Google introduces ads on YouTube Shorts

During this year’s Google Marketing Live conference, Google announced it would be rolling out ads on YouTube Shorts around the world. Advertisers will be able to see their ads automatically added to Shorts when they run video action campaigns as well as app campaigns. 

YouTube Shorts are short-form, vertical video content uploaded directly to YouTube from the YouTube app. The platform limits pieces to 60 seconds and allows creators to record succint, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones. Viewers can engage as they normally would on YouTube, including comment, like, share, and subscribing to a channel. A major benefit of Shorts is how easily discoverable they are. Viewers can find Shorts on the YouTube homepage, in their notifications, by checking their subscriptions, or featured on a channel. 

To date, the platform has generated around 30 billions views per day, which is four times more than last year. Google is leveraging this significant increase in views by introducing video action campaigns and app campaigns in YouTube Shorts. These ads will display a brief description, the advertiser’s name, as well as a call-to-action button. Google Ads Vice President and General Manager Jerry Dischler says, “The ads rollout is an exciting milestone for advertisers.” This update will allow advertisers to reach new audiences who are immersed in short-from video content.

Google has also revealed that it will be implementing a product feed feature within YouTube Shorts later this year. This feature will allow advertisers to display a scrollable list of products within their video ad campaigns, allowing users to shop from within YouTube Shorts. This aligns Google’s short-form content platform with its direct competitor, TikTok, which also features sponsored content between videos.

Video is a powerful direct-response format for many businesses and this new advertising opportunity may help marketers drive more conversions and improve performance by reaching new customers.

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