By: Madison Johansen
Choosing the Right Types of YouTube Ads
So, you’ve taken the leap and decided to try out YouTube video advertising, but where should you start? There are a several different types of YouTube ads for you to choose from, but before jumping into testing them out, you should start at square one – figure out your objectives and what you are hoping to get out of these video ads. Determine your campaign goals and then discover which of the YouTube ad formats will work best to reach those goals.
YouTube Ad Formats
TrueView In-Stream
This video advertising type accounts for the majority of ads on YouTube and is typically where businesses gravitate towards when thinking about video ad campaigns. In this case, your video ad plays before, during, or after other videos and after five seconds the viewer has an option to skip the ad. The ads can appear on YouTube watch pages and on videos on partner sites and apps in the GDN.
When should you use this format? TrueView In-Stream ads are a great choice for almost all different goals, but tend to work best for premium branding and consideration. As with any video ad, your company name or logo, message and CTA should be conveyed in the first 3-5 seconds to keep a user engaged.
TrueView Discovery
Formerly known as TrueView In-Display ads, TrueView Discovery ads consist of a thumbnail image from your video with some text that invites users to click and watch the video. These ads are found in places of discovery – YouTube search results, alongside related YouTube videos, and on the YouTube mobile homepage. Since users have to click on the ad in order to see the video play, you must ensure the thumbnail image and text is compelling and attention grabbing.
When should you use this format? This is one of the types of YouTube ads, in which you should use mainly after you have already nailed down your target audience, you are past awareness and moving on to product or brand consideration.
Bumper Ads
These short 6 second video ads play before, during, or after another video, however the user does not have the option to skip the ad. These are designed to allow you to reach more customers and increase awareness in a quick ad clip.
When should you use this format? Bumper ads are perfect for when you want to reach a large audience and increase brand awareness. Since they are only several seconds long, it is important that you create a short but memorable message.
TrueView for Action
Although this is technically a type of TrueView In-Stream ad, it is slightly different than the standard ad. It was also recently introduced but will be rolling out to all accounts soon. With TrueView for Action ads, advertisers can customize calls to action that will appear along with their video ads on YouTube. The branded banner is able to be tailored to a specific action goal, like “get a quote,” book now,” or “learn more.” Like all In-Stream ads, users are able to skip the ad after five seconds.
When should you use this format? Unlike other types of YouTube ads, TrueView for Action ads were developed specifically to meet direct response objectives. These ads are deemed most effective with the new targeting capability – custom intent audiences.
Custom intent audiences, also recently introduced to be available on YouTube, allow advertisers to reach people on YouTube who have recently searched particular keywords on Google. So, you can add keywords related to your products or services that users are likely to be searching during their research, and then reach them with an ad as they watch videos on YouTube.
If you still have questions about which types of YouTube ads to use for your brand, we are more than happy to help educate or assist you. We have run a number of successful video campaigns for our clients and would love to add you to that list!
Curious about YouTube SEO? Check out our article on YouTube Optimisation & How to Rank Higher.
