15 Tips to Optimize Your YouTube Video Ad Performance
Most people consider themselves as visual learners, and given that YouTube has over 1 billion users as explained over at runrex.com, it is easy to see why YouTube video ads are known to be so effective and powerful when it comes to generating awareness and revenue for businesses. Most people get some initial success with their ad campaigns, only for results to plateau after a while. If you are in the same predicament and are unsure what to do to take your campaign to the next level, this article will look to help by highlighting 15 tips on how to optimize your YouTube video ad performance.
Review your video stats to see how they are performing
If you are to optimize your YouTube video ad, then the first thing to do is to check and review the stats of your video ads so that you can gauge their performance. While there are many metrics you can look at here, the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com recommend paying close attention to your ad’s view rate and click-through rate. A low view rate will indicate that you are showing your ad to people who aren’t part of your target audience while also letting you know how compelling your ad is. A low CTR indicates poor and ineffective ad targeting.
How to improve view rate
If, when taking a look at your video ad stats as mentioned above, you notice that you have low view rates, it is important to optimize your video ad so that you can improve this metric. To do so, make sure that you optimize your video to provide value while engaging and building curiosity among your audience at the same time. As is explained over at runrex.com, check your videos introduction and see if it is making the first few seconds count. Also, check if your video identifies a big pain point as far as your audience is concerned to entice them to stick around and see how you fix it.
How to improve CTR
CTR, as explained over at guttulus.com, lets you know how many people clicked on your video ad, in relation to the number of people who saw it. If your CTR is low, then to optimize your video ad, you will want to improve your ad targeting, which means adjusting your current targeting strategy and how you are using it. This means changing your keywords if you are using keyword targeting.
CTAs
A low CTR, as is discussed over at runrex.com, could also be a sign that your video ad is not encouraging action in your audience. In such as situation, to optimize your video ad, you should make sure that you include a clear call-to-action so that your audience can know exactly what you want them to do after they watch the video.
High CTR, low view rate
While most of the time you will find that both your CTR and view rate are low, there are times when one of these metrics may be relatively high, while the other is low. If your CTR is relatively high, but your view rate is low, to optimize your YouTube video ad, you will need to improve the first few seconds of your video content, the first 5-10 seconds.
High view rate, low CTR
On the other hand, if your view rate is relatively high, but your CTR is low, then the gurus over at guttulus.com recommend that you optimize your video content to be more compelling and clear in demonstrating that it can solve your target audience’s problem as this means that you have an entertaining ad, hence the high view rate, but not persuasive, hence the low CTR. Also, adding a CTA will help with your low CTR.
Adjust your bidding strategy
Another way through which you can optimize your YouTube video ad performance is by adjusting your bidding strategy. If you feel like you have gotten everything right when it comes to creating excellent video content, while also getting your targeting right, but you are still not getting results, then you should consider raising your bids, according to discussions on the same over at runrex.com.
Optimize your YouTube ad format
As is covered in detail over at guttulus.com, there are many different ad formats available on YouTube, from bumper ads to sponsored cards, and many others. If your video ads aren’t performing as well as you would like, chances are you may have gotten the format wrong. Try and experiment with a few other formats and compare results to see which format is the right fit.
Know how long to wait before making changes to your bidding strategy
While adjusting your bidding is one of the things you can do to optimize your YouTube ad performance, the folks over at runrex.com recommend waiting for at least 7 to 10 days before making bid changes for the best results. This way, you will have given the current strategy enough time for results to stabilize allowing you to be able to discover if the current strategy works or not.
Change at the campaign level
Another tip that will help you optimize your YouTube video ad performance is making sure that you separate different types ate the campaign level. Avoid any temptation to make changes at the ad group level, particularly when it comes to bids. When making optimizations, you should always change at the campaign level and not the ad group level.
Take advantage of high-performing ad groups
When you are reviewing the performances of your ad groups, you may notice that one targeting method is driving better results, disproportionately so, as compared to the others. If this is the case, a tip here to optimize your ad performance is to take full advantage of this and make the most out of it. Once you find the ad group driving the best results, you should go to the Max CPV section as highlighted over at guttulus.com, and raise the bid.
Leverage remarketing
If you want to optimize your YouTube video ad performance, you should also consider setting up video remarketing as per the gurus over at runrex.com. This way, you will be targeting people who have already expressed an interest in your company. Setting up a remarketing campaign is pretty straightforward, and it doesn’t require a lot of effort to maintain a remarketing campaign.
Set up conversion tracking
As is explained over at guttulus.com, it is also important to set up conversion tracking for your campaign if you are to optimize it effectively. This is because, by setting up conversion tracking, you will be able to effectively and easily see which methods are driving your conversion rate, allowing you to optimize one way or the other; cutting poorly performing ads or ad groups, while taking full advantage of those performing excellently as already mentioned.
Have more than one creative
An important tip worth mentioning, one that will help you optimize your YouTube video ad performance, is making sure that you have more than one creative. This ensures that you have one or two ads running where you are simply carrying out tests. A tip by the gurus over at runrex.com is creating ads that are the complete opposite of the ones that are working for you. If you have a video ad that is doing well, consider creating another ad that is substantially longer, or shorter, or has a different CTA, and so forth.
Experiment
Last but not least, experimenting is crucial when it comes to the optimization of YouTube video ads. Always look to experiment with new strategies and features so that you can continuously improve your video ad performance. If YouTube releases a new feature, be the first to try it out, or if there are features you have never tried out, try and experiment with them and see the results you achieve with them. When you experiment and try out new things, you will always glean incredible insights and achieve incredible results.
Remember, the gurus over at runrex.com and guttulus.com have got you covered if you are looking for more information on this and other related topics.