How much does advertising on YouTube cost?
The cost of running ads on YouTube varies depending on which ad format you choose. However, because of this, YouTube marketing is a viable option for companies with almost any budget.
YouTube Advertising Agency
Have you ever wanted to create engaging TV ads, but been worried they aren’t targeted enough to benefit your business? Do you have a product or service that deserves its moment in the spotlight? Are you interested in combining the video element of traditional TV advertising with modern-day digital marketing? If so, YouTube advertising could offer you the best of both worlds.
What is YouTube Advertising?
YouTube advertising is an increasingly popular element of display marketing that involves creating video ads to showcase your product or service. These adverts, set up through Google Ads, can be shown either before, during, or after another user’s video, or in YouTube search results.
What Makes YouTube Adverts a Great Marketing Tool?
There are masses of information out there detailing how and why YouTube is fast becoming one of the most popular advertising platforms. However, we’ve collated some of the most impressive YouTube marketing stats that we believe speak for themselves:
- 1TrafficEvery month, YouTube gets 14.3 billion visits, which is more visits than Facebook, Wikipedia, Amazon, and Instagram combined.
- 2OmnichannelA whopping 99% of YouTube users also have profiles on other social media platforms, allowing us to configure a strong omnichannel marketing strategy.
- 3ReachThe potential reach of YouTube ads is 2.56 billion users, which equates to 32% of the world’s population, and over 50% of internet users globally!
- 4RevenueIn 2021, global ad revenues on YouTube amounted to $28 billion - an increase of 46% on the previous year.
- 5Awareness70% of users state that YouTube makes them more aware of new brands.
- 6ConversionUsers are 2x more likely to purchase a product or service that they found on YouTube.
The Different Types of YouTube Ads
The value of incorporating YouTube ads within a business’s marketing strategy is unquestionable. However, understanding the different ad formats and how to utilise them most effectively is crucial for maximising your performance potential.
Skippable In-Stream Ads
This type of ad can be shown either before a video or midway through it. They play for a minimum of five seconds, and then the viewer can choose whether or not to skip them. Skippable ads are also accompanied by a banner ad that stays in place, even if the user skips the ad.
Non-Skippable In-Stream Ads
Similar to skippable ads, non-skippable can also be shown before or during a video. The only difference is that users don’t have the option to skip them. Due to this, non-skippable video ads are one of the best ad types for raising brand awareness.
Bumper Ads
These six-second non-skippable ads are played right before the actual video begins. They are perfect for businesses with a punchy message, and they don’t require the same level of production as a full video.
In-Feed Ads
In-feed ads present more like a Google search ad, by which they are shown in YouTube search results. They consist of a thumbnail image with text and have ‘Ad’ written in the top corner. In some instances, they can also be shown on the video watch page.
Overlay Ads
Overlay ads are non-video ads that can be either pop-up banners that appear midway through a video, or ads that are shown on the right-hand side of results whilst a video is playing. They include an image, text, and a button linking to the advertiser’s website.
Why it’s Vital to Nail Your Target Audience
In-video ads are much more intrusive than other forms of marketing because they interrupt the user’s viewing experience. That’s why, when it comes to advertising on YouTube, it’s absolutely essential that your targeting is as accurate as can be.
Your ad not only needs to offer something valuable that’s worthy of the user’s time, but it also needs to be on a topic that’s highly relevant to them and will pique their interest. Otherwise, you risk your adverts having an adverse effect, alienating potential customers as opposed to enticing them.
To ensure your ads get the best ROI, utilising audience layering we craft unique strategy segments, providing a tailored advert that the user feels is made specifically for them.
Using YouTube in Your Wider Marketing Strategy
YouTube is what we like to refer to as a ‘discovery’ channel: it allows us to plant the seed with a wide audience at a low cost. The purpose of YouTube ads is to increase brand awareness and encourage users to consider your business as a viable option when making purchasing decisions. In fact, users who see a TrueView ad (an ad that the users can skip after five seconds) are reportedly 10 times more likely to take the action prompted in the ad.
In order to get the most out of YouTube advertising, we’d always recommend integrating within your wider marketing strategy instead of treating the platform as a sole activity.
As YouTube advertising is at the very top of the sales funnel, other marketing strategies need to be utilised to encourage potential customers to go deeper into the funnel and make a purchase. Essentially, the goal is to target customers at every stage of their journey.
Doing this will not only maximise long-term ROI, but also instigates brand recall, boosting sales and market share, and giving you a competitive advantage.
Shining Light On Dark Traffic
As the first touchpoint in a user's journey, YouTube advertising is interruptive in the fact that it uses contextual targeting. The user hasn’t actively searched for your product or service. Therefore, it's unlikely that they will perform the intended action upon first viewing your ad. And, to be able to track a user, a click and opt-in needs to happen.
What you will see is that your ad drums up interest with your target audience, leading them to visit your website at a later date. In instances where we’ve received consent for visibility, we’re then able to track this data via Google Analytics and report back.
What we don’t have visibility on is website visitors who have been indirectly influenced by your ad. For example, if someone resonates with your core message, but decides not to click through and visit your site until a later date, their visit won’t be accredited to YouTube; even though it was your YouTube ad that influenced them. This is what we call "dark traffic". Whilst it is essentially un-trackable and un-attributable, we have developed modelling methods that “prove” the original source was YouTube.
More often than not, if a user doesn't click your ad but at a later date remembers your video and recalls your brand name, they will search the brand name in the search engine and this comes through as brand traffic. Alternatively, if they are able to remember the URL from the video, they’ll type that straight into their browser and come to your site as direct traffic.
One of our methods is to complete periodic analysis of brand and direct traffic uplifts. We assess whether any other activities could be influencing these traffic numbers, for example, other paid media activity, PR activity, etc. This allows us to take a sensible assessment of all factors and make an educated estimate of the “dark” influence the activity has provided.
Our YouTube Marketing Process
We have a dedicated team of YouTube advertising experts who will create the perfect video marketing strategy for your business.
Reporting on your YouTube ads
Due to dark traffic, reporting on YouTube activity involves a large aspect of the unknown: we can't track users definitively with no cookie present. However, in order to give you the most accurate overview of how successful your ads have been, we’ll measure the uplift influence dark traffic has had on your website and overall brand growth.
Additionally, we’ll also work with you throughout the onboarding process to determine exactly which KPIs you’d like us to measure. We’ll then provide live, fully-customisable dashboards that illustrate your desired KPIs, allowing us to seamlessly compare data and keep track of any growth generated by campaign activity.
Creating these dashboards not only ensures your data is accurate to a 15-minute latency, but also offers more benefits than standard analytics packages. This is because we have a multitude of data points that can be combined to form one outcome; something that isn’t possible in one solution alone.
Creating attention-grabbing videos
With the support of our professional internal motion designer and high-quality stock footage, we can create videos that ensure your message is maximised from start to finish.
Using premium stock footage to create YouTube videos offers a much faster turnaround time and is significantly more cost-effective. Not only do stock footage videos look natural, but a high percentage of businesses choose this option because it provides a quicker route to market without breaking the bank.
In order to keep your brand creatives fresh, we recommend producing and putting out a new video every month to avoid ad fatigue within ad platforms. Using stock footage streamlines this process.
Additionally, if you’re still a little skeptical about how successful video marketing can be for your business, creating ads with stock footage can be a great way of determining proof of concept without investing an eye-watering amount upfront.
- 1PlanAfter discussing your objectives and finding out what you’d like to achieve with your YouTube adverts, our team will put together a plan of action, providing recommendations on which YouTube ad formats we think will work best for your business.
- 2CreateWe’ll then create and edit the video, write the ad copy, and build out the campaign in Google.
- 3TestWhen we’re sure you’re happy, we’ll then launch the ads, closely monitoring their success, and ensuring they’re getting in front of the right people.
- 4RefineFinally, we’ll analyse the results, and use research and data-backed decisions to continually refine the targeting in order to provide you with the best results.
YouTube EXPERTS
Get in touch with our award-winning team
Contact our team today to find out how we can scrub up your digital marketing strategies.
Discuss your Brief
We outline what you’re hoping to achieve through YouTube advertising, and answer any questions that you may have about how our service can help you.
Finalise your target audience
Are you launching a new product or service that you want to showcase to previous customers? Are you trying to encourage new customers to invest in your product or service? Is your target audience niche? Whoever your target market, we’ll offer advice on how best to attract them.
Develop an innovative strategy
Once we know what your goals are and who you’d like to reach, our expert team will put together a proposal that outlines our recommendations, offering insight into which formats of YouTube ad we think will be the most effective for your business.
YouTube Advertising FAQ’s
Can I control who sees my ads?
Yes! Our team will ensure your ads are reaching the right audience. We typically layer Google Display Network audiences to allow us to hone and craft an audience as aligned to your buyer persona as possible.
How does advertising on YouTube differ from advertising on Facebook?
Both are extremely effective advertising platforms; the difference is how they’re used. Ultimately, people go to Facebook to scroll through content quickly. Ads need to be visual, snappy, and attention-grabbing. However, the sole purpose people visit YouTube is to watch videos. This means there’s an opportunity to tell a story with your ads, and that users are more likely to stick around and engage.
What We Could Do For You
If you'd like help with your digital marketing and our work on this project has inspired you, why not get in touch with us to discuss your plans:
