Video ads tips and tricks (part 2 of 3)

Last week, we covered what it takes to develop a rich and engaging video ad. Now, in the second of three posts, Bismarck returns to talk about the types of metrics that can be tracked and optimized in order to maximize success.

Since Google AdWords allows for real-time ad reporting and optimization, we want to make sure that you take advantage of the flexibility to improve your ads and media mix -- and get more out of your advertising campaigns.

Here are several things that you may want to consider while managing your account:

• Watch that play rate: If you find that your play rates start falling off, it probably means that the same users are seeing your opening image and don’t want to rewatch your video. If this is the case, try adding new video ads to your campaigns. If producing new video ads is not possible, then at least consider alternating between new opening images. You can also extend the reach of your campaign by either adding more sites with site targeting or new keywords that we can use to target your ads contextually.

• Bid for Impressions: When you bid on a CPC (cost-per-click) basis, our technology tries to maximize the number of clickthroughs you’ll receive. If your ad fully conveys your message without requiring the user to click through to your site, this could lower your overall quality score and in turn signal our system to not serve your ad. With CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) bidding, you assign a value to a user seeing your ad – our system then optimizes delivery in order to show the ad to more people. CPM bidding helps you maximize your exposure across sites in the Google content network.

• Exclude irrelevant placements: By using negative keywords and the site exclusion tool you can block your ads from showing up alongside content that may not fit with your specific marketing objectives.

• Focus on playback metrics: You probably want to increase the total amount of time that your audience spends engaging with your brand. By maximizing the duration and number of plays your video ads receive, you can achieve this goal. CTR (clickthrough rates) are important, but you shouldn’t weed out placements or sites based solely on an ad’s clickthrough rate.

Be sure to tune in next week for our final post in this series which will cover some of the campaign settings you should look at when creating a campaign.

Posted by Sarah, Inside AdWords crew