04: YouTube

YouTube / Online Video

The vocabulary specific to video ads: most of it builds on the fundamentals, with a few YouTube-only formats.

TrueView: This is YouTube's original skippable ad format. You only pay if someone watches long enough, or clicks on it.

Skippable vs. Non-Skippable Ads: Skippable ads let a viewer skip after 5 seconds, and you only pay if they don't. Non-skippable ads have to be watched in full, and are usually priced on a CPM basis.

Bumper Ads: Very short (6-second) ads that can't be skipped. Built for getting your brand noticed quickly, not for telling a long story.

Content Targeting vs. Audience Targeting: Content targeting picks which videos your ad runs on; audience targeting picks which people see it, no matter what they're watching. YouTube runs through Google Ads, so it's covered by the same Election Ads verification and restricted-targeting rules as Google Search and Display. See the Search page for what that actually rules in and out.