What Is Google’s New TrueView for Action Ads?

What Is Google’s New TrueView for Action Ads?

TrueView for Action is a new ad format from Google and it is based on TrueView in-stream ads and an extension of ‘custom intent audiences’.

In this article, you will explore this new product in detail.

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If you are already aware of TrueView in-stream ads and how they function, you will be able to straight away appreciate the new features of TrueView for Action ads.

However, I will begin with a brief background for starters.

Picture this.

A random person opens YouTube to watch a video and is presented with an ad promoting your product/service.

In all probability, you will be annoying them instead of creating interest in your brand and they will just skip it.

Now picture this.

A prospective customer of yours has got on Google and searched for a similar product/service you offer. He/she then goes to YouTube to watch a video.

That’s precisely when they get to watch your ad. Targeted advertising at its very best!

So far so good.

That’s how ads worked in YouTube until now.

Now, Google, as it always does, wanted to give you, the user, more power and more options to make your campaign more cost-effective and relevant to your prospective customers.

And that’s how TrueView for Action was born!

How Does TrueView for Action Ads Work?

As mentioned earlier, TrueView for Action ads work very similar to that of TrueView for in-stream ads.

As it’s based on ‘custom intent audiences’, you have to set up a video campaign on the AdWords interface.

You need to enter targeted keywords that your prospective customers are likely to use while searching for your product/service.

Targeting is then based on collecting search data of Google search engine users who have logged in at the time of performing the search for targeted keywords.

As of now, custom intent audiences for YouTube ads campaign in TrueView for Action format is available exclusively on AdWords. So it’s mandatory that you have an AdWords account to set this up.

Just like in-stream ads, TrueView ads will play just before the actual video that users like to watch on YouTube with an option to skip the ad after five seconds.

However, even after the video ad ends or is skipped, your CTA will continue to show along with the host video.

On mobile devices, your CTA will appear below the video and on desktops, it will appear on the right-hand side along with recommended videos.

The best part is, you can completely customize the length of the video and the content of your CTA.

The billing in done on a ‘Cost per View’ basis just like cost per click.

A ‘View’ is said to happen when a user watches your video ad for 30 seconds or the full video is it’s shorter.

Video interactions such as clicks on CTAs, card teasers, and other interactive features (discussed in the next section) are also considered as views.

Interactive Features in TrueView Ads

There are four interactive features in TrueView ads format that you can effectively leverage to accomplish various goals.

Let’s briefly check on them.

1. Cards

Cards are essentially links to multimedia rich content that can hosted on any eligible sites. A teaser is shown at a designated time and the user can view the card upon clicking the card.

You can customize the content in a variety of ways including adding custom CTA messages.

1. CTA Overlays

CTA overlays appear along with the host videos and continue to show until the user closes it. When they click the CTA, they will be directed to your site as indicated by the final URL you choose.

This is created either in AdWords or YouTube interface. However, for payments, you must have an AdWords account.

1. Shopping Cards

Shopping cards are set up using your linked Google Merchant Center account and work just like cards. Clicking on them will take the users directly to the shopping page with teaser about the product shown for a few seconds.

1. End Screens

There are two types of end screens: YouTube end screens and Auto end screens. Both the end screens are similar in that they appear at the end of your video and enable further interaction with your users by prompting them to take desirable actions.

They differ in that YouTube end screens are created using Creator Studio, auto end screens are automatically generated.

The Bottom Line:

Google has always been working on creating better products – both for search engine users and subscribed customers. And TrueView for Action ads is one such in their latest line. What’s more, since it’s based on PPC, there’s very little you need to learn so you can hit the ground running.

Let me know if you need further assistance with this Google’s latest offering or if you have any comments. I’d love to hear from you!