Understanding YouTube Ads and How to Monetize Content

There are dozens of stats that capture the power of YouTube, but if you’re looking for one persuasive reason to join the channel, it’s this: YouTube is half the internet, with 1.9 billion users logging in every month. This platform garners an astonishing amount of attention, which is why small businesses can benefit from investing in YouTube ads and monetizing content on their channels. Here’s how to approach advertising on YouTube to start attracting attention for your business.

Ads vs. video monetization

There are two general approaches to marketing on YouTube. You could promote your business by engaging in paid advertising, or you could monetize your content, meaning you could start earning revenue by creating and posting YouTube videos. There are pros and cons to both approaches, although many businesses do both.

Paid advertising on YouTube is different from running a traditional PPC or paid social media campaign. The platform has set specific creative constraints, including some that are meant to protect viewers and advertisers from harmful content. You can find YouTube’s set of advertiser-friendly content guidelines here.

There are also many different types of ad formats to choose from, which can make it a bit complicated to maximize your return. According to one benchmark, “YouTube ads have an average cost-per-view of $0.010 – $0.030, and the views that you generate will count towards your overall YouTube viewer count. The average cost of reaching 100,000 viewers is around $2,000.”

Monetizing your content can also take many forms. You could become an affiliate marketer, or you could license your content to other channels. If you wish to monetize the content you post on your YouTube channel, the first step is to join YouTube’s Partner Program. To be eligible, you must meet one of two standards:

• Get 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or
• Get 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.

Once you’ve cleared these benchmarks, you can link your YouTube channel to your Google AdSense account and submit your videos in consideration of monetization through AdSense.

[Read more: How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel]

Ad types on YouTube

Setting aside the content monetization option, there are a variety of different paid ad types to consider on YouTube. Here are a few of the basic formats to consider:

1. In-feed video ads: These ads appear on the YouTube homepage, in search results, and as related videos on YouTube video watch pages.
2. Skippable in-stream ads: These video ads give viewers the option to skip after five seconds. Note that you’ll only pay for these ads if a user watches the ad for at least 30 seconds.
3. Non-skippable in-stream ads: These ads must be watched and can play before, mid-roll, or after the main video. They can be 15 to 20 seconds in duration and are placed in videos that are 10 minutes or longer.
4. Bumper ads: These ads are short, non-skippable video ads of up to six seconds that must be watched before a video can be viewed. Since they’re only six seconds, they’re generally used as a complement to skippable or non-skippable ads.
5. Overlay ads: These ads appear as image or text on the lower 20% portion of a video.

YouTube’s full guide to advertising formats can help you set up your ad to meet the channels’ specs. Make sure you read these guidelines carefully to make sure your ad is designed properly to be viewed across devices.

How to get started setting up YouTube ads

YouTube uses Google Ads to target its videos to the right audience, so before you get started make sure you have both a YouTube and Google Ads account for your business.

Once you’re logged in, start by uploading your marketing video to your YouTube account with all the necessary information (title, description, tags, etc.). Then, go to your Google Ads account, click on “All Campaigns”, and choose the video campaign type. This option will lead you through a series of prompts to set up your campaign goal, set your budget, and place your ad according to the display options listed above.

[Read more: 6 Tips for a Killer Small Business YouTube Strategy]

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