YouTube Takes Video Advertising to the Next Level

YouTube, a Google subsidiary, has officially launched Google AdWords for video. Back in September 2011, Google began testing the beta version with select advertisers, like UndercoverTourist.com and Rokenbok Toy Company. Now this self-service and pay-per-view video ad platform is available to the general public. The new platform promises to not only bring on larger TV buyers, but will give small to medium sized businesses the ability to promote content to a global audience similar to TV.

Types of Video Ads

Google’s four AdWords ad format are categorized under the “TrueView” umbrella which includes: in-view, in-search, in-slate, and in-display. TrueView ads are priced using a cost-per-view model, similar to that of the search ad cost-per-click. A business only pays when someone chooses to view the ad.

Where Do the Ads Run?

In-stream ads run before, during or after a YouTube partner video. After five seconds, the viewer can continue to watch the ad or chose to skip it. In-search ads run alongside Promoted Video search results and suggestions. In-slate ads play before YouTube partner videos that are longer than 10 minutes. Viewers can choose from one of three ads to view, or watch commercial breaks during the video. And finally, in-display ads run throughout the Google Display Network, which has  tens of thousands of websites that reach 98% of users online.

When Do You Pay?

Before a TrueView in-stream ad is charged, a user must watch at least 30 seconds of the video ad or watch it in its entirely –whichever comes first. Since the other three formats use the cost-per-click model, these ads do not have to be viewed in their entirety to be charged.

Tracking Results

Video ads make it easy to measure the effectiveness of a campaign. You can see how many viewers watched the entire video, visited the website, watched more brand videos and subscribed to your brand’s Youtube channel.

New AdWords Tools Improve Location Targeting

Geo-targeting is easier than ever thanks to several AdWords upgrades. Google recently introduced two new location-targeting capabilities and enhanced the existing Advanced Location Targeting feature. By allowing you to target by zip code, you can now create a single ad for multiple locations while achieving higher conversion rates.

AdWords Location

This new feature allows you to target more than 30,000 US zip codes with the ability to add up to 1,000 postal codes at a time to search ad campaigns. With AdWords Location, you can more precisely determine which ad to show and when, based on origin and regardless of search intent. You now have more control over how you target locally while consumers receive higher quality ads. 


Previously, Google displayed ads based on a combination of search intent and city/metro targeting. At times, AdWords was not serving the ads that advertisers wanted. AdWords Location works to resolve this issue. It's also especially useful for advertising in the travel sector. For example, if someone in Atlanta is searching for flights to Seattle, you can still target Atlanta residents and display your ads. 

Location Insertion

Location insertion, the second new feature, automatically inserts unique location information into your ads. This tool is perfect for large companies with multiple stores around the country, because it allows consumers to find the location near them. One of the launch users, Uncle Bob’s Self Storage, a self storage company with 400 locations, saw their conversions increase by at least 300%, proving that location insertion can make all the difference.  

Enhanced Advanced Location Targeting

Google also added four enhancements to its existing Advanced Location Targeting feature. These include:

·         Rewording the platform to make it easier to understand

·         Displaying ads to consumers in a geographic location regardless of search subject

·         More control over location targeting on the display network

·         Changes to exclusion methods

Geographic Reports

The new tools also provide more specific geographic reports, allowing you to understand how ads are performing on a zip code by zip code basis.

Google Search Gets a Makeover

No, Google’s classic keyword-search system isn’t going away, but within the next few months users will benefit from an upgrade. In order to provide more relevant results, Google plans to incorporate a new technology known as “semantic search”, which will allow the search engine to interpret the actual meaning of words.

Top Google search executive Amit Singhal explained in a recent The Wall Street Journal interview that the search engine will better match queries with the company’s database of hundreds of millions of “entities” (people, place and things). This is because semantic search has the ability to associate different words with one another, such as a company (Google) with its founders (Larry Page and Sergey Bring).

How will this new search engine system work? Say you search for “Lake Tahoe”. You will soon see key “attributes” that the search engine picks up about the lake, such as its location, altitude, average temperature of salt content. If you were to search for “Lake Tahoe” today, you’d find only links to the visitor bureau website, its Wikipedia page, and a link to a relevant map. Ask Google a more complex question such as, “What are the 10 largest lakes in California?”, and it may provide the answer instead of just a list of links.

Google is blending semantic-search technology with its current system to better evaluate the information on websites. This will help to determine which sites it will show in the search results. Rather than looking only for keywords, Google spiders will indentify information about specific entities referenced on a webpage.

The new search engine function may inspire millions of website owners to change the markup language, making it easier for Google to locate their sites under the new system. One Google insider told The Wall Street Journal that the shift to semantic search could directly impact the search results for 10% to 20% of all queries, or tens of billions per month.

Google search ads, which appear next to search results, may also be affected. If the search engine better understands the intent behind a query, Google may be able to serve up more relevant ads. And as Google’s “entity” database grows, there will be more pages on which marketers can place ads.

Be on the lookout for a bigger and better Google this summer!