Essential Guide to Online Video Advertising

what is video advertising

Online video advertising—often referred to as preroll video adverting or video on demand—is a form of digital advertising that plays short video ads during the “commercial breaks” of featured video content on platforms like Youtube and Rumble. Video ads can also appear in content that streams on social media sites, mobile apps and other platforms.

Where do video ads appear?

There are three places where digital video ads can appear during the main video playback:

Preroll video ads 

Pre-roll video ads play before the main video and typically last about 15 seconds, but they can be shorter or longer. When you hit the play button for the main video, the preroll video will automatically play (see example below). 

What is a preroll video ad

Midroll video ads

Mid-roll video ads play during a break in the middle of the main video and are often one minute or longer in length.

Postroll video ads

Post-roll video ads play automatically after the main video finishes, and typically run for 10 to 15 seconds, but can run as long as three minutes.

Playback options of video ads

There are three different playback options for online video advertising:

Skippable video ads

These video ads can be skipped by viewers after the first 5 seconds of watching. You should expect to pay less for placement skippable video ads.

Non skippable video ads 

This type of video advertisement leaves you no option to skip. You must watch the ad completely before the main video plays. Non-skippable video ads usually run from 15 to 20 seconds and typically cost more than a skippable video ad.

Bumper video ads

This final type of video ad runs for 6 seconds and is also unskippable. 

Targeting Options

Video ads can target specific types of video content or target audiences based on demographics, interests, behavior, geographic location, and more.

Content guidelines for video advertising

Attention to detail—in terms of storytelling, visuals, and sound design—can significantly impact the efficacy of the advertisement and leave a lasting impression on viewers.

State your message quickly

Because preroll video ads are short in duration and can be skipped altogether, it’s important to present your main message in the first 5 seconds of the video, then expand on that message during the later part of the ad. Using this approach makes it more likely the viewer will see your message if they skip the video or leave the page completely.

…it’s important to present your main message in the first 5 seconds of the video…

Make your content relevant

Contextual relevance is desirable because the viewer is searching for something specific and the more relevant your video ad content is to the intent of the user, the higher level of engagement your ad will have. When your video ad is contextually relevant, it will be less likely that the viewer will skip the ad or hit the back button.

If the video ad content is not relevant to the main video, the engagement can still be high by good targeting of demographics, interests, behavior, geographic location, etc.

Include a CTA

Video ads should include a strong CTA to prompt viewers to take the desired action after watching the ad. Whether it’s getting them to visit a website, make a purchase or sign up for a newsletter, the CTA should be prominently displayed and communicated effectively.

CTA’s should be designed to appear as buttons or some other obvious design device that draws the eye of the viewer and prompts them to take action.

Incorporate your Branding

Like all forms of advertising, branding is important. Include your logo, brand colors, typefaces and messaging consistent with your brand guidelines. 

Why are online video ads effective?

Because of the intent of the user to watch the chosen featured content, video ads provide you with a captive audience. As such, they result in great engagement—especially when your content is relevant to the primary video content (e.g., a Ford truck preroll the plays before a video found on a search for “Top American Made Trucks”).

Monitoring and optimization of online video advertising

Like other forms of digital advertising, video advertising campaigns should be monitored and optimized based on performance metrics and analytics. Tracking key metrics such as view-through rates (VTR), click-through rates (CTR), conversions, and return on ad spend (ROAS) is important. Monitoring enables advertisers to refine their strategies, improve targeting, and achieve better results over time.

How do you pay for online video advertising?

Youtube is the largest video platform on the planet. As such, we’re going to use them as an example of how advertisers pay for video video ads. Like Google ads, video advertisers can bid on ads valued on the demand of the keyword phrases you are targeting. For a 30-second preoll video ad, the price can range from approximately $0.10 to $0.30 per view or per click. 

As an aside, content creators share in the ad revenue of video ads that are inserted before content they own. If an ad is skipped, the content creator typically does not receive a share. When an ad is watched for 30 seconds or, if the ad is clicked on, the content creator shares the revenues the platform receives from the advertiser.

Conclusion

Video ads are one of many forms of digital advertising available to promote your brand, products or services. Multi-channel digital advertising is the key to success, but managing placement and budgets can be a challenge.


If your agency is interested in learning how a white label ad placement service can simplify the process, increase business opportunities and grow your agency business, contact Ad Placement Partners, or, schedule a 30-minute video meeting with one of our white label experts.

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