With over 2 billion active monthly users, YouTube has established itself as one of the most powerful and popular communication channels in the world.
Not just entertainment for the visitors, this platform offers a huge opportunity for companies to promote their products or services.
As? With Youtube Ads .
What YouTube Ads is and how it works?
YouTube Ads is part of the vast Google Ads ecosystem . Very different from other advertising systems (such as, for example, that of Spotify or Meta Ads ), it is an advertising platform made available by Google, owner of YouTube, to allow advertisers to promote their products or services through ads video format advertisements delivered during, at the end or at the beginning of playback of a YouTube video.
Its operation is very simple.
Using Google Ads directly, you can configure all the elements necessary to create your YouTube Ads campaigns. Here you will also have the option to choose whether to use a video you have already uploaded to YouTube or create a new one directly on the platform.
Depending on the objectives of your campaign, videos can be a few seconds long or can last several minutes.
Once you have created engaging videos that capture users’ attention in seconds and set up all the necessary assets, you can start the advertising campaign.
At this point your videos can be viewed on desktop, mobile devices and smart TVs , reaching a selected audience based on demographic criteria, interests and online behavior.
How much does a YouTube Ads campaign cost?
Obviously, all this has a cost: like SEM ( Search Engine Marketing) and Social Media Marketing (SMM) promotions , YouTube Ads require an investment based on the number of interactions (Pay Per Click) or the cost per thousand (CPM) i.e. at the cost of the campaign per thousand views of the same.
Furthermore, there are several factors that influence the final price of these promotions such as the type of ad chosen and the objective of the campaign (leads, website traffic, brand awareness and coverage, consideration of the product and brand).
By carefully analyzing these factors, you can then determine the amount you want to invest, choosing between a daily budget (the average amount you spend each day) or a total budget for the entire campaign.
For example, let’s assume that the average cost of viewing or clicking on an ad on YouTube is between $0.30 and $0.70 (calculated on a daily budget of approximately $50). Based on these assumptions, when a user views the ad or interacts with it, you will spend a cost for that action ranging from a minimum of $0.30 to a maximum of $0.70.
And if the average cost per interaction or view is $0.50, with the daily budget available (i.e. $50), it means that you have the possibility of obtaining around 100 interactions or views for that video.
In the end, if the video was interesting and useful for those who saw it, many of them may decide to purchase your product/service!
Types of ads available on YouTube Ads
To evaluate campaign costs it is important to consider the wide range of sponsored ad options available, which can be:
Display ads : image or animation that appears, for up to 30 seconds, to the right of the featured video, when browsing from desktop.
Skipable in-stream ads – Play automatically before, during, or after a video starts. The duration is between 12 seconds and 6 minutes, but the user can decide whether to stop after 5 seconds.
Non-skippable in-stream ads : 15/20 second videos that automatically appear before the start of a video, after and/or during, and cannot be stopped.
Bumper Ads : Short ads of up to 6 seconds that appear before, after or during a video and contain a memorable, impactful message.
Video Discovery Ads – Thumbnails that appear as suggestions of relevant videos on YouTube. Users can click to view and interact with the promoted video, which plays on Youtube or on the preview page.
Outstream ads – Allows advertisers to show video ads on YouTube partner websites and apps. These ads are triggered when viewed on the desktop and play automatically without sound, but users can turn it on if they wish.
Sponsored Tabs : Popups with a call to action lasting a few seconds that appear in the videos viewed by the user.
Overlay ads – semi-transparent banner that appears only on desktop as a text box or clickable image in the
What are the advantages of using YouTube Ads
The advantages of YouTube Ads are many, first of all because the platform allows you to reach thousands of users interested in your sector or product. In fact, you can define your audience using advanced targeting tools , such as age, gender, geographic location and specific interests. This helps you reach the right people with your advertising message.
Additionally, this type of ad offers engagement and exposure to your brand , through creative and captivating videos that allow you to tell a story and create an emotional connection with viewers.
But there are also other points of value:
you have the opportunity to monitor views, user interactions and conversions directly from the platform in order to optimize your campaigns in real time, making strategic changes to maximize results.
you have maximum flexibility in using the budget : you can decide how much to spend daily or for the entire campaign, based on your specific needs and objectives. Plus, you can use different targeting options to optimize your spend, reaching exactly the people you want, reducing waste and maximizing the return on your advertising investment.
you can activate remarketing campaigns : the platform helps you identify users who have interacted with your brand or visited your website previously. This way you can create targeted ads that engage them in a personalized way, offering them special discounts or further information on the products they are interested in, increasing the chances of conversion.
you have the opportunity to do A/B tests : you can experiment with different versions of the ads, such as the message, format or duration, to understand which ones work best. By running an A/B test you will be able to compare the performance of your ads and make the necessary adjustments to optimize your campaign.
How to set up a campaign on YouTube Ads
To precisely set up a YouTube Ads campaign there are several steps to follow and the choices made during the various steps will be guided by the YouTube Marketing strategy designed upstream before trying your hand on the platform. The key steps to follow will be:
Define Goals : Clearly establish the purpose of your advertising campaign. Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website or get conversions?
Identify target audience – Use the targeting options offered by YouTube Ads to select specific demographics, interests or behaviors that match your audience.
Set your budget : Establish a daily or total spend, balancing it against your campaign goals and conversion expectations. Also choose whether it should be a PPC or PPM campaign.
Choose the best video format based on the chosen objectives and target and create captivating content : they must be high-quality, relevant and engaging video ads that capture attention from the first seconds (you will need an excellent Video Marketing strategy before start!). Tell an engaging story, highlight strong points and include a clear call-to-action. For example, you can also leverage the popularity of content creators on YouTube and partner with them by featuring them in your ad to promote your brand or product. These collaborations can increase the authenticity and credibility of your advertising campaign.
Create ad groups : If you need to sponsor multiple videos that have a common theme, you can create ad groups that will allow you to refine your targeting to better reach your target audience.
Finally, start the campaign .
Once launched, all you need to do is monitor your campaign using Google Ads analytics tools to evaluate key metrics, such as views, click-through rate, watch time and conversions. Based on the data collected, you will be able to evaluate and make necessary adjustments to optimize your targeting strategies, video content or budget based on the data collected.
How to measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign on YouTube Ads?
To evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign and identify possible optimizations to be implemented in terms of budget, targeting and more, it is important to monitor various metrics that provide a detailed analysis of the situation.
The main metrics available for video marketing campaigns are:
Basic performance : This includes the number of views, interactions and watch time, as well as the average CPV, which is the average amount paid when a viewer watches at least 30 seconds of the video or interacts with it.
Click Performance : This includes the total number of clicks and the CTR (Click-Through Rate), which is the ratio of the number of clicks your ad receives to the number of times the ad is displayed.
Engagement performance : Indicates interactions, such as clicks on teasers and icons, and engagement rate, which is the ratio of the number of interactions your ad receives to the number of times the ad is shown.
Coverage and frequency: Includes metrics such as unique users and channel subscriptions earned.
Video Views – Offers video view rate at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%
Engagement – What actions the user performed while watching the video (likes, views, likes, shares)
By regularly monitoring these metrics, you’ll be able to evaluate the performance of your YouTube Ads campaign and make any optimizations needed to achieve your goals.
Final thoughts
In conclusion, YouTube is a channel with enormous potential to improve a company’s online exposure. The key to success is knowing how to navigate effectively on this platform and having a clear upstream strategy that can guide you in your decisions.
If you’re thinking of starting a YouTube marketing project , we’re here for you! Contact us to discuss your ideas together and find the best solutions.
