12 Tips for Optimizing Your YouTube Video Ads Costs
Launching a YouTube ad campaign is a great move, but before you start spending, there are a few things to set up to get the best bang for your buck.
First, you need to define your metrics and goals. Track views and impressions to see how many people are watching your ad and how it’s affecting views on your other videos. Look at your audience's engagement metrics, such as age and gender, to understand who’s watching. Check the view rate to see if your content is compelling enough to keep viewers interested, and track conversions to see if your ad is driving leads and ROI. Your goals will guide the content of your ad—some metrics are better for branding, while others are focused on conversions.
Next, keep an eye on low-performing placements. If you’re running in-display ads, check where they’ve appeared. If certain sites aren’t delivering, exclude them from your campaign to improve your CPV.
Use a custom thumbnail image to make your video more clickable. It should be high-quality and legible on all devices. If it features a person, they should be looking into the camera, and the background shouldn’t be distracting.
YouTube cards can drive actions like product purchases or traffic to a URL. These small “i” symbols can be timed to appear when viewers are engaged, helping drive conversions. Also, include calls-to-action (CTAs) that link to relevant pages—this can be a landing page, product page, or even a favorable report about your brand.
Creating a YouTube end slate is another good move. It can encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel, follow you on social media, or explore more of your content.
Negative remarketing is useful if you want to attract new users. Exclude those who have already interacted with your videos to stretch your budget further.
Don’t forget about closed captioning. It improves accessibility and can cater to viewers’ needs. Plus, only user-uploaded transcriptions are indexed by Google, so make sure they’re accurate and, if needed, available in multiple languages.
Qualifying viewers can save you money. Encourage uninterested viewers to skip the ad so you don’t pay for views that won’t convert.
Consider making your ad longer. For skippable in-stream ads, you only pay if a viewer watches until the end or interacts with the ad. Strategize your content so viewers can skip if they’re not interested, or offer special deals towards the end to keep them watching.
Use the CPV pricing model for remarketing to a predefined audience. It’s cost-effective and has a good chance of converting.
Finally, don’t reinvent the wheel. If you’ve seen YouTube ads that worked, model them for your own campaigns. Save successful ads in a swipe file for future use, saving you time and helping you focus on other revenue-generating activities.
For a deeper dive into optimizing your YouTube ad campaigns, check out the full guide: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/youtube-video-advertising-guide
