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Just as with Google search, you have both free and paid-advertising promotion options with YouTube. The free ones include optimizing for YouTube search and social networking, while the paid alternative is using AdWords for video.

Now, can a marketer combine free and paid YouTube promo methods in a campaign? Of course. Moreover, if you do it the smart way, each individual method becomes more effective. For example, if your get more video views with AdWords, that will help those videos rank higher in YouTube search.

In this article I'll discuss...

  • How to use AdWords for videos to promote a brand via YouTube advertising
  • How to make YouTube videos visible in search (for free)
  • How to effectively combine YouTube AdWords and YouTube SEO in a campaign

Using Google AdWords for Video

Announced in September 2011, AdWords for video has been gaining traction ever since. And, for many, it's no longer a matter of whether or not to use it for YouTube advertising, but how.

Luckily, doing so has just become easier. Google simplified YouTube ad formats (discontinuing TrueView in-slate ad format as of June 1, 2013), which means it has now become easier to understand what format means what, where your ads will show up, and so on.

So, here are five AdWords for video options available to YouTube advertisers today.

1. TrueView In-Search Ads

"TrueView" is simply a name for a family of YouTube ads that allow you to pay only when people choose to watch your video—hence, TrueView.


In-search ads appear in YouTube search. They are quite similar to PPC ads that show up in Google right next to "organic" search results. You pay only if viewers begin watching your video.

2. TrueView In-Display Ads


TrueView in-display ads appear as Suggested videos on YouTube (not to be confused with other types of display ads on YouTube). Again, one pays only when people begin watching the suggested video.

These ads may also show up elsewhere on the Google Display Network, depending on your settings.

3. TrueView In-Stream Ads


TrueView in-stream ads are pretty much like TV commercials that run before a movie or a show. They can be of any length and they normally link to the advertiser's website. They are also skippable, which means viewers have the choice to skip the commercial past the five-second mark.

You get charged if viewers watch at least the first 30 seconds of your commercial. And, again, in-stream ads are found not only on YouTube but also across the Google Display Network.

4. Standard In-Stream Ads

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Free and Paid Ways to Promote Your Brand on YouTube

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Alesia Krush

Alesia Krush is marketing manager at ObjectStyle, which provides custom software development services.

LinkedIn: Alesia Krush 

Twitter: @AlesiaKrush