Uploading your video to YouTube isn’t necessarily going to mean that your video gets seen by the people that you want. Luckily, it’s possible to promote your video on YouTube via Google Adwords by using an interface which if you have had any experience of working with, will mean that you will instantly feel comfortable with it!
Campaign settings & targeting options:
Much like standard Adwords campaigns, Video ad campaigns have targeting settings designed for you to reach the audience you want, such as the country(ies) that you want your video ads to be displayed. Like other Adwords campaigns, you can have opt to have your video ads shown evenly throughout the day, or go gung ho and have them displayed until your budget is exhausted!
Video ads also allow you to target certain genders or age demographics should you have an idea of your typical customer. You can also choose via pre-determined topics & by keyword.
Advertising formats:
Here are some of the more popular advertising options available to you:
In-Search
Much like using Adwords for Google search, you can specify the keywords that are related to your video that you wish to bid on. If your bid is high enough, your video will appear above the video results.
In-Display
Here your video can appear at the top of the right hand column next to a video that is being watched. The great thing about this is that you can choose the specific videos that you want to advertise on.
In-Stream
This is where your advert is played before a user can watch their chosen video, this is extremely popular, but many find this to be quite intrusive.
In-Slate
This is where a number of adverts appear before a user can watch a video, and one has to be viewed before the desired video can be watched.
What I think:
If you want people to view your video, then you want them to choose to do so rather than annoying them by forcing it in front of their eyes! In many cases (unless the start of your video is spectacularly visual, or for an amazing product) your ad will be skipped as soon as possible which is usually around the 5 second point.
In most circumstances I would recommend that your starting point is an “In-Search” campaign where you will choose keywords relating to your video, your business or industry.
I would also recommend that alongside this, you add an “In-Display” campaign, where you can handpick the videos that you want your ad to appear at the top of the “related videos” list. I’d recommend that you spend a bit of time building up a list of the video’s that are relevant to yours and that have had a fair amount of views – if they are also your competitor’s videos, even better!
What you can expect:
Based on my experience, it will take a few (around 3 on average) days for your Video Advert to be approved, so set up your campaign in plenty of time.
I have also found the Cost Per Click very low when compared to using the standard Adwords Search or Display networks. Some Cost Per clicks have been consistently as low as 8 pence! A word of warning though, I have found on many occasions that despite a low cost per click, my daily budget has been exceeded on many occasions.
The CTR (click through rate) of your Advert will be quite low, but will be pretty consistent over a period of time. Due to this, I often specify that I want my Video Ads to appear until the daily budget has been exhausted, instead of the video being displayed evenly throughout the day.
Is it right for you?
In all honesty it depends on your objective. If your aim is simply to get your targeted audience to view your video, then yes! If your aim is more lead or sales driven, then you’d need to be quite strategic in your campaign – but it is possible!
If you’d like to have a chat about video advertising on YouTube, why not drop us a message below? We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.