INTRODUCTION
Table of Contents
Today we are looking at YouTube streaming ads. These are likely ads that you are familiar with if you use YouTube at all, they are becoming more and more common.
The reason that they are being used more is that they work. If you do your homework and prepare your campaigns properly you can use this paid means of getting traffic successfully too.
When you are finished with the tutorial, you will have a good basic idea of what the method is, why you should use it, how to use it, and be ready to get started…
Once you have started and set up you can take advantage of using YouTube ads as a part of your paid traffic campaigns to generate more leads, get increased levels of sales, or accomplish whatever other goals you have in mind…
Having said all that, let’s all get started here too!
WHAT ARE YOUTUBE STREAMING ADS
It is useful to learn a bit about what lies behind any paid traffic method you may be considering using prior to diving in deeply with money, time, and effort.
YouTube has a huge audience, albeit not being in existence for a long period in real terms; but in internet terms, a long time, and it is a huge force on the internet with people…
Did you know that YouTube…
(1) Ranks consistently as one of the websites having the highest amounts of traffic globally,
(2) It has over one billion users (which is almost 1/3 of all the people using the internet), and
(3) More people between 18 and 49 are using it than watching any of the U.S. cable networks…
Some of the latest statistics about YouTube reinforce the point that you choose to ignore YouTube at your own risk when it comes to paid traffic for your online marketing business (or any business really)…
Consider the following recent stats regarding YouTube:
Facts and Numbers
- There are 1,300,000,000 people using YouTube.
- Every minute there are 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube.
- Every day there are almost 5 billion videos watched on Youtube.
- Monthly 900 million hours of video are watched on YouTube.
- Just 10,113 Youtube videos managed to generate over 1 billion views.
- Only 20% of total YouTube videos viewed are from within the USA, meaning that 80% of views are from outside.
- Mobile user views per day is about 1,000,000,000.
- Mobile users spent an average of 40 minutes per session, which has increased more than 50% year-over-year.
- Today of total YouTube views, more than half are from mobile devices.
- Mobile revenue has doubled year over year.
- All YouTube viewers and even Mobile YouTube users alone comprise more 18-49 year-olds than any one of the cable networks in the U.S.
- Total hours spent watching videos on YouTube is up 60% year-over-year.
- It is possible to navigate YouTube using 76 different languages that cover 95% of the Internet population).
- Only 9% of U.S small businesses use Youtube.
YouTube Company Financials
- Operating YouTube is NOT cheap. The cost of running and maintaining YouTube is $6,350,000,000 a year.
- Google’s annual revenue generated from YouTube is $4,000,000,000.
- Currently, YouTube generates 6% of Google’s total ad sales revenue.
- Rights holders have been paid $1,250,000,000 since 2007.
- In November 2006, Google paid $1,65 billion for YouTube.
- Sequoia Capital made an investment of $11.5 million into YouTube in November 2005.
- YouTube partners revenue are up 50% year over year over the last 3 years.
- Globally, the highest paid youtube stars earned a combined total of $54.5 million in 2015.
- One partner named PewDiePie has the highest annual income which reached $12 million in 2015.
- Channels earning six figures per year with YouTube are up 50% year over year.
- Total numbers of advertisers are up more than 40% year over year, and the top 100 average spend is up over 60% year over year.
Sources of Information: youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html, statisticbrain.com/youtube-statistics/, Google.com
Bottom Line:
As I mentioned, advertising on YouTube makes sense…That all-important 18-49 age-range user that YouTube has a grip on means that you have access to a huge audience of potential customers!
Not only does the site have a massive amount of traffic – they claim that people watch hundreds of millions of hours of videos every single day – but it has a great potential to convert, too.
Videos are one of the most effective ad formats you have available for online marketing…
Statistically speaking, this is the most effective method to convey a lot of information quickly while keeping the user’s interest
Are you excited? I am, just writing this! Let’s move on…
KINDS OF YOUTUBE STREAMING ADS
Once you start looking into what you can do using YouTube ads, you will see that there three methods that are available to online marketers.
Today we will focus on one – in- streams ads, but I urge you to have a look at the two other types you can use.
The reason I am focusing on in-stream ads is that they are the most effective of the three methods for most advertisers based on statistics.
I want you to use these and experience success quickly, that is why this site exists!
Let’s talk about each kind of YouTube ads you can consider…
Type #1 – In-Stream Ads
Based on gathered statistics, this works the best. This kind of ad works like a television commercial, in that it forces users to view the ad before they can continue to the video they wanting to watch.
As you may have seen, most of these in-streams ads do have the ability for YouTube users to skip or close the ad through clicking a link after a certain portion (normally 3-5 seconds) of the ad has been viewed.
While the ad is showing, if a user then clicks on the ad, they will be taken to the advertiser’s landing page. Of course, most people will not click through (how many ads have you closed watching YouTube?)…
But there will be SOME of the highly targeted viewers that will clock through…This kind of ad is ideal for allowing you to get very inexpensive exposure to some highly-targeted prospects.
These ads get a lot more views than other ad types, perhaps because people have been trained to watch them on TV or in the movie theaters where ad snippets may be shown before the movie…
If you are looking for a lot of impressions/exposure fast to help build your brand or to run a promotion, in-stream ads will tend to get a lot more views and action than any of the other ad types you could use…
Type #2 – In–Display Ads
In-display ads are those you might see in the sidebar when you are viewing a video on YouTube. The ad is shown at the top of the related videos, and the ads blend in quite nicely, but not so much so that they don’t get clicks. They do have a yellow tag that alerts users to the fact that the post is an ad.
This type of ad is best for building your YouTube channel or just getting more views to specific videos. Because the ads lead to YouTube videos and NOT to a landing page, they aren’t as effective for actual promotional purposes.
Of course, you can still build calls-to-action within your video to get users to your website, but the ad won’t link directly to your page.
Type #3 – In‐Search Ads
In-search ads are similar to in-display ads, except they appear when a user searches for specific keywords rather than when someone is searching for a video. The ads appear above the content
These ads work in much the same way as in-display ads. Traffic is sent to a video rather than a landing page, so again, you would need to be certain your video has a strong call-to-action if you want to get traffic to a landing page.
HOW TO OPEN AND ACTIVATE YOUR YOUTUBE ADS ACCOUNT
In order to create YouTube ads, you will need a Google account and an AdWords account. Then you will need to link your YouTube account to Google AdWords to purchase ads.
I have boiled this down to a few steps (with links) that you can go through quickly to get started immediately…
Step #1 – Find out more information on the basics of using advertising services on YouTube…
>> https://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/
Step #2 – Link your AdWords account to Youtube
>> https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3063482?hl=en
Step #3 – After linking your accounts, you can get start creating your ads right away. Simply click the “GET STARTED” button you find at the below site link…
>> https://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/launch-ad.html
Step # 4 – Get started!
…
Now A Note About Step # 4…I want to go through what getting started is all about. You need to plan a bit before slapping just anything up as an ad…
GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR YOUTUBE ADS
Remember that this is PAID advertising, and unless your ad is congruent with what your sales funnel or lead funnel contains, you will spend money and not get the results you are expecting…
For that reason here are some considerations as you get started:
Landing Pages
While there is no need to create or have a separate landing page specifically for targeted (through paid ads) YouTube traffic, it’s a good idea to do so for a few reasons.
Using a landing page you’ll be able to easily tell how much traffic the site is sending you. You can do this if you use a conversion pixel, but having the landing page gives you more control.
You can also use the specifically designed landing page to target the selected YouTube audience with your ad. If you know the traffic is coming from YouTube, you can personalize the page somewhat…
You might add in something such as “Welcome Aboard YouTube Viewers!” or you might want to have a video landing page that is fitting (message-wise) to the ad you posted.
This tactic would be more effective than a traditional landing page that only has text and graphics since your targeted traffic is coming from YouTube, a video website…
Conversion Pixel
You’ll definitely want to add a conversion pixel to your landing page whether or not it is a dedicated single-use page for your YouTube traffic.
Here is why…
That conversion pixel you add will then send all the data on what actions are taking place on that page to YouTube. It will let them know just how well the ad and landing page are performing together…
Once the information collected is analyzed by YouTube, the system will make any adjustments to your ad warranted by that information. No pixel, no adjustment!
Here’s how you can implement a conversion pixel:
>> https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/1722054?hl=en
Quality Of Your Video
It may seem obvious to you and I, but there are far too many people that think the quality of their video ad doesn’t matter. Frankly speaking, it matters a lot.
The quality of the audio, the video clarity and quality (i.e. HD, 4K), not to mention the type and the way your ad is presented are all critical for your ad…
Many people are not comfortable with creating or recording their own video. If this is the case, there are plenty of options you can select using a site like Fiverr…
===> Fiverr Training <===
Note that if you do want to learn or create your ads so many tools are there…Even a beginner can very easily create professional videos without much trouble (remember that all people were beginners at one point)…
Here are a few examples:
===> Explaindio Review <===
===> VideoMakerFX Review <===
===> Vidgeos Review <===
When your your ad is ready to your satisfaction, then you can upload it to your YouTube channel just as you would for any of your videos.
Doing so will allow you to work to get some organic(FREE) views from the site itself, and you can market the ad for free using the social platforms.
This is in addition to making the video available for the ad system page of course, but it is likely that you can expect a better conversion rate using the paid ad…
Linking Adwords and YouTube
>> https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3063482?hl=en
How To Launch Your Ad
>> https://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/launch-ad.html
Ok, this was the down and dirty…
As you may have noticed, there are a lot of external links you will find here today. I have added a brief explanation for each but this is a “hands-on” tutorial…
By that I mean that by going to see the sites and information, you are going through the process to get signed up, get the accounts linked, and can faster get started!
HOW TO PLAN USE OF YOUR YOUTUBE STREAMING ADS
There are a number of different ways to target your in-stream ad on YouTube. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses, so you may want to try out more than one to see which one gets you the best results.
Using Keyword Campaigns
With this kind of a campaign, you can target the audience based on specific keywords. If you have done research and know what the intended audience is looking for this may be the best option.
You already know that people are looking for the phrases and catchwords that you have added to your ad and landing pages…
Let’s say you have an ad that has to do with online marketing. You might not want to target the general term ‘online marketing’ but maybe a specific element of online marketing.
Maybe you are selling a copywriting course, or video creation training, or perhaps list building. These keywords are far better than the general term ‘online marketing’ and your ads will be presented to people fitting that profile.
Using Interest or Topic Campaigns
Because YouTube tracks what logged-in users are watching, over time they will develop a profile of the type of content each individual likes.
This then helps them deliver very accurate suggestions of videos the user might be interested in watching…I am sure you have been offered suggested videos as you used YouTube…
Well, there is another advantage to having this information…It also helps YouTube deliver the most relevant ads to you as a viewer. This means your ads will get seen by people that have shown an interest…
Using this strategy, you probably will get more views, but be aware that this type of traffic is not as well-targeted as the keyword traffic method above.
The reason is that it isn’t targeted to what that user wants to view at any particular moment, rather is haphazardly presented ad they may or may not take action on.
Think about the difference…
This kind of campaign focus will result in views out of curiosity, but they are not deliberately searching for a related term during their session, so may not be willing to take action on your call to action.
Using A Placement Campaign
When you use a placement campaign, you are targeting a very specific set of videos or channels that will display your ad. This is a good option to consider if you are just starting out…
With this method, you can find videos that match closely with what you are offering in your ad. The audience that is looking at these videos and channels are very likely to be interested.
You decide where to show the ads so you have more control than If you select targeting by keyword or by topic. With these, you have to hope that Google is making the correct decision when it decides where to place your content.
If the system makes a mistake interpreting your keywords and the context of your videos it could end up showing your ad on irrelevant sites or content…
This can result in your money being gone with little to no return.
So with the placement campaign, you will choose the relevant content to show your ads on yourself…
Note that you may not see as much traffic using this method as if you created a keyword campaign, but the traffic you do get is much more likely to give you your desired results.
One cool thing I really like about using placement campaigns is that you can place your ads on competitors videos. Legally you are “stealing” your competitors’ traffic!
Best of all for me is that you know your competitors have already done the work to get views to the content, so you are piggybacking off of this…
There is nothing immoral or illegal when you do this, this is simply doing business…
Using Retargeting Campaigns
This is useful for people who have visited your landing page or website at least once. Remember that pixel we have mentioned? This is where it comes into play as well in addition to tracking actions…
Remember that many people will not buy the first time they are presented with an offer….
Think about buying a car or a house…You will likely want to see other options, or think about what you should do prior to making a decision and buying…
It is no different with online sales…People have many different reasons they do not take action the first time, and if they see the ad again they may follow through a second or third time…
When you targeting people who have been to your site once but did not convert, you present them with another opportunity to get your offer, and of course, you get the sale…
These are interested prospects too, remember they have been on your site…
Creating Your YouTube Ad Campaign
Creating a YouTube ad campaign on AdWords is very simple. Creating the video and uploading it is the hardest part of the process. Once that is done, it’s actually incredibly easy to create a campaign.
Once that is done, it’s actually incredibly easy to create a campaign. Here are the simple steps…
Step # 1 – Log into your newly created AdWords account (assuming you had to create one). Then click on the ‘Campaigns’ tab and then click ‘+Campaign’ to add a new campaign. Click on ‘Video.’
Step # 2 – The next thing to do is to enter a name for your campaign (use a name that you can recognize and know what the campaign is about) and then enter your budget. Select YouTube, then choose locations you’d like to target or exclude for the campaign and also choose your target language for the audience .
Step # 3 – OK you are already quite far along in the process…Click Save and continue.
Step # 4 – Next, you are going to enter a name for the ad group within your campaign (again use something that is easily remembered regarding content and intent).
Step # 5 – After this look next to ‘Your video” and select the video you want to use as your ad that you have already uploaded to YouTube.
Step # 6 – Then, in the ‘Video ad type’ selection option area, make a choice as to what type of conversion you are seeking (i.e. views, awareness, conversions, or mobile app installations).
Step # 7 – In the ‘video ad formats’ block, choose ‘in-stream’ ad (You have more choices but today we are focusing on the in-stream ads).
Step # 8 – The next step is to set your bid amount plus your targeting methods…
Step # 9 – Once you are finished, simply click the ‘Save Ad Group’
You are done and the ad is on its way…It really is that simple!
Bottom Line…
You now know that creating ads for use on YouTube via the Google AdWords gate is not a hard thing to do nor does it take much time…
One thing that I did not highlight is the fact that it is very cost-effective…Using streaming ads on YouTube can get you leads at a very reasonable cost.
It still requires some planning and effort if you load crap in you will get crap out. Since you are spending money and want results, spend the time and effort to make the ads worthwhile.
If you’re willing to start small, test & retest, and do some tweaking as you learn what works and what does not, over time you will have a funnel that is very profitable.
Oh yes…Please remember to add the conversion pixel to your landing page if possible It will allow you to track what is going on after they click on your ad and help you in the tweaking process.
Using that conversion pixel you will see how much traffic you are getting specifically from your in-stream ads and also how much of that traffic is making it through to your thank you page.
You have everything you need then to see how well your ad is converting, way beyond click-through rates for your ad you will see without the pixel….
Note consider using the retargeting options you have. Many people will not take the action to complete the transaction until they see something a second (or more) time.
Maybe you can send the retargeted traffic to another version of the landing page – try one that is performing better for you. What did not work the first time can be presented in a slightly different manner…
There are so many options…
TIPS FOR INCREASING SUCCESS RATES
Here are a few tips for your use as you prepare to implement YouTube Streaming Ads…
Tip # 1 – Brevity Is King.
Remember that these days humans get bored very easily. Attention spans of internet users are growing shorter and shorter. One change this means for marketers is that we have to prepare shorter videos and when we do, they tend to perform better
I recommend no longer than 60-90 seconds, shorter if practical or possible. Remember that when using in-stream ads the viewers have the option of skipping your ad either immediately or within a few seconds before watching the video they originally selected.
Try to focus on getting the click through rather than the sale. The ad must capture the viewer and compel them to click through to learn more about your offer. THAT is where you sell them, the landing or squeeze page…
Tip # 2 – No matter what type of targeting you select when placing your ad, focus the ad video on specific keywords you are targeting.
I can’t say it enough – this tip is very critical to the success of your paid ad effort…
First of all, you probably know that if you are presenting your content to the wrong audience, you might as well not waste your time creating an ad.
No matter how great the video may be, if it’s not very relevant to the viewer, they are not going to pay attention…
So it is with the actual video…You need to be extremely focused regarding the keywords you use and constantly test and remove any non-performing keywords.
A good way to do this is to make separate and unique videos that target keyword groups you have researched and find are relevant.
Once you have done that, test them and see how they perform for you, and delete the ones that are not getting results.
Tip # 3 – Use Testimonials Because They Work.
Social proof is more important today than it ever has been. If you can get others to validate what you are claiming it will go a long way towards convincing viewers to take the action you are calling for.
You can speak until you are blue in the face about how great your offer is, normally a viewer that does not know you will have a natural inclination to be skeptical.
But generally, if another person is recommending your product or service, it carries more weight…
You can add such testimonials in a subtle manner that will build on your own statements…
(1) For instance, you could add in a clip of a video interview with one of your customers,
(2) Also, you might add in text boxes and pictures with testimonials to reinforce your message,
(3) You could add in a logo wall slide and explain who all is using your services…
(4) Probably the one I like best is to have the customers record their own short testimonial and place it within your ad….
Lots of ideas, use your imagination…
Tip # 4 – Make Your Message Congruent Throughout.
Planning is everything when using paid ads, This means that not only do you need to prepare the ad and decide who the target audience is, but you must also decide what the message needs to be, and advocate it throughout the marketing process…
Determine who the audience is on YouTube, think about what they are they interested in looking at. What specific problem are you going to solve and how? What will they be missing out on by not taking action?
Once you have a theme and keywords, create the landing page and ad page to match messages. This includes colors and layout, and since YouTube is a video platform consider using a Video Sales Letter landing page (just one idea)…
Before placing your ads, make sure everything matches, the message, the layout, the psychology, and the feel. Get some second opinions on your funnel if possible.
Remember, you are spending good money and you want results!
Tip # 5 – Repurpose Existing Content.
I just did a short tutorial on this subject a couple of days ago. I think it is so important that it deserves a mention here as well. You do not have to start from scratch.
You can access this tutorial here:
===> Repurposing Videos <===
Look at what you have gathering virtual dust on your hard drive to see if it can be repurposed and used for your ads. You can save money, time, and effort.
It is possible also to take other materials like case studies, reports, or eBooks you may have and use them as research materials to create your own message…
Take excerpts, rewrite in your own words, create slides or present them yourself, or have a professional record the script you create. There are many ways to get more mileage of your on hand materials…
CONCLUSION
Today we covered briefly what YouTube Streaming Ads are, why you should consider using them, and how to prepare them to achieve success using them.
YouTube is still a very reasonable way to get conversions and subscribers using paid ads, and it is a huge search engine that is also linked with Google, which can be an advantage…
Now it really comes down to moving from the planning and learning stage to the actual implementation phase. I urge you to take notes, do further research on your own, and get started today!
FINAL POINT
As I always do, today I am adding in a request that you like this tutorial (if you do), share it with your friends and colleagues (If you think it will help them), and that you add in your thoughts below in the comment section. It helps
It helps everyone when we all discuss and learn from one another. This site is all about going and growing. I want everyone to be able to maximize making money online business efforts! Thanks in advance…
Cheers!
ABOUT DAVE:
Dave has been involved in sales for 20 years with offline products and has been fortunate to have traveled the world while realizing up to $4 million USD a month in gross sales of products he promoted.
He has brought that experience to the online world and this is one of his online ventures. This site is intended to present ideas, products, tools, tips and more that will help all those seeking to make money online have success.
Subjects covered are diverse, but in totem, you can learn a lot about the things that you will need to have success with online business right here. This includes things to do and things NOT to do!
Enjoy!