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14 Comments

What's up with YouTube Ads?

Hey guys,

I'm new to here, so bear with me here, but spent a couple of weeks learning about Google Ads and had some positive effects in terms of ROI.

So I thought that similar principles would apply if I want to advertise on YouTube (no search/display, just in-stream stuff). I thought I am going to start with targeting very specific videos on the site (and skip keywords in this case altogether), as I have found (or so I thought) perfect videos to put the ads on.

Started with 3, then expanded to 80 videos as I just wanted focus on people who view this specific content.

Worked and reworked the Ad, had some views but the numbers in terms of clicks were tragic (one day: $20 budget, 680 impressions, 18% view rate, 1 click). Seemed weird with advertising on content so well matched to customer need. Or so I thought.

What do I miss about advertising on YouTube? I'm wondering if I should pursue this channel any further - rework the Ad, play with other placements, etc, or maybe it's just not well suited for my case?

Wondering what is everyone's experience with this. Thanks!

BTW. I'm working on https://meet.cam/

  1. 2

    In-stream ads work only for brand awareness, not for conversions.

    1. 1

      Hey @RaygunTec,

      Thanks for the comment!

      I understand what you're saying, but here's the full context: we're doing sort of an add-on for zoom, right? It displays things like countdown, a timer, or bunch of other things - injects it into camera stream.

      People are looking for how to achieve something like what we're giving with other tools, so there are YouTube how-to videos explaining how to do it.

      I thought: that's a perfect spot - people already know what they want, just don't know how to do it and here's a video that explains complicated way to do it, so naturally it makes sense for me to display an add for my product, right?

      So I've compiled a list with the most popular of such videos.

      I wonder what are the characteristics that make it so brand-awareness focused in this case and why it won't work.

      -Zbigniew

      1. 2

        I think it would be more efficient if you upload your video on youtube and then run discovery youtube ads on that video(it will be displayed in search results and recommended videos) with appropriate keywords. It will probably be cheaper as well.

        1. 1

          Interesting, will give it a try, thanks!

      2. 2

        Thanks for the detailed reply. Now that I know the full context, I agree that it makes more sense to place an ad there. Maybe it's just a banner blindness issue.

  2. 2

    Compared to Google display and search traffic, YouTube traffic is usually more expensive (CPMs are higher). This is because more advertisers use YouTube for driving brand awareness. It might be worth concentrating on Search first.

    1. 1

      Sounds good, thanks for pointing that out!

  3. 2

    What does your promoted video ad look like?
    also you can't expect results after running your ads for only one day!

    1. 2

      Sure thing, I only shared stats for one day, but have been running those ads for ~1 week. Is that too short too?

      The ad is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKMqWqw2i-Q

      This is obviously just a start, by no means something I am even close to be satisfied with, but the goal was to see whether it makes sense or not for the short-term to invest time in YouTube Ads.

      Curious to hear what your thoughts are, @orliesaurus!

      1. 2

        I am going to be as honest as possible, I had never heard of you company before today when I clicked on your advert.
        As soon as the page load this is what happens inside my head.

        🤔🙄❓

        Using a fake voice + a loud background noise + a super sped up script (5 words a second hahaha )isn't gonna make people wanna click.

        Now 2 minutes later I am writing this post, what do I remember from your ad? A laptop with some faces in it. Nothing you said... Sorry I'm being real.

        Basically it's almost like using paint.exe to remove something from a picture when you should be using photoshop. You gotta do better with your ads

        1. 1

          Hey, all good points, appreciate the honesty!

          No question this Ad requires LOTS of work.

          So you're point is that if I do a really enticing ad, the results should come, as the rest of my thinking around YouTube Ads being the right acquisition strategy for my use case still holds up?

          1. 2

            Look up Sasquatch soap ads, or "and collar" ads https://m.facebook.com/andcollar/videos/714991506033964/

            ...sure they take more time but they're amazing.

            Also look at lemonade instagram s feed where they drop everything in their purplepink paint

            Another amazing resource is sandwich videos in LA... Here is my favorite by them https://sandwich.co/work/knock/

  4. 2

    Hello zbigiew ,

    1st...you never said how long you had the video up...or your number of backlinks connected with your actual product .

    Youtube is a search engine - yet , you have to figure out what is the plan to bring users there....its a destination...not a starting point

    I have been researching this topic as I have a product that will look great on youtube - and it is a logical place to start - however...the real starting point is other search engines....and I mean more than google , bing & yahoo

    https://mashable.com/2007/10/22/140-search-engines/

    The keywords are the breadcrumbs that lead them through the dark forest to your cabin -

    you must remember as well Google is NOT the favorite search engine of every country
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_search_engines#Geographically_localized

    Secondly , I can also tell you did not respect the power of the YT preroll program..

    Take time and develop your keyword..AND location targeting

    Go back and do the keyword work + GOGGLE KEYWORD PLANNER .

    Then research where zoom's & other video chat platforms biggest users are...what cities ...geotarget your YT ads to those locations.

    Now that ...thats out of the way....I have a question....are you guys crazy ?

    If you actually had video chat...you would be better than a lot of new videochat apps that are coming on the market .

    Zipcall was acquired at 250 k users
    https://github.com/ianramzy/decentralized-video-chat

    Your missing the boat - zoom & the others are nice..but bare bones - Your product is very useful...and could be more if you actually had a video chat element .

    You made your product page cute , warm & fuzzy .

    Not a must have , because it will save my job & therefore my ass ....and I wont be homeless and hungry during these crazy & hard economic times type of product .

    Re : Agenda , Card Stack , Bullet Points & Sidenotes

    Many people are under increased scrutiny from their jobs , because now they work remotely - video meetings are now very cutthroat - this tool could help them in sooo many ways .

    I would have used some of the space on the page to show my users -
    How downloading & using my video tool , to become more organized , productive and ready for meetings where people are always trying to throw me under the bus - is the right choice to make..ie...& therefore my ass wont be homeless and hungry during these crazy & hard economic times ., because i was smart enough to use MeetCam

    Make a video for your product page - showing users how those 4 features could help them in a meeting with the boss. -

    Your missing a huge revenue stream by not having your own version of video chat ...I would highly recommend going to https://github.com/

    and search for a videochat script with an MiT license and create a videochat product of your own ...make an A/B version...one with video chat .

    then make it an app

    P.S.
    Get rid of the snow - it's a lifejacket , not a fuzzy cat toy
    ( and dont forget to make me a large donation when you get acquired )

    wishing you all the best in 2021

    SuperVillain

    1. 1

      Hey @SUPERViLLAiN,

      Thanks for taking the time to post such detailed post, kind words, definitely lots of good ideas and appreciate specific links.

      While becoming another video chat platform is an interesting play, it seems quite high mountain to climb to acquire critical mass of users by bringing them over from another platforms vs being platform agnostic, at least initially.

      -Zbigniew

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