YouTube Ads - the practical guide.

YouTube Ads is the video advertising surface inside Google Ads, covering skippable in-stream, non-skippable, bumper, in-feed video and Shorts ads across YouTube and Google video partners. With more than 2.5 billion monthly logged-in users, it is the largest video platform in the world. It's bought through Google Ads (or Display & Video 360 for enterprise), shares targeting with Google's wider ecosystem, and benefits from Google's intent and search signals.

Any brand running upper-funnel video, from D2C consumer brands building awareness, to B2B SaaS doing thought-leadership video, to entertainment brands promoting trailers and content. Particularly powerful when paired with Google Search ads to capture demand created by video. Not a fit for brands without any video creative budget.

Auction-based on CPV (skippable, paid only when viewed past 30 seconds or full play), CPM (bumpers, non-skippable) or CPA via Video Action campaigns. CPVs typically range $0.02-$0.15; bumper CPMs $4-12. No minimum spend on self-serve - YouTube Select premium reservations through DV360 or sales teams have higher minimums (often $50k+).

Right when you have video creative (or budget to make some) and want incremental reach beyond social-only video. Strong for product launches, consideration campaigns, and as a complement to Google Search. Avoid if you cannot produce vertical and horizontal video, or if your buyers are heavily concentrated on platforms like LinkedIn or TikTok where YouTube viewing is incidental.

Video Action and Performance Max campaigns can run YouTube as part of a black-box mix - you may not see channel-level performance clearly. View-through conversions inflate apparent ROI; lean on incrementality testing for big budgets. Brand-safety placements need active exclusion management. Asset specs vary by format - plan for at least horizontal, vertical and bumper cuts.