YouTube Adds TrueView Video Ads To AdWords

In December 2010, Google’s Inside AdWords blog announced a new set of ad formats called TrueView Video Ads. Subsequently, in April 2012, the official YouTube blog announced Google AdWords for video.

However, video advertisers quickly realized that TrueView and AdWords for video weren’t exactly the same platform. Marketers had to go to a special section within AdWords to create and manage their TrueView video campaigns, and they had no choice other than to jump back and forth when they wanted to report and optimize across all of their campaigns. Additionally, advertisers couldn’t take advantage of AdWords’ bulk tools for their video campaigns.

Now, in an important announcement, Google explains that TrueView is joining Search, Display, and Shopping campaigns within the AdWords interface, thereby making video advertising easier by merging YouTube TrueView with the AdWords dashboard.

According to Google, the new functionality provides the user with “the simplicity of a single interface and a more consistent experience,” which should certainly make it easier for auto dealership marketers to optimize across their various campaigns. Also, users who set up video advertising campaigns can take advantage of the convenience of bulk management tools when working on multiple TrueView campaigns.

It’s certainly possible that Google’s decision to bring video campaigns into the AdWords fold could have a significant impact on the adoption rates for YouTube TrueView campaigns. And greater adoption could then cause ad rates to rise. Earlier this year, Google said that TrueView campaigns have been the root of declining CPCs over the past few years because rates have remained low as click volume on the ads has escalated.

In its most recent earnings call, Google executives said that YouTube reaches more 18-49 year olds in the United States than any cable network, and further stated that watch time is up more than 60 percent year-over-year with the average viewing session on mobile now reaching more than 40 minutes. YouTube is under an increasing amount of pressure to deliver for advertisers due to the rising competition from Facebook and other channels that are adding video to their ad lineups.

Now, AdWords advertisers can manage TrueView in-display ads, which appear alongside the main video, and the skippable pre-roll in-stream ads, and can report on their campaigns directly alongside of their Text, Display or Shopping campaigns. The ability to utilize bulk management tools will allow marketers to download a snapshot of campaigns, make multiple changes, and upload the changes live to accounts. Reporting Scheduling gives marketers the ability to set up a schedule for reports to run automatically, and have them emailed regularly to account users. Lastly, TrueView also brings some of its other video features into AdWords, such as Earned Actions Reporting and Shared Library Tools.