Basics of YouTube Ads and its Types

Do you want to promote your business? Advertising on YouTube can be an effective way to increase your brand’s awareness and revenue.

“While a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million”
– Scott MacFarland 

These days, video streaming sites have this advantage, and we’ll discuss YouTube, the second-largest search engine in the world after Google. Advertising on YouTube, or YouTube ads, is the best way to reach as many people as possible with your video content. YouTube ads are done through Google Ads and your video could play before another video or appear in YouTube’s search results for people to view.

Benefits of YouTube ads

1. Connect with your audience:

Advertisements that play on YouTube videos can help you make a unique and lasting connection with your potential customers. You can share your knowledge with the world, or you can position yourself in front of the camera and explain how your product or service will help your target audience.

2. Reach the right audience:

On YouTube, you can target your customers based on subjects, keywords, or demographics.

3. Create a campaign in only a few minutes:

Create a Google Ads account, create a campaign, and reach out to your target market.

4. Measure your success:

Check to see if you are reaching the right people. Track views, charges, and budget statistics in your Google Ads account. To learn more about your viewers, go to the “Analytics” page on your YouTube account. For example, you can observe which videos are being watched more and for how long your clients are watching.

Understanding the different sorts of ads accessible is necessary before you start operating a YouTube ad campaign. In this blog, we will walk you through the different types of YouTube ads that you can employ to increase your audience, brand exposure, and sales.

This will assist you in selecting the one, that suits your brand, based on your specific goals.

Types of YouTube ads

1. Skippable In-Stream ads (True View Ads)
2. Non-skippable In-stream ads
3. Bumper ads
4. In-feed video ads (formerly known as Discovery ads)
5. Masthead ads
6. Overlay Ads

1. Skippable In-Stream ads (True View Ads)

TrueView ads are the most common type of video advertisement on YouTube.
Skippable in-stream ads appear before, during, or after YouTube videos. They are called “skippable” because viewers are allowed to skip the ad after a few seconds.

The advantage of skippable video ads is that you can pay ‘per view’ rather than ‘per impression’.

Advertisers only pay for TrueView ads when viewers watch them or interact with them (for example, by clicking on the call-to-action button), and videos can be easily customized to share a wide range of content.

Duration: Skippable TrueView ads on YouTube must be between 12 seconds and 6 minutes in length.

Spec: Plays in the video player (option to skip after 5 seconds).

2. Non-skippable in-stream ads

Non-skippable in-stream ads are like skippable ads, which will play before, during, or after YouTube videos.

In contrast to skippable ads, viewers must watch this ad for its entire duration, which can be up to fifteen or twenty seconds depending on your location.

Non-skippable ads are great for increasing brand awareness and reach because everyone has to watch the entire video, but sometimes, it may annoy the user.

For this ad type, the only bidding option is to pay a fixed rate per thousand impressions (CPM), which may be more expensive if you aren’t targeting the right audience.

Duration: Non-skippable in-stream ads last from 15 to 20 seconds.

Spec: Plays in the video player.

3. Bumper ads

Bumper ads are a type of video ad that is designed to get your attention quickly.

Bumper ads, like the first two ad types, can appear before, during, and after a YouTube video. They’re perfect for announcing sales, new products, promotions, or special events because you’ll need to get your message across quickly.

There is no way to skip ahead, and because they are so brief, they must be punchy and memorable.

This ad type allows you to pay per thousand impressions.

Duration: Bumper ads run for six seconds.

Spec: Plays in the video player.

4. In-feed video ads (formerly known as Discovery ads)

In-feed video ads, formerly known as Discovery ads, are a way to promote the content on your own YouTube channel.

You can pay to have your videos appear at the top of YouTube search results and as recommendations to other viewers by using in-feed video ads.

Your ad will appear as a regular YouTube video listing, complete with a thumbnail and description. When a viewer clicks on it, your entire video will start playing.  This ad type is denoted by a yellow box that says “ad.” The advantage of this ad type is that you will only be charged if someone clicks on your video and start watching it, as opposed to paying for impressions.

This type of ad is excellent for increasing brand awareness, growing your YouTube channel, and promoting products that require additional explanation. Also, because the viewer is directed to a video on your channel, they may subscribe if they enjoy your content.

A cost-per-click (CPC) strategy is used for in-feed video ads. This means you’ll be charged based on the number of people who click on your ad, making it much easier to tie your spending to customer action than using impressions.

5. Masthead Ads

Masthead ads can be effective tools, but they are typically reserved for large corporations. They’re designed to generate maximum exposure in a short period of time, making them an excellent choice for announcing a sale or new product release.

Masthead ads appear at the very top of the YouTube home feed. A featured video in a Masthead ad auto-plays without sound for up to 30 seconds. They can be videos or images, and there is usually more information listed next to the masthead.

Masthead ads are charged on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis because they are only available by reservation.

You can request a rate estimate and campaign impression goals from the Google advertising team.

6. Overlay Ads

Overlay ads are a type of banner ad that occupies the bottom 20% of the screen of a video without obstructing the user’s view. This style of ad is great for extending the reach of your previous in-stream video ads.

These advertisements can include images or text, and users can interact with them or turn them off at any time.

When users click on one of these ads, they will be directed to the advertiser’s designated landing page. This type of ad is an excellent technique to avoid being too invasive when selling your goods.

Spec: 468×60 or 728×90 pixels in size

Conclusion :

Running advertisements on YouTube is beneficial because you can reach a far larger audience than most other platforms because it is the second-largest social media platform in the world. I hope this aids you in selecting the ideal ad format for your company’s requirements. When used properly, YouTube advertising can increase website traffic and revenue for your company to great extents.