YouTube is improving its ad controls that are meant to “optimize
creator revenue” and make ad placement more effective. The new ad control
options will be rolled out some time in November.
As a result of improved ad control, content creators on
YouTube will no longer need to manually select ad formats (pre-roll, post-roll,
skippable, and non-skippable ads), as YouTube will simplify the process by determining
relevant ads for viewers. This will “both maximize revenue and ensure a
positive viewing experience,” says YouTube.
It is important to note that over 90 percent of the videos
on YouTube already have various ad options enabled by default, which means that
most creators wouldn’t notice the update.
On the other side, since the update will result in mid-roll ads in some videos, many users may find it disruptive and annoying. The new ad control settings, however, will be applied on new uploads only, therefore the ad formats displayed in all previous videos will remain unchanged.
Explaining the insights related to different ad formats,
YouTube adds that non-skippable ads account for greater creator revenue and
only less than 1 percent decline in watch time, as compared to absence of these
ads. Similarly, re-roll ads enabled along with multiple combinations of all
other ad formats have contributed to over 15 percent greater ad revenue and less
than 5 percent decrease in watch time compared to when pre-roll ads were
disabled.
In a nutshell, therefore, including various ad formats in
your videos as a creator will yield more money for you without significantly
impacting your engagement statistics.
In another similar announcement, YouTube conforms that livestream creators on its platform will also be able to access a variety of new ad formats, including optimized mid-roll frequency, self-selected mid-roll frequency, and live display ads. A new Delay Ads button will also be available for streamers, that will let them delay mid-roll and live display ads for 10 minutes, so as to avoid having to cut viewers off during a critical moment of streaming. Additionally, streamers will be able to manually insert a mid-roll ad at any time.
