My last two blog posts (here and here) have been about Google AdWords for Video and how to use it to help your business succeed. In this post, I’ll be showing you examples of the different ad formats that you have to choose from when running a campaign.

In-Stream

The most noticeable ad types on YouTube are the In-Stream ads. Like the previews before a movie, these ads are shown before the video that a user has chosen to watch. For example, I recently went to YouTube to watch a good music video, and I got this as my In-Stream ad: Notice the “Skip Ad” button: users can often skip these ads after 5 seconds if they want to, and if they do, you as the advertiser are not charged with a view. You are only charged for a view if a user watches for at least 30 seconds, or for the entirety of the video (whichever is less). If you have short, but interesting videos, then this ad type is for you. You can use this ad type as “bait.” You can spark a user’s curiosity with the short ad, and then tell them to go to your YouTube channel or your website to see more. Soon enough, they could be a new customer.

In-Display

Next are the In-Display ads. Like the name implies, these ads function in a similar way to display ads on the Google Display network. Specifically on YouTube, these ads show up on top of the list of suggested videos that runs along the side of a video’s page. For example, I haven’t changed the strings on my guitar in three years (gasp!), so I went to YouTube to look up a how-to video on how to change them. While watching a very helpful video, I can see an In-Display ad to the right with the headline “Build Your Own Road Case”:

Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll give up the marketing gig and become a rock star. I might need to learn how to build my own road case, so that ad could be very helpful to me. The Kidz Bop 24 ad* isn’t that helpful, though. That’s just awkward. Joking aside, this ad format is good for getting the attention of users that are already watching content that is related to what you are promoting. In my situation, the connection was logical. If I am watching a video about how to change guitar strings, one could assume that I am a musician who likes to handle these jobs by myself. Therefore building my own road case might sound appealing to me. *Please note that the Kidz Bop 24 ad shown is not one of the Google AdWords for Video formats. That is a Google Display Network image ad.

In-Search

Last, but not least, is the In-Search ads. Did you know YouTube is actually the 2nd biggest search engine in the world (next to Google, of course)? In-Search Ads are a great opportunity for you to take advantage of this. They work just like a Google Search Network ad. You bid on keywords, people search for those keywords on YouTube, and if you do well in the auction, your ad is shown on the search results page. This type of ad is best when you know that people are searching for your business name or for certain things related to your video. Or maybe you want to steal a few customers from a competitor like this:

So there you have it: those are the three types of ad formats available in a Google AdWords for Video campaign. As always, if you have any questions for me, leave ‘em in the comments section below, or find me on Twitter! @BlaineAAnderson