How to Advertise on YouTube

Trevin Shirey

2 Apr 2024

Did you know over 122 million people use YouTube each day, accumulating to over two billion active users each month? Learning how to advertise on YouTube is a great way to create brand awareness and attract new customers to your business.

What is YouTube advertising?

YouTube advertising is the process of creating paid ads. It creates brand awareness and generates leads that can turn into loyal customers. YouTube advertising is a great investment for smaller businesses that want to reach more users and promote their services using a platform with millions of daily viewers.

YouTube ads differ from video marketing, which allows you to create video content and add it to your YouTube channel. YouTube videos provide content on your most important services and brand values that create interest and trust in your target market.

Types of YouTube ads

YouTube ads are available in various formats you can use to promote your business on the platform:

Skippable in-stream ads: Users can skip these ads after five seconds. Skippable ads can range from 12 seconds to six minutes in length. The ads are played before, during, or after video content.
Non-skippable instream ads: Users cannot skip this type of ads. Non-skippable ads are short, ranging from 15 to 20 seconds in length.
Bumper ads: These short ads are no more than six seconds long. Like non-skippable ads, users cannot skip bumper ads.
Infeed ads: Infeed ads are also known as discovery ads. These ads appear on the user’s home page among their feeds. Infeed ads are not videos that play during the video but appear in the user’s searches.
Outstream ads: These ads do not appear on YouTube. It is a mobile-only ad that appears on Google video partner sites. It extends the reach of your YouTube ads beyond the platform.
Masthead ads: Top brands and companies use masthead ads as it costs more to use this format. It spans the top of a user’s feed, autoplay on mute, and cannot include a CTA.
Overlay ads: Overlay ads aren’t video ads. These are banners that appear on the screen. It appears on the screen until users click the exit button at the top-right corner of the banner.

How to create a new YouTube ad campaign

Learn how to advertise on YouTube by creating an ad campaign to promote your business on this popular platform.

1. Upload your video

Log into your brand’s YouTube channel. Go to the channel dashboard and click on ‘content.’ Select the video you want to upload as an ad.

2. Setup a Google Ads account

Your YouTube ads run through your Google Ads account. If you do not have a Google Ads account, you must create one to continue.

Go to the Google Ads page.
Click the sign-in button on the top right corner.
Select “New Google Ads Account.”
This will take you to a page to configure and create your account.
Create your new ad campaign

After creating your Google Ads account, you need to log in. From there, you can select “New Campaign”.

3. Format your ad campaign

Format your ad campaign to your preferences. You must proceed through various prompts that will help you configure your ad. You will be asked to select the:

Goal of your ad campaign.
Type of campaign you would like to run, e.g., a video campaign.
Campaign subtype.
Choose the general settings of your ad

You will then choose the general setting for your ad which includes:

The name of your ad campaign.
Your bid strategy.
The ad budget – a daily budget or the overall budget for your campaign which includes a start and end date.
Choosing a network.
Selecting the location you want to target.
Choosing the language.
Content exclusions

You can exclude the content you don’t want your ads to appear. There are three options to choose from, which are expanded, standard, and limited inventory. If you aren’t sure which one to choose, pick the standard inventory. This is also the recommended option to choose.

4. Choose your target audience

Here you can choose the audience you want your ads to be shown to. This includes the various demographics of your audience including gender, age, parental status, etc. You can narrow your audience to the type of audience you want to target in the audience segment tab. You can also add topics and keywords.

5. Set your maximum bidding price

In this section, you will determine the maximum amount of money you will pay for a view or a click on your ad. Consider your budget and goal before you choose a maximum amount.

6. Create your YouTube video ad

You have reached the section where you can create your ad.

Choose your ad format.
Add the YouTube URL of your ad to the required section.
Add a call-to-action (CTA).
You have 15 characters to create a headline for your ad.
Add a name to your ad.
Click on the “create campaign” and you are done!

Tips and tricks to advertise YouTube

Apart from ad campaigns, there are various ways on how you can promote your brand to your audience through effective video marketing on YouTube:

Create a YouTube channel: A YouTube channel is the only way to create ad campaigns and upload videos. This will help you create a strong brand presence on YouTube.
Custom thumbnail images: Attract your audience using custom-quality thumbnails related to your content.
Catchy headlines: A catchy headline will entice users to click on your ad or video content.
YouTube Shorts: This is a great way to promote your brand’s content in a quick and easy way.
Add a call-to-action: After watching your video or ads, provide contact details or a next step that allows your audience to get in touch with your brand.

Go viral with our YouTube advertising services

Take advantage of using YouTube to promote your products and services. With millions or users each day, you can target your ideal audience all on one easy-to-use platform. At Inbound Marketing Inc., we provide expert YouTube advertising services to help you reach out to your audience and create brand awareness.