How to Run YouTube Ads Effectively

YouTube ads is one of the world's biggest video platforms and a great chance for businesses to show products and services to the right target audience. But for an ad campaign to work well, you need to understand and apply the right techniques for running YouTube ads Knowing that, MONA Media will share how to run YouTube ads effectively in the article below. 

A quick overview of YouTube Ads

Running YouTube Ads is a powerful marketing method that helps businesses reach millions of users worldwide. Understanding YouTube ads and how they work helps you make the most of the platform to build brand awareness and drive revenue. So what exactly are YouTube ads?

What are YouTube ads?

YouTube ads is a form of advertising within Google's ad system that lets businesses promote products and services through videos, banners or popups on the YouTube platform. 

With its huge user base, running ads on YouTube is a powerful marketing strategy that helps businesses reach and engage potential customers effectively. YouTube Ads comes in many formats, the most common being:

• Skippable in-stream ads: This format usually appears before, during or after videos, with a brand banner on the right. Users can skip it after 5 seconds

• Non-skippable in-stream ads: These appear like the format above, but users must watch the whole video. So these videos are usually only 15 seconds long to protect the user experience.

• Bumper ads: This format lasts no more than 6 seconds, and YouTube automatically plays the video right after it.

• Video discovery ads: This YouTube ad format does not appear inside a video but as a suggestion in search results, similar to Google, with a minimum length of 12 seconds.

• Sponsored card ads: This ad appears as a popup on the player screen in the middle of a video, alongside other videos, and only redirects when the user clicks. Many businesses use this effective way of running video ads on YouTube.

• In-video overlay ads: This way of running ads for a YouTube channel is usually seen as small banners at the bottom of the video. The overlay appears when the user starts watching.

• Display ads: This format comes in many sizes and appears on the YouTube homepage as soon as users arrive.

• Masthead Ads: This also appears on the YouTube homepage, but it is limited to one advertiser per country per day.

>> Learn more about: Multi-channel advertising service, conversion optimization

How much does it cost to run YouTube ads?

Cost of running ads on YouTube is the first question marketers ask when learning how to run YouTube Ads. YouTube Ads charges based on specific video views: you pay from 80 to 150 VND per view for standard video ads (TrueView), or pay a bid cost per CPM (1,000 impressions) of about 20,000 to 30,000 VND for the Bumper Ads format. In practice, the cost of running YouTube ads varies with factors such as target audience, ad format and the budget you are willing to spend. 

One big benefit of running YouTube ads is that you only pay when viewers actually interact with your ad. That means you do not pay if a viewer skips your ad after the first 5 seconds. This helps optimize your ad budget and improve ad performance.

3 benefits of running YouTube Ads

Advertising on YouTube brings significant benefits: it raises brand awareness, connects you with the right customers and boosts sales. There is a reason running ads for a YouTube channel keeps getting more popular. Here are the benefits of running YouTube adsto answer that question.

• Set the right goals

One of the biggest strengths of running YouTube ads is the ability to "target" potential customers. You can customize your audience by age, gender, interests and user behavior, similar to Google Ads advertising. 

This makes sure your message reaches the right people at the right time, which optimizes conversion rate and cuts unnecessary ad spend. With this tool, businesses can focus on the most promising customers and noticeably improve campaign results.

• Reach and more orders

With billions of users worldwide, running ads on YouTube is an effective way to reach users thanks to the channel's wide coverage. By using YouTube's different ad formats, businesses can catch customers' attention, push them to buy on the platform, or send them to your website to complete the purchase.

• Clear and transparent ad costs

You can control your daily budget and adjust the cost per view (CPV) or per thousand impressions (CPM). This makes it easy to track and manage your budget, so the campaign stays within plan while still getting the best results. You can also test different budget levels to find the best ad strategy.

With these benefits, YouTube ads help businesses make the most of the platform and reach the marketing results they want. 

What do you need to prepare before running ads on YouTube?

Before you start running ads on YouTube, prepare well so the campaign performs as well as possible. There are 3 essentials you need to start an ad campaign:

• A Google Ads account
• A Visa or Mastercard 
• A channel to run YouTube ads for

If you are not sure what to prepare for YouTube Ads, read on below.

Create a Google Ads account

This is required to run ads for a YouTube channel. Go to the link https://accounts.google.com/signup > fill in all the information > Click Next > Continue entering your personal information > Next > Select I agree to finish creating the account.

Add a payment method to your Google Ads account

Next, add a payment method to your account with the steps below:

• Go to https://adwords.google.com/ > Click "Get started"
• Enter the Gmail you just registered and your website name > Continue
• Fill in the campaign information 
• Add the payment details (including card number, month, year and so on) and tick the box saying the credit or debit card address is the same as above
• Read the terms carefully and tick the box I agree to the Adwords terms > Select Finish and create the ad

Link your Google Ads account with the YouTube channel you want to run ads for 

The last step is linking your YouTube channel after you have set up your Google Ads account successfully. 

• Go to Google Adwords > choose Settings in the right corner > Linked accounts > YouTube > Details > Add channel, and paste in the link of the channel you want to run YouTube ads for.
• Then click I own this channel > click Go to YouTube. The screen will show all your YouTube channels. Pick the one you want to run ads for and click OK.
• Name the account and tick to agree to the 3 Google permissions > click Done to finish linking the 2 accounts.

5 most effective YouTube Ads strategies

Depending on your campaign goal, you can apply different YouTube Ads strategies to get the best result. Here are 5 popular strategies that many people use, compiled by MONA:

Attract new viewers

Using ad formats such as TrueView In-Stream or Discovery, you can reach people who have never heard of your channel. The key is whether your content is good enough to hold viewers from the first seconds. To improve results, optimize the title, description and thumbnail of your ad video. Running YouTube ads by topic and shared-interest audiences helps you reach the right potential customers from the start.

Increase subscribers

If your goal is more followers, it is important to reach people who have already engaged with your channel. You can use the remarketing option in Google Ads to target viewers who have not subscribed but have interacted with your videos.

Create YouTube ad videos with a strong, attractive call to action to encourage viewers to subscribe. This not only increases subscribers but also builds a loyal community of viewers.

Increase conversion rate by reaching potential customers 

By targeting ads at people who shop or show interest in your products, you can turn views into revenue. With goal-based campaigns such as TrueView for Action and a call-to-action button right in the video, you can send viewers to a landing page to buy or sign up for a service. This both optimizes your ad cost and brings better business results.

Expand your reach

You can use YouTube Analytics data to find the location and language of your current audience, then target by geography and language in your ad campaign. By combining the Remarketing feature with custom geographic targeting, you can reach similar audiences in other countries, expand the channel's global presence and win more new viewers.

Make a mark for new content or a new brand

When you want to make noise for new content or a new brand, you can run YouTube ads in formats like bumper ads or TrueView in-stream ads to introduce a new product or service in a lively, attractive way.

You can also start the campaign with short bumper ads to get attention, then move to more detailed video ads that give full information about the product or service. This is an effective strategy for leaving viewers with a strong impression of your product.

A step-by-step guide to running YouTube ads for beginners

Running YouTube ads is not just uploading a video online; it takes a detailed and precise process. You can follow the steps in the guide to running YouTube ads that MONA has put together below to launch a more effective ad campaign.

Step 1: Create a new ad campaign in Google Ads

First go to Google Ads > choose "Campaigns" in the left sidebar > click the plus icon > click "New campaign".

The screen switches to a new window where you choose the campaign type > click "Create a campaign without guidance on goals".

Google will offer many options. Choose the campaign type “Video” to continue.

Step 2: Set up your campaign information

Next, set the campaign details (campaign name, budget, running time and so on). Google offers 2 strategies: maximum CPV (cost per ad view) and maximum CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions).

Next, in the Networkssection, tick the placements where you want ads to appear.

Choose the language and location of your target customers in Location and Language. You can choose one country or specific provinces and cities.

Inventory type lets you choose to advertise on content that suits you.

Next, to keep your YouTube ads clean, you can exclude sensitive categories such as politics and conflict.

Step 3: Target potential customers 

You start by targeting customers through demographics. Google offers options by gender, age, marital status and income.

Then you can target your audience in more detail through the questions Google provides.

Step 4: Choose where ads appear

Choose where your ad appears based on Google's criteria, such as:

• Keyword: Enter words and phrases related to your ad in the keyword box

• Topics: Choose all topics related to your video

• Placements: You can leave this blank if you want your ad to appear everywhere.

Step 5: Choose the video you want to advertise on your YouTube channel

Upload the ad video for your YouTube channel, then enter keywords to find the video you want to run YouTube ads for.

Step 6: Adjust the video format and add the needed content

In the last step, choose the ad format and remember to add the URL, CTA and title for the video. After checking carefully, click Save and continue > Continue to campaign and finish the setup.

≫Further reading:

• Top 14 how to download YouTube videos quickly
• What is YouTube SEO? A guide to SEO your way to the top of YouTube

Which metrics should you watch after running YouTube Ads?

After you finish running ads for your YouTube video, running YouTube ads effectively also means tracking performance metrics, which is the key to evaluating, fine-tuning and optimizing your campaign. Here are some important metrics you should care about:

• Impressions: Every time your ad appears in front of a viewer counts as one impression. This is the basis for judging how far your ad reaches.
• Views: A view is counted when a user watches 30 seconds of your ad (the whole ad if it is shorter than 30 seconds) or interacts with it. This is an important metric for how engaging your video ad is.
• View Rate: This shows the percentage of viewers who chose to watch or interact with your video ad out of total impressions. A high view rate shows your ad is engaging and fits your target audience.
• Cost per view (CPV): This is the average amount you pay for each ad view. CPV helps you control your budget and judge the cost efficiency of the campaign.
• Conversions: This is the number of actions viewers take on your website after seeing the ad. It can include purchases, sign-ups or any other action you want.

Running ads for YouTube videos is an effective promotion strategy for businesses that want to reach their target audience quickly and directly. MONA has walked you through an overview of YouTube advertising in this article. Running YouTube ads is not just broadcasting a video; it is a process of tracking and optimizing continuously based on real data. By understanding how to run YouTube Ads and the related metrics, you hold the key to successful, effective ad campaigns.