Mist Network
How to Run YouTube Ads: Formats, Targeting and Budget Guide
YouTube ads are run through Google Ads and, set up properly, bring both awareness and sales. We walk through formats, targeting, budget and the metrics to watch, step by step.
To run YouTube ads, create a video campaign in your Google Ads account (or a Demand Gen or Performance Max campaign that also covers YouTube), upload your ad video to your YouTube channel and choose your audience and budget. Your ad appears before, during or alongside videos, and you usually pay per view or per thousand impressions.
This guide covers ad formats, setup steps, targeting, budget and how to read the results.
YouTube ad formats
| Format | How it appears | Typically used for |
|---|---|---|
| Skippable in-stream | Before or during a video; can be skipped after a few seconds | Sales, leads, traffic and awareness |
| Non-skippable in-stream | Short video that cannot be skipped | Campaigns where the whole message must be seen |
| Bumper | Very short, non-skippable video | Reminders and broad reach |
| In-feed | Thumbnail in search results and recommendations | Views of a video or channel |
| Shorts ads | Vertical video in the Shorts feed | Reaching mobile and younger audiences |
Step by step: your first YouTube campaign
- Link your channel — connect your YouTube channel to Google Ads and upload the ad video (it can be unlisted).
- Set up conversion tracking — measure target actions such as purchases or form fills with the Google Ads tag.
- Choose the campaign goal — sales, leads, website traffic or brand awareness.
- Choose the campaign type — a video campaign; for conversions, Demand Gen or Performance Max also serve on YouTube.
- Set targeting — location, language, audience segments, interests and, if needed, specific channels.
- Budget and bidding — set a daily budget and a bid strategy that matches the goal.
- Create the ad — add the video, landing page URL, headline and call to action.
Targeting: showing the ad to the right people
- Custom segments — people who searched certain terms on Google or visited certain kinds of sites.
- Remarketing — people who already saw your site or videos; usually the most efficient audience.
- Interests and life events — for example people moving house or getting married.
- Placements — specific channels or videos; choosing too narrowly cuts reach.
Budget and measurement
Costs on YouTube vary with goal, audience and competition. For conversion campaigns, the daily budget during the learning phase should cover several conversions. We explain how to set it in how to set an ad budget.
- View rate and CPV — show how engaging the video is.
- Conversions and cost per conversion — the real metric for sales or lead campaigns.
- View-through conversions — people who watched the ad and converted later without clicking; review them separately.
Common mistakes
- Reusing a TV spot as is — YouTube needs a different edit for the first seconds and mobile viewing.
- Launching without conversion tracking — smart bidding has nothing to optimise for.
- Over-narrow targeting — reach drops and cost rises.
- Testing a single video — try at least two or three different openings and messages.
Let's run your YouTube ads together
mistBOOST sets up your YouTube campaigns in Google Ads and manages targeting, video edit suggestions and conversion measurement. Choosing between Google and Meta? Read Google Ads or Meta ads, and for e-commerce how to run Google Shopping ads. Share your goal and budget: get a free quote.
