TrueView ads are the standard video ad type on YouTube. Advertisers only pay for TrueView ads when viewers watch or interact with their ad (for example, by clicking on a call-to-action), and videos can be easily customized to share a variety of content.

Advertisers only pay when a user watches the ad for at least 30 seconds or until the end of the video or if the viewer takes an action, such as clicking on a call-to-action. YouTube requires that skippable TrueView ads be between 12 seconds and 6 minutes in length, and that non-skippable TrueView ads be 15-20 seconds in length.

There are two types of TrueView ads with which you can optimize your YouTube channel:

1.Video Discovery Ads (Previously Named In-Display Ads)

Video discovery YouTube ads show up on the YouTube homepage, search results pages, and as related videos on YouTube video watch pages.

These ads appeared after performing a YouTube search:

This display ad appears as a related video on the right-hand video sidebar:

Once a user clicks on the ad, the destination video page features a spot on the right-hand column where a companion banner display ad will appear.

TrueView in-stream ads play before someone watches the video they’ve selected on YouTube. Viewers sometimes have the option to skip the ad after watching it for five seconds. You can also make them play anywhere in the Google Display Network (GDN) -- or sites that purchased Google video ad space.

 midway through a YouTube video that's 10 minutes or longer in length.

Bumpers are the third and shortest type of YouTube video ad available to you. At just six seconds per bumper, these ad spots play before a viewer's chosen video. 

Bumper video ads obviously can't tell a good-enough story in just six seconds, but they make terrific complements to larger video campaigns on a new product launch or event. Just be sure to use these six seconds wisely, and include only the components of your brand you want your audience to remember.

Video Formats

There are many different options when it comes to video advertising. Here’s a quick rundown of the most common ones:

Linear Video Ads: More commonly known as pre, mid and post-roll ads, linear ads take over the full video player space. They're linear because they run in line sequentially with the content, for example a pre-roll will appear as (ad-video); a mid-roll will be (video-ad-video) and a post-roll will appear as (video-ad). Linear ads can be 15 or 30-seconds long and do not allow for fast forwarding through the ad. 

Interactive Video Ads: These ads completely take over the screen and pause the video content while they play. They allow a variety of interactions, like clicking for more information, signing up for a newsletter etc., and are usually a mix of video, animation or static images as well as interactive elements. They can show up before, during or after the content plays and are generally 15-30 seconds in duration.

Overlay Video Ads: These ads run simultaneously with the video content, usually in the form of an interactive banner ad in an overlay. Clicking on these ads pauses the content and the ad opens in a full screen player. Generally, a non-linear video ad will run for 5-15 seconds before rotating to another ad or reducing in size.

Companion Video Ads: Companion ads, by definition, play alongside the video. They are displayed in the web page around the video player and often take the form of display banner ads. They offer a persistent visual for a brand or product while the video is being watched, without taking up video player space. They can include text, static images or rich media.

Launching a video ad campaign is a great step, but there are some things you should set up prior to starting to pay for views to make the most of your budget and to see the highest return for your client.

1. Define your metrics and goals.

When analysing the results, there are four main categories of metrics you can track for each video. These are located under the "column" drop-down in your campaigns interface.

Views

Under the "views" category, you can better understand what percentage of the ad people viewed and understand how the ad drove earned views or views on your brand's other videos.

Audience

This category can be used to track likes and shares for each video ad.

Branding

The view rate should signal if the creative and message are interesting or entertaining enough for people to watch the ad. By increasing your view-through rate (VTR), you will lower your cost per view.

Conversions

Conversions will help you better understand if your ad is driving leads and returning a high ROI for your brand.

2. Track low performing placements.

If you're running in-display ads that will appear across the Google Display Network, you can review where the ad has appeared in by navigating to Video Targeting > Placements > Where ads were shown > Display network from your Google AdWords Campaigns dashboard. Review this list to see if any particular sites are contributing to poor performance for your desired metrics. Exclude these sites from your ad campaign moving forward to increase your average CPV.

3. Use a custom thumbnail image.

Design or use a high-quality still image from the video to entice a viewer to click on your video. Remember, this image needs to be legible by users on different devices, including mobile. If your image contains a person, make sure he or she is looking into the camera. If you are featuring a product, make sure the background isn't distracting. 

4. Drive people to buy with cards.

A YouTube card is teased with a small "i" symbol, which the viewer can click to expand. You can time this appearance so only users engaged with the video and content will see the notification.

With cards, you can feature a product related to or featured in the video to drive product purchases. You can also use cards to drive fundraising donations, traffic to a URL, or traffic to other videos as shown in the example below from Refinery29. Each format will allow you to customize the card with text, images, and other options.

5. Create calls-to-actions.

When promoting a video on YouTube, you can include call-to-action overlays that link to a URL. You could link to a landing page, product page, information page, career page ... whatever you'd like. You could also send people to a favorable report or interview featuring the brand.

Adobe highlights one of its live videos using a call-to-action overlay:

6. Create a YouTube end slate.

Create an end screen to drive subscribers to your channel, promote your social networks, or increase interest in your brand. If someone has watched a video until the end, it's a good sign they enjoy your content and might be interested in subscribing to your channel for future updates. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon's end slate uses this screen to drive subscribers and social media fans while also highlighting other interesting topics its host has featured. Once you build the image, you will be able to annotate the end screen in YouTube's video editor.

7. Use negative remarketing.

If you are running a campaign for a longer period of time and want to only attract new users to a brand, consider creating a list of people who your ad will not be shown to. When viewing your AdWords Campaign screen, select "Shared library" on the lower left sidebar. Then select "Video remarketing" and "+ Remarketing List". You can stretch your campaign budget and target only unique users by selecting to not show your video ad to someone who has previously viewed the specific video, who has visited your YouTube channel, or shared, liked, or commented on any of your videos on your channel.