Beginner’s Guide to Setting Up YouTube Ads

July 8, 2013

Beginners Guide to Setting Up YouTube Ads
According to a new report by comScore, over 180 million American consumers watched nearly 41 billion online videos in May.
What also caught my eye about this report was that consumers watched 15.8 billion video ads during the same month. The study also maintains that nearly 85 percent of U.S. Internet audience viewed online videos for an average of 5.6 minutes.
With these kinds of numbers, it’s no surprise that many marketers are increasing their video ad budgets. If you’re just getting started, YouTube ads are an easy way to promote your brand’s product or service. In just few simple steps can target your audiences, manage your budget, and get your ads in front of 800 million prospective viewers.

Here’s how to get started setting up YouTube ads with your current Goolge AdWords account:

Step 1: Determine your strategy

There are three basic goals:

  • Increase reach and engagement
  • Lead generation
  • Boost video view counts and popularity

Step 2: Log in to your Google AdWords Account

Step 3: Link your accounts and create a new video campaign

  • Link your YouTube channel and AdWords account. Click “Linked YouTube accounts” in the bottom left corner then click “+ Link YouTube account”. Linking these accounts makes it easier to choose videos for your ads and allows you to create call-to-action overlays.
  • Click on “+ New Video Campaign” button to create your first AdWords for video campaign.

Step 4: Write a campaign name

  • Your campaign name is for your reference only and won’t be visible to viewers

Step 5: Enter your daily budget

  • Simply divide the maximum monthly budget by 30 (days per month on average) and enter it in.

Step 6: Select your location and language

  • This is a great way to target geographic locations especially if you know where your target audience is located.
  • If you’re video is in English, leave it as default. If not, a good tip is to tailor your ad’s language to the same language used in the video.
  • You can also add language captions.

Step 7: Choose video to display in your ad

  • Select video to choose Your YouTube video. You can also search by channel, keywords, or video URLs if your video is unlisted.

Step 8: Choose ad formats and networks

  • AdWords for video users can select TrueView ads, which only charge your account when a viewer watches your video. There are four different types of TrueView ads:
    • In-search: viewers see your ads appear above or to the right of the regular result on the search results page. You pay only when a viewer chooses to watch your video.
    • In-slate: viewers see your ad before YouTube partner videos that are 10 minutes or longer. You pay only when viewers choose to watch your video.
    • In-display: viewers see your ad alongside other YouTube videos, or websites on Google Display Network. You pay only when a viewer chooses to watch your video.
    • In-stream: viewers see 5 seconds of your ad and then can keep watching it or skip it. You pay only when a viewer watches 30 seconds or more.
  • If you’re unsure about which to choose, Google recommends that you set your ad to run in all four formats across all three networks by selecting “Automatic.”

Step 9: Write your ad, choose thumbnail image, and click Save and Continue

  • This is basically like creating any other ad type in Adwords. You will need the following:
    • Headline and description
    • Thumbnail image
    • Display URL (viewers will see this)
    • Destination URL (viewers will visit)
    • Ad name (viewers won’t see this)

Step 10: Name your targeting group and set your bid

  • Targeting group name is for your reference only. It is a good idea to create a convention so you can quickly scan while reporting.
  • Set a maximum cost-per-view (CPV) for the targeting group. Your max CPV is the most you’re willing to pay per video view in this group. This should be a familiar step if you’ve setup other ad formats in AdWords. You can also change this at anytime, just like other ad formats.
  • Choose basic bidding so the same bid applies to all four TrueView ad formats. Once you know which works, it’s best to go back and optimize your bid per your ad format.

Step 11: Define your targeting group and activate

  • This allows you to target specific audiences, which determines who will see your ad.
  • Set your targeting options for YouTube search, YouTube Videos, and Google Display.
  • You can also use the “Search for targeting suggestions” tool at the bottom of the page.
  • You may also want to consider using negative targets if you don’t want your video to appear in searches or sites containing a certain term or topic.
  • When you’re done, click “Save and enable targeting.”

That’s it! Your campaign is now activated and stats on your campaign will start to display in about a day or so (don’t panic if they don’t show up just after you go live).
As mentioned, video ads can be a great channel to engage with your target audiences, and can be used for either boosting engagement or lead generation efforts.
Are you surprised by comScore’s report? If so, why?

Have you had success with YouTube ads? What tactics have you tried and what have been the results?
 
 

Senior Manager of eBusiness

<strong>Luis Fernandes</strong>is a strategic marketing leader with over 12 years of experience building data-driven demand generation, corporate positioning, digital marketing and loyalty strategies, improving customer experiences and driving revenue. He is currently Senior Manager of e-Business at <a href="http://www.usa.philips.com/">Philips Healthcare</a>.