{"id":9885,"date":"2023-06-13T13:45:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T13:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/"},"modified":"2023-06-13T13:45:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T13:45:49","slug":"youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/","title":{"rendered":"YouTube Ads ecommerce guide: When, how and why"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Several DTC ecommerce advertisers are doing admirably well with <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/create-effective-facebook-advertising-campaign-393070\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook Ads<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But I don\u2019t think any brand should depend on a single marketing platform.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve written before about how to <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/why-facebook-advertisers-should-test-performance-max-394217\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bring winning Facebook assets over to Google<\/a> using a Performance Max campaign that replicates the social experience as best as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I want to make a case for when, how, and why to consider YouTube Ads.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#What_to_know_before_you_begin\" >What to know before you begin<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#Why_YouTube_and_DTC_ecommerce_pair_well\" >Why YouTube and DTC ecommerce pair well<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#5_recommendations_for_new_YouTube_advertisers\" >5 recommendations for new YouTube advertisers<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#1_Know_what_youre_getting_into\" >1. Know what you\u2019re getting into<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#2_Understand_the_platform\" >2. Understand the platform<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#3_Adopt_the_right_mindset\" >3. Adopt the right mindset<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#4_Dont_try_too_much_at_once\" >4. Don\u2019t try too much at once<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#5_Use_your_own_attribution\" >5. Use your own attribution<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-when-how-and-why\/#YouTube_is_the_next_frontier_for_high-performing_ecommerce_brands\" >YouTube is the next frontier for high-performing ecommerce brands<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_to_know_before_you_begin\"><\/span>What to know before you begin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/how-youtube-algorithm-works-393204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a> is a unique platform \u2013 not truly search, not fully social. It\u2019s part of Google, yet it stands on its own. As a result, it\u2019s not easy to master.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p>Getting started with YouTube Ads? <br \/>Trying to uncover why results aren\u2019t better? <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned about running video campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>SEVEN things about YouTube Ads that I wish I knew sooner:<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PPCChat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#PPCChat<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoogleAds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#GoogleAds<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/YouTubeAds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#YouTubeAds<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ynLE2MQIwo\">pic.twitter.com\/ynLE2MQIwo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Menachem Ani (@MenachemAni) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MenachemAni\/status\/1656328602646986762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May 10, 2023<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I tackled this in <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/youtube-ads-lessons-learn-413480\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">7 important YouTube Ads lessons every media buyer should know<\/a>. If you don\u2019t want to click through, here\u2019s the gist.<\/p>\n<p>Facebook and Instagram combined great targeting with a captive audience to shorten the conversion cycle, spoiling other platforms for many advertisers. On YouTube, users either watch content they enjoy or learn how to do something.<\/p>\n<p>YouTube lets you target people based on something they searched for, but they\u2019re not actually searching for it at that moment. This intent lag, combined with the diversity of intent, means the \u201cnext step\u201d after YouTube has to be particularly compelling.<\/p>\n<p>A brand with a <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/youtube-channel-revive-thrive-427642\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robust organic YouTube program<\/a> will outdo one that\u2019s using the platform solely for advertising. They have high-quality content waiting for people who end up on their channel from an ad.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p>A7: It&#8217;s funny how many companies don&#8217;t leave their video ad variations unlisted on YouTube. A lot of times you can just go to their channel and see exactly what they&#8217;re advertising. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ppcchat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#ppcchat<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Joe Martinez (@MilwaukeePPC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MilwaukeePPC\/status\/1158780817826549762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 6, 2019<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For brand safety, you can opt out of sensitive categories at the campaign level. Paired with audience and interest targeting, you can effectively lock out people who shouldn\u2019t see your ads.<\/p>\n<p>Google leans heavily on automation, so you have to monitor your campaigns. Even with your targeting absolutely right, you still need to feed data back to Google to improve its decision-making.<\/p>\n<p>The reporting for video action campaigns is more in-depth and robust than many other Google campaigns, including Performance Max. You can take advantage of this to optimize quickly and intelligently.<\/p>\n<p>YouTube fits nicely into a wider marketing or media buying mix, whether you need a new platform to expand your audience or want to scale an existing campaign. But you can only succeed if you know and accept its limitations.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, here\u2019s why direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce brands should consider YouTube Ads.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_YouTube_and_DTC_ecommerce_pair_well\"><\/span>Why YouTube and DTC ecommerce pair well<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Remember the frame of mind people are in when they\u2019re browsing YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve got folks in theater mode, looking for a solution or catching up on content. And you\u2019ve got people scrolling through <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/youtube-shorts-quick-content-get-noticed-385649\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shorts<\/a>, similar to the endless scroll of social media.<\/p>\n<p>But unlike Facebook, ads on YouTube are interruptive. Whether they appear at the start of a video or in the middle, you\u2019re asking for attention when people would rather be doing something else.<\/p>\n<p>But if there\u2019s one thing DTC ecommerce advertisers are good at, it\u2019s thumb-stopping hooks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Ultimately, both platforms are about the retention graph. Like Facebook, YouTube shows you a chart of how many viewers stay on a video until the end. You\u2019ll want to refer to that chart and tweak your creatives accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>How do you get more people to stay to the end? Make your content more interesting. <\/p>\n<p>With a strong hook and compelling storyline, your \u201cad\u201d could be anything from a music video to a fix-it guide. <\/p>\n<p>As long as it\u2019s entertaining, people will watch videos several minutes in length because that\u2019s what they came to YouTube for.<\/p>\n<p>Another approach is to build around short-form, snackable content. Take your winning ads from Facebook, chop them up if they\u2019re longer than 60 seconds, and populate your channel with several organic Shorts. <\/p>\n<p>You can use these to start advertising (see below for how to set this up). Any content that does well organically should also do well in the ads platform and vice versa.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_recommendations_for_new_YouTube_advertisers\"><\/span>5 recommendations for new YouTube advertisers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to get things wrong on YouTube, from unrealistic expectations to expecting crystal clear attribution. But with the right approach, an already strong brand will likely be elevated further.<\/p>\n<p>Here are five things you should do to give your brand the best chance of achieving that.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Know_what_youre_getting_into\"><\/span>1. Know what you\u2019re getting into<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>YouTube has<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.youtube\/press\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> over 2.68 billion users<\/a>, making it the second-largest search engine behind Google. So once you\u2019ve tapped out other networks \u2013 Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and everything else \u2013 YouTube offers tremendous scale to diversify further.<\/p>\n<p><em>Note: Google\u2019s attribution is largely click-based, so you won\u2019t see as many reported conversions. Both your ROAS and CPA will be lower than you\u2019re accustomed to, while campaigns will need more time before you start seeing the results in post-purchase surveys.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Understand_the_platform\"><\/span>2. Understand the platform<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>YouTube Shorts is particularly interesting, but Google doesn\u2019t offer the ability to create a Shorts-only campaign. There are ways of getting past this \u2013 kind of.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Create a new video action campaign that targets only mobile devices. This somewhat forces the system to go only to mobile devices, and in that format, it tends to lean towards Shorts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to only provide vertical video assets shorter than 60 seconds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p>For everyone who wants to run ads on YouTube Shorts.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ppcchat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#ppcchat<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WNdX9bi9sz\">pic.twitter.com\/WNdX9bi9sz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Menachem Ani (@MenachemAni) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MenachemAni\/status\/1567179127605583873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">September 6, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Adopt_the_right_mindset\"><\/span>3. Adopt the right mindset<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>You won\u2019t get the same ROAS you do on Facebook, at least not the same reported ROAS. But it can provide a similar level of incremental revenue and scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Your approach must differ since YouTube is about creating awareness so other platforms can win more conversions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whatever revenue is reported by Google, know that it\u2019s just a drop in the bucket in terms of its incremental impact on your business.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Dont_try_too_much_at_once\"><\/span>4. Don\u2019t try too much at once<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you go in heavy with YouTube, there\u2019s a good chance you won\u2019t get any results. Start with one campaign and see how things go. YouTube is budget-intensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Without sufficient investment, there\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ll go months without seeing any scale. Or worse, pull the plug on what could have been a high-potential campaign.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Use_your_own_attribution\"><\/span>5. Use your own attribution<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s a strong chance you already use post-purchase surveys to ask customers where they first heard about your brand. This is a good way to find people who discovered you on YouTube but converted elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s self-identifying and not foolproof, so you may wish to consider tools like Northbeam or Triple Whale to measure impact. Just remember, no attribution is ever perfect.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"YouTube_is_the_next_frontier_for_high-performing_ecommerce_brands\"><\/span>YouTube is the next frontier for high-performing ecommerce brands<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I like to think of YouTube Ads clicks as the beginning of a beautiful journey.<\/p>\n<p>Some people go on to become website traffic and enter your remarketing campaigns. Some will join your email list. A few may not click or visit your site but think about you later and look for you by name, eventually entering your funnel via a branded ad.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, attribution and reporting aren\u2019t robust enough to track all that. So you\u2019ll need to be patient, trust in YouTube as well as your own creatives, and look for incremental correlation rather than causation. This means not testing out other platforms as you expand to YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>Keep in mind what YouTube means to people. It\u2019s a source of entertainment, an escape from reality. A place where people go to have their biases confirmed, problems are solved, and businesses and careers are made.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s only natural that users value their time there and have demanding attention spans.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019re sitting on winning assets that offer and align with what they\u2019re looking for, ignoring YouTube is as good as leaving money on the table.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/youtube-ads-ecommerce-guide-428130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube Ads ecommerce guide: When, how and why<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several DTC ecommerce advertisers are doing admirably well with Facebook Ads. But I don\u2019t think any brand should depend on a single marketing platform. I\u2019ve written before about how to bring winning Facebook assets over to Google using a Performance Max campaign that replicates the social experience as best as possible. Today, I want to make a case for when, how, and why to consider YouTube Ads. What to know before you begin YouTube is a unique platform \u2013 not truly search, not fully social. It\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9885\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}