Video ads have seen astounding growth so far. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, the video ad spends in the US is expected to be in the range of $15 to $17 billion in the first half of 2020. Any publisher who is not using video ads is missing on almost 50% of the total digital ads spend.
But, publishers who’ve never used video ads may find themselves in a state of confusion about where to start. The first question that comes to the mind is, “Where do I start from?”. Let us answer the question. In this post, we’ve compiled everything that you need to know as well as every step that you need to take to start using video ads.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Getting Started with Video Ads
You can monetize your site with multiple types of video ads. You have to finalize the types you want to use before starting the monetization. Here’s a quick description of the type of video ads that publishers use:
In-stream video ads: These video ads are delivered inside the video content, within a video player. On the basis of their position inside the video, they can be categorized as pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll video ads. The publishers who use in-stream either have their own video content or syndicated video content.
You may have also heard about linear and non-linear ads. The simplest difference between the two is that linear ads stop the video content while they’re being played. Whereas non-linear ads can be displayed while the content is being played because they appear as simple overlays above the video.
Out-stream video ads: These video ads don’t need video content or a video player. They can be played directly on a web-page. Most publishers use them to monetize their editorial content. Out-stream video ads are also of different types:
In-Banner Video: In-banner video ads are GIFs or video creatives embedded in the display banner ad slots. The demand for this format is negligible. It is not preferred in the industry due to its disruptive nature.
In-article Video: In-article video ads are delivered between the paragraphs of editorial content.
Native Video: Native videos are promoted videos with a headline, description, and context for the ad.
In-feed videos: In-feed videos are native video ads found in the content, social, or product feeds.
Interstitial video: Interstitial videos are the video ads that appear between two content pages.
What Do You need to Monetize Your Site with Video Ads?
Once you’ve finalized on using in-stream or out-stream video ads, it’s time for you to gather all the resources required for the implementation. Here’s what you need:
Video Player: A video player will be required by the publishers who are going to use the in-stream ads. The player will be used to play the content as well as the in-stream video ads. It will also be required by the publishers who are going to implement video header bidding. Whereas, the publishers who are planning to use out-stream ads can choose not to use a video player.
Ad server: Just like display ads, programmatic video ads are also delivered from an ad server. Publishers using in-stream or out-stream video ads need to have an ad server that supports video ads. Most publishers use Google Ad Manager to monetize their sites and it supports video ads too. So, if you are using GAM then you’re good to go.
Supply Side Platform: Supply-side platforms will help you in obtaining the demand for your video inventory. You need to find an SSP that can bring the demand for your required ad format. We, at Automatad, can connect you with all the top SSPs in the industry that can bring the best video ad demand for your site. Our partners include names like Pubmatic, AppNexus, OpenX, Rubicon, Sovrn, and many more. You can contact us directly and we’ll take care of the demand.
Ad ops team: The implementation of programmatic video ads can be a bit more complex than display ads. You’ll need experts to get started and keep things running smoothly in the future. Your ad ops team will integrate the demand sources with your ad server. It’ll also be responsible for tasks like troubleshooting discrepancies, implementing plugins (IMA SDK), monitoring campaigns, etc.
Pricing Methods for In-Stream and Out-Stream Ads
Video ads can offer you multiple pricing methods. Some of the popular pricing methods for video ads are:
Cost Per Impression (CPM): Just like display ads, you get paid for every thousand video impressions.
Cost Per Completed View (CPCV): You get paid only when the ad is completely viewed.
Cost Per View (CPV): You get paid only when an ad is played.
Viewable Cost Per Impression (vCPM): You get paid only for the ads that are considered as viewable. Just like CPM, the payment is made for every thousand viewable impressions.
Cost Per Interaction (CPI): You get paid only when a user interacts with the video.
How to Run Video Ads on Your Site?
So now that you know about everything that’s needed for programmatic video ads, let’s move towards the implementation process:
Outstream Ads
Outstream ads work just like display ads. Instead of banners, the ad unit delivers video ads. You have to make the ad unit capable of delivering video ads by choosing the sizes that can render video content. Here is how you do it with Google Ad Manager
Step 1: Create a video ad unit, add the code, name, and description for it.
Step 2: While selecting the sizes, choose the ones that support video ads. You will find the supported sizes in the “Video (VAST) sizes” drop-down menu.
Step 3: Carry out the rest of the process of creating an ad unit just like you do for display ads. You can add the sizes of your choice as well. It depends on the size of the video ads you will be serving.
Step 4: Create the line item for the ad unit. Select the VAST video sizes here as well.
Step 5: Select the ad unit in the Inventory section and define the targeting criteria if you have any.
Step 6: Define the ad creative in the Creative tab. Do not forget to choose “third-party tag” in the Add Creative section.
Step 7: Generate the tag and add it to your website.
For a detailed step by step guide, you can refer to our Google Ad Manager setup article
In-Stream Ads
In the case of in-stream ads, you have to integrate Google Ad Manager with your video player:
Step 1: Create a video ad unit.
Step 2: Select the video ad sizes.
Step 3: Generate the video ad tag.
Step 4: Paste the header tag in the head of your site and integrate the master tag with your video player.
Step 5: Set up a new order.
Step 6: Set up the line item.
Step 7: Define the targeting criteria. Use the content targeting options to set the position of your ads (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll).
Step 8: Connect Google Ad Manager with your Content Management System.
Step 9: Define your content source.
Step 10: Create ad rules.
Step 11: Add creatives to the video line items.
For a detailed guide, you can refer to How to Get Started with Google Ad Manager Video Ads?
What’s Next?
Video ads are the need of the hour. They provide you with higher CPMs than display ads. It’s important to know the right format before you get started. Once you’re done with the implementation, it’s better to keep constant monitoring and optimizing processes in place. You need to make sure that the ads are loading fast and the revenue is increasing.
