How to Use YouTube Ads on Your YouTube Channel

Interested in getting more from your YouTube channel?

Have you considered YouTube ads?

YouTube lets you pay to run ads on others’ videos, as well as get paid to let others run their ads on your videos.

In this article, you’ll discover how to use YouTube to boost brand awareness and generate revenue for your business.

#1: Increase Brand and Product Visibility

To create an ad that will be shown on other users’ content, go to YouTube’s advertising pages and click Get Started. Now you’re ready to launch your ad campaign.

The first step is to select which video you want to promote. It’s a good idea to copy and paste the URL to your YouTube video or you’ll be searching for a while. (All YouTube videos will pop up as options to promote.)

You have to search through all of the videos in YouTube’s database, so entering the URL for your video will speed up the search process.

After you choose your video, you can see a preview of how it will appear to people who are watching it on YouTube after browsing the Internet and finding it via YouTube search.

As you create your ad, check the preview to see how your ad will appear in all formats.

Next, enter the information needed to complete the ad, including the headline and two lines of description, and choose a thumbnail. As you enter your information, you can see a preview of how your video will look.

The ad text and descriptions are extremely important when you want to grab a customer’s attention.

Then specify where you want to send your traffic when users click on the video or ad. You can send them to your website or YouTube channel.

You can decide if you want users who click on your ad to be sent to your YouTube channel or to your website.

Now set your budget. If you opt for a daily budget, you can specify a maximum cost per view (CPV) so you won’t pay more than a view is worth to your business.

You can set a daily budget and choose a maximum CPV so you’re not spending more (including more per view) than you want to.

Next, you can choose a target audience if you want your ad to be shown only to certain audiences. YouTube’s targeting criteria include age, gender, web activity, and interests.

YouTube’s targeting criteria aren’t as specific as on other platforms, but ensure that you can land your content in front of a relevant audience, especially if you use interest targeting.

As you create your campaign, a small tab on the right side of the page lets you see approximately how many video views your budget will get you.

Find out approximately how many video views your budget can get you.

Now sign into your Google account (if you haven’t done this already), and enter your billing information to pay for the ads. Then review your ads and submit them for approval.

#2: Generate Revenue

If you allow YouTube ads to play before your videos, you can earn money for video views. To enable this feature, click on your business’s profile picture in the top-right corner of YouTube. Then click Creator Studio.

You’ll be able to access all of your ad information through Creator Studio.

In the sidebar on the left, click Channel and select Monetization from the menu.

To allow ads, click the Monetization tab under Channel.

Click Enable Monetization so all of your eligible videos will automatically be enabled for monetization.

Click Enable Monetization.

After you agree to YouTube’s Terms of Service, you can choose what types of ads you’ll allow on your videos. Your options include overlay ads, skippable video ads, and sponsored cards.

You can choose different types of ads that can be displayed on your content.

All videos that you’ve published up to this point will automatically be updated for monetization. You’ll be paid through a Google AdSense account after you’ve linked to it, as described next.

Link YouTube to Your AdSense Account

To get paid from or run ads through YouTube, you need to link your AdSense account with your YouTube account. Click on the Monetization tab in the left sidebar and then click the Learn More link shown below. Now you’ll be able to link your accounts.

To connect your YouTube and AdSense accounts, click the Learn More link pictured above.

First, sign into your Google account or create a new one to sign up for AdSense.

You’ll be asked to sign into your current account or create a new one.

Next, select the content language for your site.

Choose the primary language of your website.

If you’re creating a new AdSense account, fill in your contact information and then submit your application for review. The approval process for AdSense can take up to one week (although mine only took a few hours). Once approved, your account will be automatically linked to your YouTube account.

Enter your contact information to create your AdSense account.

Edit Monetization Options for Individual Videos

If at any point you want to enable or disable monetization for specific videos, go to your Video Manager and look for the video in your Video list. All of the content that’s monetized will have a green $ next to the number of views. Click on that green dollar sign to view that video’s information.

Monetized videos will have the green dollar sign next to their number of views.

You can disable monetization or certain ad types for that specific video by deselecting any of the options.

You can adjust a video’s monetization options individually.

Which Videos Can Be Monetized?

Not all YouTube videos will be eligible for monetization. To be able to monetize your videos, you need to own rights to every aspect of the video (including background music), and the video must abide by YouTube’s Terms of Service. Simply put, you need to have created every aspect of the video yourself, and not to have sold or signed away usage rights to someone else.

Borrowing background music and images from other businesses will also disqualify your video for monetization. You would need to have a commercial license to use that content.

Final Thoughts

YouTube video ads are a great resource that more businesses should be taking advantage of. While learning and managing a new ad system can take a little time, the potential benefits are worth the effort.

What do you think? Have you used YouTube video ads before? What’s your experience with their advertising platform? Please share your thoughts and knowledge in the comments below!

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5 Ways to Enhance YouTube Videos for Marketers

Do you use YouTube for your business?

Looking for ways to create more visibility for your videos?

YouTube offers a number of helpful features to optimize your videos for more views, subscribers, or conversions.

In this article, you’ll discover five ways to improve the performance of your YouTube videos.

#1: Add a Watermark to Your Videos

Good branding can help you build trust with your YouTube audience and increase awareness for your business. You can convey your brand message with a single image or logo targeting your audience.

YouTube branding is done mainly through the watermark feature. The branding should represent the content on the channel. To add the branding watermark to your videos, go to My Channel and click on the gear icon next to the Subscribe button.

Click the gear icon to the left of the Subscribe button.

Click on Advanced Settings.

Click the Advanced Settings link.

On the left, click on Branding under the Channel section. Then click Add a Watermarkon the right.

Click Add a Watermark.

Next, click the Choose File button and navigate to your watermark file. This watermark will appear on all of your uploaded videos across all of your devices.

Upload your watermark.

Now when viewers watch your video on a desktop, they can hover over the watermark and click to subscribe to your channel.

Viewers can hover over the watermark to subscribe to your channel.

To track the performance of your branding watermark, look at the Annotations report in your YouTube Analytics. You can view CTR, impressions, clickable impressions, closeable impressions, close rate, and clicks.

The Annotations report shows the CTR (blue line) and the close rate (orange line).

Here are some additional branding tactics that can help improve your CTR:

Upload a channel banner. The channel banner helps attract viewers to your video. The banner should be as relevant to the channel content as possible.

Add a channel icon. The channel icon must be a good size. Place it to the left of the channel banner.

Create custom thumbnails. The video thumbnail is typically the first impression of your video that users who arrive via search will get. It needs to be clear, attractive, and relevant to the content of the video. Consider making and uploading your own custom thumbnails, instead of using the default ones created by YouTube.

#2: Use Directional Cues to Draw Attention to Your Call to Action

From the time we’re born, we’re trained to follow cues/arrows directing us to what we should look at or move toward. This is why directional cues are so effective.

On YouTube, directional cues can include arrows, photos, or videos of people looking at or pointing to your call-to-action (CTA) buttons. These cues create an immediate and almost automatic interest in what viewers are being directed toward (your CTA).

This directional cue points viewers to the Subscribe button.

The Barnacules Nerdgasm channel effectively uses directional cues at the end of their YouTube videos. Pointing to the Subscribe button draws the viewer’s attention to it.

#3: Add Keywords to Titles, Tags, and Descriptions

To optimize your videos for search, you’ll need to research which keywords and phrases your audience is looking for. For individual videos, it’s a good idea to go for long-tail keywords that are more descriptive. Additionally, try to leverage current trends to direct interest to your videos.

The LinusTechTips YouTube channel includes videos with carefully crafted titles and descriptions.

Use relevant keywords in your video titles and descriptions.

Once you have some relevant keywords and keyword phrases, you need to incorporate them into your title and description.

In your title, use words that drive action and highlight the benefits of watching the video. For example, you can encourage clicks with phrases that suggest lists, like “7 ways to…” or “How to…” or “The best…” In the description, add links to your products or website. Be sure to include “http://” with your website links so that they’re clickable.

Make sure you include “http://” in your links so they’re clickable.

Also add tags and prioritize them according to their relevance or importance based on the keywords and keyword phrases.

#4: Add Annotations and CTA Overlays

Using attractive annotations can compel viewers to watch more of your videos and ultimately become subscribers.

Create an Annotation

Annotations are interactive pop-ups (not ads) that you can add to your videos. With annotations, you can layer links, text, and hotspots on your video. They enrich the video with engagement, interactivity, and information.

Deciding where to add your annotation is important. Most YouTube viewers have short attention spans, so if you place the annotation in the wrong spot, they could easily leave the video. Typically the best place to add an annotation is at the end of the video.

Typically the end of your video is the best place to add an annotation.

Before you add an annotation, make sure that you have external linking turned on. To do this, check that your YouTube account is verified and your channel is in good standing with YouTube.

To add an annotation, go to the Video Manager, click the drop-down arrow next to Edit, and select Annotations from the menu.

Click the drop-down arrow next to Edit and select Annotations.

Click Add Annotation and select the annotation you want to add. After you fill in the details for your annotation, click Apply Changes.

Select the type of annotation you want to add.

Create a CTA Overlay

CTA overlays are ads that you place in your YouTube videos. You need to have a Google AdWords account to use them, and the overlays are subject to review by the Google AdWords program.

The CTA overlay appears at the bottom of the player when the video begins and remains visible until the viewer closes the overlay. When users click on a CTA overlay, they’re directed to a website or to another video or promotion. Note that you can have only one CTA overlay in a video.

To create a CTA overlay, log into your AdWords account or sign up if you haven’t done so already.

Sign up for an AdWords account if you don’t already have one.

Ensure your YouTube account is linked to the AdWords account. If your account is not linked, click the gear icon next to your account name at the top right of the page and then click on Linked Accounts and choose YouTube.

To set up your first campaign, fill in the fields that are displayed. Select the Video Campaign option on the Campaigns tab and select the video to which you want to add a CTA overlay. On the Videos tab, select Edit Call to Action, enter the CTA information, and click Save.

#5: Add Subtitles and Closed Captions

Adding captions and subtitles to your YouTube videos can help you reach a wider audience, including the hearing-impaired and people who speak other languages.

There are several ways to do this. You can use YouTube’s automatic subtitles or closed captions (CC) feature, but it may not give you the best results. The other option is to create your own subtitles or closed captions from within YouTube or with a tool like Dotsub.

For whichever method you choose, go to the Video Manager, click on the drop-down arrow next to the Edit button, and select Subtitles & CC.

In the Video Manager, click the drop-down arrow next to Edit and select Subtitles & CC.

Set the video language that is spoken most in the video.

Select the language used in the original video.

Next, select how you want to add or edit subtitles or closed captions.

Select the method you’ll use to add closed captions or subtitles.

Finally, follow the prompts to complete the setup process.

Conclusion

Each of the tips above can help you succeed in your YouTube marketing campaigns. Be sure to maintain good tracking and analytic reports so you’ll be able to make educated and data-driven decisions moving forward.

What do you think? Have you tried some of these techniques to improve your YouTube marketing campaigns? What tactics work for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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