Lesson: Ads on YouTube

Learn to manage your channel and content to attract ad money.

Advertisers, viewers and you!

The key to monetisation with ads is an engaged audience. Advertisers look for channels that have high traffic, far reach and a unique, targeted demographic watching. It’s a good idea to invest in growing your audience before monetising your channel.

When you’re ready to turn ads on, it is useful to understand how viewers, creators and advertisers work together so that everyone benefits.

Viewers typically come to YouTube to be entertained, learn and join an interactive community. They also provide the eyeballs required to help creators, advertisers and YouTube make money.

Creators, like you, come to YouTube to express themselves and share their creativity. You can even make some money from it.  As a creator, you can keep making great videos so that viewers come back for more and make visiting your channel a habit.

Advertisers look at YouTube as a way to reach and target audiences. If your audience is really engaged, and if they’re a demographic that brands really want to reach, advertisers may be willing to pay to run ads on channels like yours.

YouTube is the platform that helps make this possible for everyone!

Note: Monetisation is only available in certain countries, and copyright or community guidelines violations can affect your eligibility to earn money.

Available ad formats

To help maximise your ad revenue, you can enable some or all ad formats on your channel. Compare each format to see how they work with your videos and when views can count towards your earnings.

The red shapes indicate where the ad appears on your video or watch page.

Ad format (ad is red)	Considerations	You get paid when...
Display ads Size: 300x250 or 300x60 pixels	The ad shows up next to your video but it is a lower paying ad format than a Skippable ad. Appears only on desktop and laptop computers. Views from mobile devices will not count as a monetisable view.	...a viewer sees the ad or if the ad is clicked on. This depends on the advertiser’s selection.
Overlay ads Size: 480x70 pixels	Appears across the bottom 20% of the video window so try to avoid placing important visuals in this part of the frame. Currently appears only on desktop and laptop computers. Views from mobile devices, TVs or game consoles will not count as a monetisable view. Viewer can dismiss the ad at any time.	...a viewer clicks on the overlay to expand and view the full ad.
Skippable video ads Size: Full screen	Currently the most common ad format; viewers can skip the ad after viewing it for 5 seconds. Can be inserted before, during or after the video. Currently the only ad format that allows you to potentially monetise views from any viewing device.	...a viewer watches 30 seconds or to the end of the video ad (whichever comes first).
Non-skippable video ads and long, non-skippable video ads Size: Full screen	Viewers see an ad before your video plays. Viewers must watch the entire 15+ second ad, which may deter viewers who don’t know the value of your videos. Can be inserted before, during or after the video. Currently appears only on desktop and laptop computers, and mobile devices. Views from TVs or game consoles will not count as a monetisable view.	...a viewer watches the ad.
Mid-roll ads Size: Full screen	Currently available for videos over 15 minutes: ads are spaced within the video, like TV commercials. Viewers must watch ads before continuing through the video. You can insert ad breaks at natural pauses between scenes for the best viewing experience. Currently appears only on desktop and laptop computers, and mobile devices. Views from TVs or game consoles will not count as a monetisable view. You can add them manually or automatically. See the section below.	Depends on the type of ad: ...if the mid-roll is a skippable ad, then the user must watch 30 seconds of the ad or the entire ad, whichever is shorter. ...if it’s a CPM-based ad, then a user must watch the entire ad regardless of length.
Bumper ads Size: Full screen	A lightweight, non-skippable video ad up to 6 seconds long. Optimised for viewing on mobile. Viewers must watch the entire ad before your video can be viewed.	...a viewer watches the ad.
Native mobile ads Size: On mobile in video description	A display ad that appear below a video's metadata. Only available on mobile.	Depends on how the ad format is purchased... If the ad format is bought on a CPM (cost-per-mille) basis, you will earn revenue based on the load of the impression. If the ad format is bought on a CPC (cost-per-click) basis, you will earn revenue based on when the viewer clicks on the ad (not when the ad is displayed on a page).

What kind of control do I have over the ads shown on my videos?

• Which ads play: You can prevent ads from specific advertisers, or from certain "sensitive categories" of advertisers, from playing on your channel.
• When ads play: If you have monetisation enabled, you can’t determine when an ad will display and not every view of an enabled video results in a monetised playback.

SEE IT IN ACTION

How ads end up on your video

What happens behind the scenes when ads are played on your videos? YouTube works hard to show the right ad to the right viewer at the right time. Ads are matched to specific audiences. When a video is matched to a viewer and the viewer watches the ad, that counts as a monetised playback – that is, we show an ad and share the revenue with you. YouTube’s algorithms also try to make sure that viewers aren’t overloaded with ads while watching your videos. So sometimes ads aren’t always shown on your monetisable videos, even when there is a demographic match.

A few things to check if you don’t see ads on your videos:

• If YOU don’t see ads on your video, could others watching your video be seeing ads?
• Does the video have ads enabled, and is its privacy level set to public?
• Is this video attracting a demographic that advertisers want to target? Maybe there isn’t an ad available for your audience or this video may not appeal to an audience that advertisers are trying to reach.
• Does your video contain sensitive content or have misleading metadata? Advertisers like brand-safe videos.
• Is there any copyrighted material either on this video or on another channel connected to your AdSense account?
• See if it’s something else.

SEE IT IN ACTION

COPYRIGHT BASICS PRESENTED BY GLOVE AND BOOTS

Glove and Boots explains the basics of your copyrights rights. (Video captioned)

Brand-friendly videos

To make sure that brands feel comfortable advertising on YouTube, ads will only show on videos that adhere to our advertiser-friendly guidelines. YouTube’s systems automatically check videos to decide if they’re appropriate for advertising, and you can request a manual review if you think a video that you have uploaded has been wrongly flagged as inappropriate.

You should also think about how you can position your channel in a brand-friendly way that attracts advertisers, while continuing to exercise your creative voice! This might also encourage advertisers to reach out to you to produce branded content on your channel. Here’s a checklist to keep in mind:

• Who’s your audience? Where are your viewers, what’s their demographic, and is it easy for advertisers to see this? Advertisers often look to target their ads to groups like "aged 18-24", "interested in fashion" or “sports fan”.
• What makes connecting to viewers through your content desirable to advertisers? Why should they promote on your channel? Will your audience be excited about their products or services?
• How large or loyal is your audience? Having diverse and engaged viewers all over the world can be appealing to advertisers.
• Is your content friendly for all audiences? Many advertisers will not want to associate with content that isn't appropriate for a family audience, so if your content is age-restricted, it may be more difficult to attract advertisers.
• Does the voice of your own brand remain unique and original? Staying "true to your roots" may help you to keep your existing audience as you continue to grow your brand and reach.

To find out more about how to disclose paid product placements on your channel, please visit the Help Centre.

Auto mid-rolls

If you monetise videos that are more than 10 minutes long, you can now automatically insert ads throughout (we call these mid-rolls) to capitalise on your long-form content.

In the past, you could do this manually (and you still can!), but the feature has evolved to do the work for you. When you enable auto mid-rolls, the tool will find natural breaks in your video where an ad could be placed so as to not disrupt the viewing experience. For example, the tool may insert an ad during a break between two scenes, rather than during an intense conversation. You can also edit their placement if you don’t think that it’s in the best spot.

Try out auto mid-rolls to save time when setting up your videos for monetisation and help balance watchtime with revenue. Consider checking your revenue 30 days after you turn them on to see how mid-rolls can affect your bottom line.