertising?

Advertising with YouTube can be very beneficial for businesses trying to reach a large audience without breaking the budget. You will first need an account on Google AdWords and YouTube. Once you have accounts on both platforms, you will need to create a video ad. While making the video, it is crucial to consider YouTube’s Terms of Service to ensure that the video is not removed.

After creating the video, it is time to choose campaign options and a target audience. The next step will be to select the format for your ad and finalize all other options. Decisions related to ad format and target audience can significantly impact the ad’s success. To monitor the success of the ad campaign, you will want to have a person to keep up with the metrics of the video, like clicks and views.

What are the Different Types of YouTube Ads I Can Use for My Business?

To get the most out of YouTube Advertising, you will need to know the different formats your ad can take.

One choice that you will need to make is between a skippable and non-skippable ad.

Non-Skippable Ads

Non-skippable ads can take place before, during or after a video and may be up to 30 seconds long.

Skippable Ads

Skippable videos also can be before, during or after a video. However, the difference is that they can be skipped after the first five seconds.

Instream Ads

Instream ads are a format that gives the viewer the option to watch or skip. If the viewer does not watch 30 seconds of the ad, it will not count as a view.

Display Ads

Another different format is display ads. Display ads are located to the right of a video and work by getting interested viewers to click.

Overlay Ads

Do not forget about the overlay ads. They are the ads usually located on the bottom portion of the video. These ads can be exited at any time. Success for this format is measured the same as display ads since interested viewers will click on the ad.

Midroll Ads

The final major YouTube ad format are midroll ads. These are spaced out like commercials on a television program so that a viewer must watch the ad before continuing the video.

Who Can I Target With YouTube Ads?

A huge benefit of Youtube advertising is the ability to target what audience your ad will reach precisely. There are many options for strategically picking who your target audience is on YouTube. Common choices include demographics like age, gender and location. Another choice you can make is to use search history-based targeting. This considers a user’s search history when deciding to target them or not.

A great way to reach a specific audience is to choose a channel for your ad. If you do not have a particular channel in mind, find content related to the industry and target those accounts. Another good choice you have is to put your ads on competitors’ videos. With competitor targeting, you can reach the audience in your chosen industry and stay competitive. YouTube ads offer many targeting options that increase the chance of getting a specific audience and not waste money advertising to the wrong audience.

How Do I Create YouTube Ads?

Creating ads on YouTube is a simple process. However, experience with Google Ads and Facebook Ads will give users an advantage when setting up ad campaigns. Creating a video for your ad campaign will significantly impact the format you want your ad to take.

After deciding on a format, you must choose when and where your ad will play. Utilizing demographics and other characteristics of your target audience, you should strategically determine the details for your ad campaign. Once the campaign is up and running you will need to monitor the ad’s success by keeping track of clicks, views, and average viewership. These metrics will give you a good idea of what your ad is doing well and if there is a point where viewers are skipping or exiting from your ad.

Taking advantage of YouTube Ads makes more sense now than ever before. With the significant shift in how people consume video content, YouTube outperforms better and creates more revenue than ads on major television networks. YouTube allows companies to reach a growing target audience with incredible accuracy strategically.

If you are still getting familiar with Google AdWords or YouTube, you might be intimidated to start your advertising campaign with YouTube Ads. The excellent news is Rhoads Creative has an experienced marketing team that can help you through the process. Contact us today to learn how YouTube Advertising can improve the success of your marketing campaigns.