Learning YouTube ad mechanics is a key step in the process of creating and running an effective video campaign on Google’s YouTube platform. Ads on YouTube have unique creative constraints and many options. They are also a very different format than pay-per-click (PPC) or paid social ads.
When setting up a YouTube video ad, you’ll start by selecting the goal or objective for the campaign. This will determine what types of videos and ad placements you’ll create. Then, choose a video ad subtype such as skippable in-stream, non-skippable in-stream or ad sequence. You can also choose to include audio ads in your video ad.
Mastering Mechanics: Learning the Ins and Outs of YouTube Ads
In the next screen, you’ll enter your budget and create a bid strategy. This can be based on a cost-per-view (CPV) or CPA bid. You can choose to set a daily average bid or a maximum bid per view. Your ad will then appear on YouTube videos and the Google Display Network (GDN).
You can use targeting to limit who sees your ad. For example, you can target people who are in certain locations, exclude certain websites or mobile devices and specify languages. You can also set up content exclusions to avoid showing your ad on videos that contain profanity or graphic content.
You can create multiple campaigns to monitor performance separately, which can help compare the results of different ad formats or types. You can then adjust your bids based on the results you get and learn more about what works and what doesn’t.