YouTube Announces Promoted Videos

Ryan Faria - December 17, 2008

Anyone who has ever conducted a search on YouTube knows that it’s quite possible to find a video on almost any subject matter.  Only recently, YouTube has recently announced the addition of promoted videos to their pay per click model.  

Much like Google Adwords, the YouTube promoted videos reach searchers by using keywords.  Advertisers can also add negative keywords to prevent their video from being seen next to undesirable videos or genres.  Promoted video ads have the same character length and character restrictions as a typical Adwords text ad; three lines of text with a maximum of 25 characters in the headline, and two lines of text with a maximum of 35 characters per line. 

YouTube promoted videos are subject to the same Google Adwords policies and procedures.  However, unlike Google Adwords, YouTube promoted video permits alcohol and liquor video advertisements.  Videos promoting competing sites, such as Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn or otherwise are prohibited to run within the promoted video section.

According to Google, over 13 hours of video content are uploaded every second, that being said, just uploading a video to YouTube is not enough.  A promoted video allows you to gain exposure for a very small price, due to the fact that the competition is so limited at the present time.  Once popularity of this program increases; the cost per click will likely increase.

With YouTube running a close second to Google in the number of searches performed, it is clear that YouTube is not going anywhere.  YouTube’s sponsored videos is not only a great opportunity for marketers to get in on the ground floor of video advertising, but also an opportunity to be a part of the next era of internet marketing.