Video ads are critical to the success of your campaign and can increase your campaign performance. Upload video assets when you build your asset group to help make your ads eligible to run on additional video inventory. You can also create a video in the asset library or let Google AI create a video using your existing assets.
Video specifications
In addition to the requirements listed in the table below, all video assets must meet the following requirements:
- HD video for optimal quality
- MPG (MPEignored2 or MPEignored4) formats
- At least one vertical video between 10–60 seconds for Shorts eligibility
- Audio files like MP3, WAV or PCM files are not accepted on YouTube
| Ratio | Required | Recommended | Maximum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horizontal 16:9 |
✕ | 1 video, 10 seconds or longer | 5 horizontal videos | |
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| Vertical 9:16 |
✕ | 1 video, 10 seconds or longer | 5 vertical videos | |
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| Square 1:1 |
✕ | 1 video, 10 seconds or longer | 5 square videos | |
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If you don't add a video to your Performance Max asset group, then one or more videos may be auto-generated from the assets in your asset group. For Performance Max campaigns with Merchant Center, a video may also be generated based on the Merchant Center text and images provided in your feed. Google AI may also flip your uploaded videos to transform horizontal videos into square or vertical versions so that they may serve on YouTube Shorts.
If you don't have video assets and don't want to use the auto-generated videos, you can use the Google Ads video creation tool to create a video that you can use in your Performance Max campaign. Learn how to create a video using the asset library.
Want to build your own video?
If you don’t have a video asset and don’t want to use the auto-generated videos, you can use the Google Ads video creation tool to create a video for use in your Performance Max campaign. Advertisers may also upload a YouTube Shorts-eligible video (vertical format, greater than or equal to 10–60 seconds in length), which may be eligible to serve on YouTube Shorts. To learn how to create videos in Google Ads, visit Create a video using asset library.
Google may automatically resize your video ads to increase your performance by platform and improve ad strength. After you’ve created and uploaded your creative assets, horizontal videos may be scaled to square (1:1) or vertical (9:16) aspect ratios for YouTube Instream and YouTube shorts. Google will review each video to ensure that quality isn’t lost.
| Recommended |
Can also accept |
Additional information |
| Resolution | 1080p (Full HD) Recommended pixels (px) for HD: 1920 x 1080px (horizontal) 1080 x 1920px (vertical) 1080 x 1080px (square) |
For optimal quality, we don’t recommend using SD |
|
Aspect ratio |
16:9 for horizontal 9:16 for vertical 1:1 for square |
For optimal quality, we don’t recommend using SD |
| Format |
.MPG (MPEignored2 or MPEignored4) |
Can’t accept audio files like MP3, WAV or PCM files on YouTube |
|
File size |
≤256 GB | - |
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Ad length |
Video orientations and best practice ad lengths (1) horizontal ≥:10 (1) vertical ≥:10 (1) square ≥:10 |
We recommend having at least one vertical video between :10 – :60 for Shorts eligibility |
After you upload your assets, be sure to monitor how they’re performing. Wait about two to three weeks to check on your ad strength and asset group status, then evaluate if you need to replace low-performing assets. Learn more about Asset group best practices.
Flip video ads
Each video is reviewed before publishing to ensure that there are no issues, such as cropped text or logos, poor focus, loss of the original message and aesthetic intent from the video or legal disclaimer cut off. Flip video ads serve only when the source video’s privacy settings are either public or unlisted.
When your Flip video ad is added to the campaign, you can view it by visiting your Performance Max asset group or video action campaign. Learn more about Flip video ads.
Asset report
The asset report lists each asset used in a Performance Max campaign and allows you to compare performance across a variety of assets. You’ll need to set up a Performance Max campaign to view your asset report. Learn more About asset reporting in Performance Max.
Shorten video ads
Get shorter versions of your video ads without editing them yourself. Google AI intelligently selects key moments in your video and creates shorter versions while keeping your original’s video message and appearance. Additional versions of your video run automatically if they pass a quality review.
