How to Run YouTube Ads and Grow Your Business

Businesses of all sizes are tapping into the power of YouTube’s popularity and using the platform to reach their target audiences. YouTube Ads allows you to reach a broad viewer base while simultaneously narrowing your targeting options on the basis of details like region and language.

This article explains how YouTube Ads works and provides a step-by-step guide on how to run YouTube Ads for your business.

What are YouTube Ads?

YouTube advertising is done via Google Ads and is a means of promoting video content on the social media platform or via search engines. YouTube ads allow individuals and businesses to maximize the reach of their video content. Ads can be configured to increase video viewership and boost impact.

Individuals who use YouTube for free are regularly shown video ads. For example, an ad may appear before the video the user wants to watch begins. Alternatively, multiple ads may be interspersed throughout lengthier videos. These are forms of YouTube advertising.

Benefits of YouTube Ads

Using YouTube Ads for your business offers some distinct benefits. Here’s an overview of the reasons businesses use YouTube ads:

• Extend reach: YouTube has more than 2 billion logged-in users per month. That number is expected to continue to grow. YouTube advertising can, thus, reach a significant number of people.
• Easy optimization: YouTube Ads offers useful optimization options. You can target your video ad based on its topic, relevant category of user interest, keywords, and demographics (e.g., age and gender). You can also place ads relevant to a certain YouTube page.
• Advanced targeting: Effective marketing optimization isn’t just about targeting viewers you want to reach. More advanced targeting allows you to exclude viewers your product or service isn’t relevant to. With YouTube Ads, you can exclude keywords, content, categories, etc., that you don’t want your video ad associated with.
  

People are also increasingly incorporating YouTube into their everyday home life, using smart TVs to watch from the comfort of their living rooms. Some 120 million people watch YouTube on TV screens every month. With video ads, you can reach people when their eyes are already on the screen.

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Different types of YouTube Ads

There are a few types of YouTube video advertising. Understanding the different formats and how they can meet your unique marketing objectives will help you determine which one is for you.

Skippable video ads

With a skippable ad, the user has to watch the first five seconds of the ad but can then click a button to skip the rest. The ad plays in the main YouTube video player.

Skippable ads are referred to as TrueView in-stream ads by YouTube. In-stream ads play before or during another YouTube video. They may appear on various sites and apps in the Google Display Network (GDN), including YouTube (on mobile devices and desktops and the YouTube app and YouTube-connected TVs).

In-stream TrueView ads are great for short and to-the-point initiatives. If you are trying to capture audiences quickly and direct them elsewhere—like a homepage or other website landing page—a skippable ad might give you enough time to achieve that goal.

Discovery ads

It’s important to distinguish TrueView in-stream ads from TrueView discovery ads. Discovery ads are presented on the YouTube app homepage, in YouTube search results, and on watch pages (desktop and mobile).

The ad presents as a small thumbnail, accompanied by a few lines of text. The user can choose to click the ad, which then takes them to the relevant YouTube channel page or watch page to see the full video directly (instead of as a thumbnail ad). This can be a useful way to attract new subscribers to a YouTube channel or watch page.

Non-skippable video ads

With non-skippable ads, the viewer has to watch the entirety of the video ad before they can watch their desired video. There is no option to skip. These ads also play in the main video player and vary from 15 to 20 seconds in length.

This kind of ad tends to get better engagement. However, it also has a higher click-away rate. If you have an effectively targeted, high-quality ad, a non-skippable ad might be a worthy option.

Bumper ads

Bumper ads are a type of non-skippable video ad but are shorter (up to six seconds long). These play in the main video player. Bumper ads are distinct from skippable ads because the viewer must watch the full bumper ad before they can watch their desired video.

Further, a bumper ad doesn’t affect the video’s visible view count—unlike a skippable ad, which will give you +1 view and display this publicly (valuable social engagement evidence).

Bumper ads are good for complementing larger video campaigns. For example, if you’re launching a product, you might create a sequence of video clips. The bumper ad can be used to pique the viewer’s interest and then follow up with a skippable ad played later—the logic being that the viewer will be engaged enough not to skip.

Overlay ads

Overlay ads consist of text or image ads that appear as smaller thumbnails over the video that the viewer is watching. They may be 468x60 or 728x90 pixels in size, covering about 20% of the video screen.

However, unlike the other types of ads listed above—which can be viewed via desktop, mobile, TV, or game consoles—overlay ads are available only for desktop. Overlay ads are great if you have a call-to-action (CTA) that is easier for the user to pursue via a desktop device, such as browsing an e-commerce store.

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A step-by-step guide to using YouTube Ads to grow your business

Creating an effective YouTube Ads campaign requires more than crafting compelling video content. Follow these steps.

1. Link Google Ads to your YouTube channe

YouTube runs its advertising through Google Ads. The first step in using YouTube Ads is to link your YouTube account to your Google Adwords account. Here’s how it’s done:

• Log into your Google Ads account.
• Click “Tools” at the top of the page.
• Select “Linked Accounts” under the “Setup” drop-down.
• Follow the directions to add your YouTube channel.

2. Create and upload your video ad

You don’t need fancy camera equipment to create a YouTube video. Many smartphones have the requisite technology. Follow these steps to get started:

• Shoot the content you need for your video. You can also use stock imagery for a small fee.
• Edit your video. There are free programs you can use to cut together different scenes, input transitions, add music, and more.
• Keep time requirements in mind. If you’re opting for a bumper ad, for example, your footage can’t exceed six seconds.
  

Once your video is finalized, upload it to your YouTube channel and choose a fitting ad format. Consider your objective when selecting the ad type.

For example, if you’re trying to get people to download a mobile app, an overlay ad is a bad idea because that type of ad appears on desktop only. The odds are low the viewer will grab their phone, look up the app, and download it. However, if you create an ad that they can see on their mobile phone, they’re more likely to click and download directly to the device in their hand.

3. Create a YouTube ad campaign in Google Ads

Next, you can create your actual YouTube ad campaign. Again, you’ll use Google Ads to manage this. Here’s how:

• In your Google Ads account, go to the “Campaigns” section.
• Select “New Campaign.”
• Define your ad goal, using the options provided.
• Designate the campaign type as “Video.”

4. Choose your YouTube ad format

You will then have the option to choose your YouTube ad format. See the list above for an idea of what formats are available. You should already have an idea of which format you plan to use depending on the objectives you outlined for your video when creating it.

5. Set your budget, schedule, and bid strategy

Google Ads will then ask you to enter a budget, set a time schedule, and choose a bid strategy. Your budget will impact how often your ad is displayed and how prominently it’s featured. Your bid strategy determines how that budget is spent. There are many ways to manage this. Google Ads offers a help page that can be useful in defining your strategy.

6. Select locations, languages, and a target audience

You can now take steps to target your ad more precisely. First, set the location of people to whom you want the ad to be shown. This may be especially useful for small businesses that want to target their local area.

Second, specify the languages of people to target. If you do business in a market where several languages are spoken, this is especially useful.

Finally, identify your target demographic. You should have some idea of who you are trying to reach with your product or service in terms of details like age and gender.

7. Set keywords, topics, and placements

To specify your targeting on an even more detailed level, you can then designate keywords and topics relevant to your ad. You can select topics in line with your target audience’s interests and then include relevant keywords within that topic area.

For example, say you are creating ads for your beauty company launching a new lipstick line. An appropriate topic might be “beauty” or “makeup.” Relevant keywords might incorporate terms like “lipstick,” “lip filler,” and “plumping lipstick.”

Finally, you can specify where you want the ad to appear. Options include YouTube’s related videos, websites, and apps, to name a few. The more granular the information you can put into your YouTube ad management, the more precisely targeted it will be.

8. Enter the link to your video

Now, you’ll enter the video by pasting the YouTube display URL into the designated Google Ads section when prompted.

9. Track performance and conversions with Google Ads

One of the great things about Google Ads is that you can see how well your ads are performing. This lets you determine where to allocate your marketing dollars.

If you have set up conversion tracking with Google Ads, you should monitor the performance metrics of your ad going forward. Google’s help center provides more in-depth details on how to track performance and conversions.

Next steps

YouTube ads can raise brand awareness and serve as a valuable marketing and remarketing tool—if you know how to use them properly. If you want to harness the full potential of this pro marketers method, you might consider enlisting the services of a dedicated YouTube marketers.

Upwork features an array of independent talent, allowing you to find experts to help with everything from video creation to marketing setup and performance tracking. Hire the freelance professional you need today.

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