As a marketer running YouTube ads, there are various ways to improve your ad’s effectiveness while reducing costs. One crucial factor that marketers may overlook is understanding how the Google Ads auction operates and which bid strategy is ideal for their specific needs.
What is the Google Ads Auction?
When it comes to advertising your video to a particular audience, there are other advertisers competing for that same audience. The Google Ad auction is the foundation of this entire process. Here’s how it works:
- Advertisers bid on specific actions they want viewers to take when they see their ad.
- Google evaluates the bids and ad quality to determine which ad to display to which viewer.
- Advertisers with the highest bid and ad quality score win the auction.
Understanding Bid Strategies
There are various bid strategies at play when it comes to YouTube ads, including:
- CPM bid strategy: where you spend a certain amount of money per thousand impressions.
- Cost-per-click strategy: where you optimize for clicks.
- Cost-per-view strategy: where you spend a specific amount of money for a view.
Two newer and more popular bid strategies that Google is prioritizing are:
- Max conversions strategy: where you instruct Google to get as many conversions as possible within your daily budget.
- Target CPA strategy: where you set a specific cost-per-action goal (e.g., $10 per lead or $30 per purchase) and let Google handle the rest.
Understanding Ad Quality
The other half of the equation that comes into play is the ad quality. Google prioritizes ad engagement and quality to ensure a positive user experience. The ad quality is measured by a quality score, which evaluates how relevant and useful the ad and website are to viewers.
Factors that influence ad quality include:
- View rate: how many impressions turn into views.
- Click-through rate: how many people click your ad.
- Content of your ad: keep the language accurate and avoid making sketchy claims.
Optimizing Your YouTube Ads
By understanding the Google Ads auction and choosing the right bid strategy for your needs, you can optimize your YouTube ad performance and get the most out of your advertising budget. Some tips:
- Improve your video content, enhance your offer, and refine your targeting.
- Choose the bid strategy that aligns with your goals.
- Optimize your ad quality to ensure relevance and usefulness to viewers.
By understanding the Google Ads auction and choosing the right bid strategy for your needs, you can optimize your YouTube ad performance and get the most out of your advertising budget.
If YouTube ads is something you or your business are interested in but not sure where to take that initial first steps then you will want to check out our 2023 YouTube Incubator program.
We spend 3 days taking you from writing your video ad script, shooting your video ad, researching your perfect audience to launching your YouTube campaign.
