Content
YouTube Advertising Guide for eCommerce
April 3, 2023
July 3, 2025
16min
YouTube is twice as likely as other platforms to serve as a platform for product and brand research, and viewers rate YouTube ads for eCommerce as 16% more trustworthy and honest than other video and social platforms.
In 2025, the approaches to creating advertising campaigns on YouTube underwent major changes. Google has announced a complete transition from Video Action Campaigns (VAC) to new Demand Gen Campaigns, which combine video advertising and image formats in one set of tools. What does it mean for YouTube marketing for eCommerce? Find out in our comprehensive YouTube marketing guide.
These campaigns use the power of AI to find customers who are not yet looking for your product but may be interested, and have flexible tools to optimize for sales.
Demand Gen supports the connection of a product feed (Merchant Center) - products from your catalog can be displayed directly in the ad, giving the user the opportunity to see the assortment at once.
In addition, Google AI helps to place ads where they will get more views and clicks, so the campaign can show your videos both on YouTube itself and on partner video resources.
In this guide, we'll take you step-by-step through the formats of YouTube advertising, how to create a campaign - from setting up a budget to targeting - as well as how to build performance analytics and take your results to the next level in 2025.
Different YouTube ad formats match different YouTube marketing goals:
Videos shown before, during, or after content.
Viewers can skip the ad after 5 seconds.
Payment: when the user watches ≥30 seconds or until the end (for shorter ones); also per click - CPV.
Ideal for eCommerce video ads: skippable in-stream with a length of 15-30 seconds, with a clear offer and a button. If possible, adapt the video to 16:9 and 9:16, because now YouTube often shows in-stream videos vertically on mobile. The algorithm can automatically flip or crop your video if the “video enhancements” feature is enabled in Demand Gen. Or create a shorter vertical version from a horizontal video for Shorts.
This is a “burst” of advertising, designed more for frequency and memorability than for clicks. When to use: for remarketing or branding, when you need to repeatedly remind people about a brand.
For eCommerce: bumpers are useful as part of a funnel campaign. For example, you first show a 20-second video with the brand's history (a pass-through), and then catch up with the same users with bumpers with different products or messages. This format is cheap in terms of CPM, and you can get a large number of impressions.
Shorts are vertical videos of up to 60 seconds, analogous to TikTok, which are growing rapidly. In 2024, Shorts received more than 70 billion views per day.
Shorts ads look almost like a regular short video: they are vertical, can last 10-60 seconds, and are labeled “Ad” and have a button (for example, “Read More”). Users can scroll through it like a regular Short, so the first seconds are critical - the content should seem native and interesting from the first frame.
Google Ads even allows you to separately disable or enable display on Shorts, meaning that you can create a specialized campaign for Shorts only to optimize its performance in detail.
This is a new advertising format that is shown when the user pauses the video (on the home screen after pressing “pause”).
These ads are static (images), appear ~10 seconds after the pause and disappear as soon as playback resumes or the user closes them.
Select the goal according to your business objectives:
Campaigns for traffic generation: If your priority is to attract visitors to your website or landing page, choose the Traffic goal when creating a video campaign. Such campaigns are optimized for clicks (Maximize Clicks or Target CPC). The formats can be similar to conversion formats (skippable in-stream, video in a feed), but the algorithm is aimed at those users who are more likely to click on the link.
For example, an online electronics store can launch a Traffic campaign with gadget review ads to drive users to read detailed specifications on the site. It is important to have a prominent CTA button (“Find out the price”, etc.) in such ads.
Brand campaigns (for recognition and reach): Their task is to maximize the widest possible reach and increase brand awareness. This is where Video Reach Campaigns (VRC) come to the fore - formats for reach and frequency of display. They allow you to show short commercials to a large audience at a low cost per view. Available options: Efficient Reach (optimizing reach for a budget), Target Frequency (controlling the frequency of impressions per user), or 6-second bumpers and other in-stream formats for wide display. According to Strike Social, the CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) of VRC campaigns can be up to 41% lower than standard TrueView campaigns if properly optimized.
For example, a premium clothing brand can launch a 15-second image spot focusing on brand values to build quality associations. While such campaigns do not directly generate sales, they create demand at the top of the funnel, which can then be converted by remarketing.
Remarketing campaigns: Another important category is advertising to an audience that has already interacted with your business. These can be those who have visited your website (GA4 or Google Ads remarketing list), added a product to the cart, or viewers of your YouTube channel. The goal is to catch up with these warm users and convince them to complete the purchase.
For example, a cosmetics brand can show short product reminder videos to those who have watched a review on their website or abandoned their cart. Short formats are great for remarketing: bumper ads with a special offer, or ads with influencer reviews. Experience shows that although the cost per click in remarketing may be slightly higher, the conversion rate is much better because the audience is already familiar with the brand.
In 2025, Google Ads has significantly expanded the possibilities of audiences: similar audiences (Lookalike or Similar) can now be built even from 100 users in the original list, which is especially useful for small stores - you can find YouTube viewers similar to your customers. Remarketing campaigns are usually set up as separate video campaigns with audience targeting (your list), but you can use any type of ad - both short and longer ones with CTAs.
Campaigns for product launches: When you are preparing to launch a new product or collection, it is worth planning a launch campaign. It combines elements of brand advertising and traffic/lead generation in a short time. The YouTube marketing strategy can be as follows: before the launch date, launch teasers for outreach (for example, countdown ads that show “new product coming soon” 1 week before the launch), on the launch day, reserve Masthead or other mass formats on the YouTube homepage to maximize publicity.
In 2025, YouTube is actively developing Shorts and social integrations, so it makes sense to use short videos for launches: for example, a 15-second vertical video with a challenge hashtag that users can pick up. Influencer support is also important: partnerships with popular YouTube creators at the time of launch (reviews, unboxings, live broadcasts) will enhance the effect. Such campaigns usually don't pay off on the day of launch, but they create a wave of interest that converts into sales in the following weeks.
In Google Ads, you can choose the goal of “Brand Awareness and Reach” or “Interest in Brand and Product” so that the algorithms optimize impressions for your launch. And after the launch, you can connect remarketing to those who interacted with the launch ads to lead them to purchase.
You should also read:
Where Clients Come From: Traffic Analysis in Google Analytics 4
Cohort Analysis in eCommerce: Why You Need It and How to Create One
Where Clients Come From: Traffic Analysis in Google Analytics 4
How to Choose a Bidding Strategy in Google Ads
Promodo Feed Optimizer: How the Ad Customization Tool Works in Meta Ads
Demand Gen Campaign - includes video formats, images, carousels, Shorts, Discover, Gmail, etc.
Budget types:
Daily budget. Determines the amount that the system can spend per day. Google sometimes exceeds this limit (up to 2×), but within the average value for the month. Recommended for campaigns without clear time limits or with long-term goals.
Total budget. It is set for the entire campaign period. The platform distributes funds evenly between days. Recommended for promotions, limited-time campaigns, launches, sweepstakes, or seasonal promotions.
Tip: For short-term campaigns (e.g., 7-10 days), it is better to set a total budget to avoid a lack of impressions on peak days.
Bidding strategies:
In 2025, most strategies are automated - they are selected by Google AI according to the campaign goal. Here are the main options for Demand Gen campaigns:
Maximize Clicks. The system automatically adjusts the bids to attract the highest number of clicks. Suitable for increasing traffic to a website, promo page, or blog.
Maximize Conversions - maximum conversions. The same as in Video campaigns, but in Demand Gen, it works on all surfaces: Shorts, Discover, Gmail, banners, and videos.
Target CPA - target price per conversion. An effective option if you have a stable conversion history in Google Ads or GA4.
Target ROAS (target return on assets). The most advanced strategy: you set the desired profitability (for example, ROAS 400%), and Google optimizes impressions for the expected income. It works only if you have a proper e-commerce connection and transfer the value of conversions.
Demand Gen: coverage of YouTube (including Shorts, In-Feed), Discover, Gmail and Display Network.
Select the countries or regions where your ads will be shown, as well as the languages of your audience. It is important to take into account the time zone of the campaign when planning the schedule.
Specify the dates and time slots for publication - especially important when you have a limited budget or for geo-dependent disruption. This is set in the Ad schedule settings.
It is recommended to set a frequency cap of 2-3 impressions per user/day to prevent ad fatigue.
Exclude unwanted content: sensitive topics, specific channels, or videos to protect your brand.
Divide into groups: demographics, interests, keywords, or channel locations.
Demand Gen creates asset groups - each group combines videos, images, headlines, and targeting.
Video campaign: add YouTube URL, CTA, title, description, companion banner.
Demand Gen: Upload video (horizontal/vertical/square), images, titles, description, logo, URL, and CTA.
This stage is the key to precise targeting. It allows you to not just show the video to “anyone” but to deliver the advertising message to those who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
The correct name will help you quickly navigate your Google Ads account, especially if you have several campaigns at the same time.
Recommended template: [Type]_[Format]_[Target]_[Period]
For example: YT_Video_Shoes_Traffic_Q3_2025
Google Ads allows you to choose where your video will be shown. In 2025, most settings in Video Campaign are combined by default:
YouTube Search Results - for in-feed ads.
YouTube Videos - for in-stream, bumper, etc.
Video Partners on the Display Network - websites and apps outside of YouTube.
Important: In the new Google interfaces, Video Partners often cannot be disabled - so carefully analyze their effectiveness and manually exclude specific sites if necessary.
This tool helps to show ads only when the audience is most active. For example, you can set up the display only on weekdays from 11:00 to 15:00 or all day, but with an emphasis on evening hours (17:00-22:00), when traffic increases.
It is recommended to enable the schedule if:
Important: Google Video Partners often cannot be disabled in the new interfaces, so carefully analyze their effectiveness and manually exclude specific sites if necessary.
This tool helps to show ads only when the audience is most active. For example, you can set up the display only on weekdays from 11:00 to 15:00 or all day, but with an emphasis on evening hours (17:00-22:00), when traffic increases.
It is recommended to enable the schedule if:
Often, aggressive advertising creates a negative impression of the brand. Frequency capping helps to prevent this.
Recommended: no more than 2-3 impressions per day per user.
This is configured in the "Additional settings" > "Frequency management" section.
This block is important for brand safety. You can turn it off:
Tip: If your brand is associated with caring, ethics, or family values, choose “limited edition”.
At this stage, you create audience groups. Each group can have its own ads, targeting, and creatives. For example:
Group 1 - men 25-34, interests: sports, fitness.
Group 2 - women 25-44, interests: fashion, online shopping.
In Demand Gen, this is called Asset Groups, and each such group combines several formats:
Create 1 group = 1 audience = 1 hypothesis to analyze your results effectively.
This is important for CPV strategies:
In-stream and in-feed formats are paid per view (if the user watches ≥30 seconds or clicks).
Bumper, Masthead, and non-skippable formats are paid per CPM (1000 impressions).
The cost per view depends on the niche, competition, and region - in Ukraine, it usually ranges from 0.10 to 0.50 UAH/view.
As a platform, YouTube allows you to set up very precise targeting because it is integrated with Google Ads, which means you can use all types of audiences: from basic demographics to complex remarketing. This is a critical stage that determines the effectiveness of your campaign.
This is a basic but extremely important level of targeting. It can be customized:
1. Interests (Affinity & Custom Audiences).
Affinity audiences: users who have consistent interests such as sports, travel, beauty, business, etc.
Custom Affinity: manually created - you can set them:
2. Audiences by Intent (Custom Intent / In-market).
If you advertise sneakers, target the “in-market” audience of “Sports Shoes” or create a custom audience with keywords such as “buy Nike sneakers”.
3. Keywords
Enter the words/phrases with which your offer is associated.
The ad will be shown next to videos with similar topics or those who have been interested in these topics.
Tip: Use Keyword Planner to select words with high click-through potential.
This is another level of precision: you choose where your ads will appear. You can target it to:
If you advertise musical instruments, you can choose popular channels that feature guitar reviews or exclude children's content and channels with high impression shares but low CTR.
This type of targeting works in two ways:
Important: more keywords are not always better. Quality and relevance are more important than volume.
Remarketing is the return of users who are already familiar with the brand. It works great for warm audiences.
Types of remarketing:
If a person has watched 80% of your commercial but hasn't clicked through to the site, you can offer them another video or a special discount.
Such “hybrid segments” help to reach the most valuable part of the target audience. The more precisely you set up your campaign, the less you pay for the result.
Analytics is the heart of any advertising campaign. Without a clear system of metrics, you won't be able to understand what works and what needs to be changed.
You should focus on the following YouTube ad metrics:
The number of users who have watched your video.
For CPV advertising (in-stream/in-feed), a view lasting 30+ seconds or the entire video is taken into account, depending on the length of the video.
A high number of views is not a guarantee of success, so it's important to analyze other metrics as well.
The number of clicks on your ad divided by the number of impressions.
A good CTR for YouTube is 0.5-1% for a cold audience.
Low CTR = uninteresting creative or the wrong audience.
How much one view costs on average.
A normal benchmark for Ukraine is 0.10-0.50 UAH.
If CPV is high, reconsider targeting and creatives.
The share of users who performed the targeted action (purchase, registration, subscription) after viewing. Arguably the most important metric for YouTube advertising analytics.
To do this, you need to have conversion tracking set up (via GTM or GA4).
Important, especially if your goal is deep engagement.
Long watch time = relevance and high quality content.
Number of views / number of impressions (mostly for in-stream).
A similar metric to CTR, but for views.
What is a good view rate for youtube ads? Optimal: >15%. Less than that - you may need to re-shot the introduction to the video (the first 5 seconds).
Here is what to do with your YouTube ads insights:
YouTube isn't about massive reach. It's about hitting the mark when the user is already open to consuming content. If you get into their information context with the right message, you win.
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