So long, ugly and confusing YouTube annotations. YouTube is now linking video ads in the same backend dashboard as Google Shopping, making it easy for businesses to have related products automatically linked in their videos. TrueView for shopping lets you showcase product details and images, both of which can linked directly to buy pages.
TrueView, in its standard form, lets viewers skip an ad after just five seconds. Advertisers pay only if the ad runs for at least 30 seconds.
Last month, YouTube released a feature called cards, which lets advertisers configure information – brand info, links, playlists and related videos – to appear as an overlay. Now, this content can run alongside or within the video itself.
TrueView for shopping is optimized for both desktop and mobile. Pricing on the new feature is a bit different. Advertisers will be charged for full views of video ads, or for clicks.
It looks like the feature will be relatively simple to configure by connecting a campaign with a Google Merchant Center feed. This is used to dynamically insert products into videos. It can also rely on demographics and locations to determine which products to show.
We’re not sure if this new feature will also use Google’s newly announced buy button, which is designed to let shoppers buy products directly from a product listing.
These latest updates to TrueView look promising. According to Google, Wayfair realized a three times revenue increase per impression during early tests.
While annotations are still active for videos, serious YouTube advertisers will likely want to ditch them for a more logical and interactive experience.
