Create YouTube video views line items

YouTube & partners video views line items help you get more views for your YouTube & partners ads at a lower cost by showing your ads in the places they perform best.

YouTube & partners video views line items simplify the views buying experience. You set the average bid amount that you’re willing to pay for a view and we’ll automatically find as many views as we can using skippable in-stream video ads, in-feed video ads, and Shorts video ads.

• Set your line items up easily with a simplified process, as you no longer need to think about formats and format combinations.
• Get more potential views for the same budget, as your videos can serve on various ad formats.
• Build brand consideration by showing your ads when viewers are browsing and discovering, watching long-form content, and enjoying and discovering short-form content.

How video views works

Some YouTube ads perform better when using certain ad formats. YouTube & partners video views line items use multi-format video ads, which mix and match your YouTube ads across multiple ad formats to determine where they perform best.

If you don't want to use multi-format video ads, you can still use skippable in-stream ads or in-feed video ads in separate ad groups. Using different ad groups with the same settings can result in your ads competing with each other and lower the total number of potential views your line item can receive. 

Using multi-format video ads ensures that your ads will serve on all formats, in one ad group, maximizing the total number of views you can get.

Ad formats

• Skippable in-stream ads: A view is counted when a user watches your video ad for at least 30 seconds (or until the end of the ad, if it’s less than 30 seconds), or engages with your video.
• In-feed video ads: A view is counted when a user watches your video ad in autoplaying state for at least 10 seconds (or until the end of the ad, if it’s less than 10 seconds), or clicks the thumbnail to watch the video ad.
• Shorts ads: A view is counted when users watch the video ad for at least 10 seconds (or until the end of the ad, if it’s less than 10 seconds).

Learn more About YouTube ad formats.

Bidding 

The bid strategy for YouTube video views is Target cost-per-view (CPV). You set the average amount you're willing to pay for each view your line item receives.

From the Target CPV you have set, we'll optimize bids to help get as many views as possible. Some views may cost more or less than your target. Learn more about cost per view (CPV) bidding.

Create a YouTube & partners video views line item

Create your line item

1. Start in an existing insertion order or create a new one. 
2. In your insertion order, click New line item.
3. Pick YouTube & partners video. 
4. Enter the following information for your line item:
   • Name for your line item.
   • Select Product and brand consideration as the objective
   • Select Video views as the line item subtype. Video views combines skippable in-stream ads, in-feed ads, and Shorts ads. 
     • The box Use multiple formats, including Shorts ads will be checked by default. 
       Unchecking this box will disable multi-format video ads and your line item's bid strategy will be maximum cost-per-view (Maximum CPV), rather than Target CPV. Your line item will not be able to use Shorts ads, and your average cost-per-view may be higher.
5. Click Next. The Ad format section will be filled out based on your line item subtype selections. If you choose to Include in-feed and Shorts ads, you’ll have the option to deselect individual ad formats. Excluding ad formats may impact your cost-per-view.

Configure your line item's settings

6. Review the Targeting section, you'll see that the inventory source and device targeting are set automatically. You can click Add targeting to set other line-item level targeting options. Additional types of targeting are available in the line item's ad groups.   

   Device targeting and bid adjustments

   Device targeting allows you to target your ads to people based on the device they're using. Click the pencil icon  to edit, and ensure the box is checked for the devices you’d like to include in targeting. 

   If you want to bid a different amount for views on each device type, click the pencil icon to edit device targeting, then click Advanced settings to set targeted bid adjustments for tablets, smartphones, computers, and connected TVs.

   Example: If your standard bid is $0.10 CPV but you want your bid for smartphone views to be $0.12 CPV, you could set a smartphone bid adjustment of 20%. 

   Line items with advanced operating system, device model, or carrier/network targeting are only eligible to serve on smartphone or tablet devices. 

   Nuances of YouTube targeting

   Unlike other types of line items, targeting for YouTube & partners line items can be set at two different levels: the line item level and the ad group level. Learn more about targeting options for YouTube & partners line items.

   Any default targeting set at the insertion order or campaign level will not be applied to your YouTube & partners line items.

7. Configure your line item's settings:
   • Flight dates: Pick custom dates or use the same dates as the line item's insertion order.
   • Budget and pacing: Set your budget and how quickly it will be spent. After you save the line item, you can't change between daily and flight, but you can update the budget amount. 
   • Bid strategy: If you disabled multi-format video ads, enter the line item's bidding settings based on the ad format you're using. 
   • Frequency cap: (Optional) Set the line item's frequency cap. Learn more about frequency caps in Display & Video 360.
8. (Optional) Add related videos to your line item. This adds a list of related videos below a YouTube ad.
9. (Optional) Select any Floodlight activities you want to use to count conversions.

Create your ad group and ads

10. Click Create new ad group to set up an ad group for your line item:
    1. Enter a name for your ad group.
    2. If you disabled multi-format video ads, select either the skippable or in-feed video ad format. Learn more about YouTube ad formats.
    3. Click Add targeting to configure ad-group level targeting. Learn more about targeting options for YouTube & partners line items.
    4. In the "Bid strategy" section, enter a target cost per view bid to set the average amount you're willing to pay for each view your line item receives. If you disabled multi-format video ads, enter a maximum cost per view bid to specify the maximum amount you're willing to pay for an individual view of an ad in your ad group.
    5. Click Create new ad to pick a YouTube video to use as a creative and set the landing page:
       1. Enter a name for your ad.
       2. Search for a YouTube video or paste a YouTube URL in the “Video” field. The ad format is automatically determined and is displayed in “Preview”.
       3. (Optional) In the “Preview” section, perform any of the following to preview your ad:
          • Click the All formats dropdown to change the preview by ad format.
          • Select a network to view how ad formats are shown on different channels.
          • Select a device icon to show a preview of your ad on different devices.
          • Click Preview ad on YouTube to see a live preview of your ad on YouTube.com.
          • Click Copy link to copy the URL of your ad that will appear on YouTube. Clicking the arrow beside this link opens a panel where you can set a video to play after the ad you’ve created.
       4. Under “Companion banner”, choose between No companion banner or Upload my own image option.
       5. Enter the display URL and landing page URL for your ad. The destination URL can be other pages on YouTube or another website.
       6. (Optional) Enter the text for your call to action, which can contain up to 10 characters including spaces. The CTA should be a compelling action that directs users to the website specified in your landing page URL.
       7. (Optional) In the “Headline” field, enter a 15-character headline (including spaces) that promotes your product or service.
       8. Enter the text for your long headline and description. The long headline is the first line of your ad and appears instead of your headline in some cases and can be up to 90 characters. The description adds to the long headline and provides additional context or details and can be up to 70 characters. Long headline and description don’t show in all ad formats.
       9. (Optional) For skippable ads, you may set up third-party click tracking under “Click tracker URL”. The click tracker must redirect to the same URL as your landing page URL. If you’re using Campaign Manager 360, you can select an existing tracking ad you'd like to use to see enhanced metrics in Campaign Manager 360.
       10. Click Create ad.
    6. If you'd like to use multiple ads, click Create new ad again and repeat the steps above. If you use multiple ads, Display & Video 360 will optimize ad rotation based on views.
    7. Click Create ad group.

11. (Optional) If you'd like to use multiple ad groups, click Create new ad group and repeat the steps above.

    Reasons for using multiple ad groups

    It can be useful to use multiple ad groups within the same line item if you have one budget that can be allocated across:

    • Different audiences within the same YouTube & partners line item.
    • Different maximum costs per view within the same YouTube & partners line item.
    • Different kinds of targeting without limiting scale.
      Example: You could use audience targeting in one ad group and content targeting in another ad group
    • Different ad formats.

12. Click Create to save your new line item.

Limitations

• Videos for YouTube shorts must be 5 seconds or longer. Ads longer than 60 seconds will loop in the Shorts environment, and an option to click out to the Watch page to see the full video will appear at the 50 second mark.
• Third-party measurement support is limited for YouTube & partners video views line items. Reach out to your measurement partner contact for more information.