YouTube has TrueView video ads where advertisers can display a call-to-action banner at the base of the video during and at the end of the video.
The branded banner can be tailored to a specific action goal, like "Book now," "Get a quote" or "Learn more." Previously, the video-streaming giant counts engagement when users see the ads for at least 30 seconds. With an update, YouTube is changing that attribution criteria for TrueView for action video ads to just 10 seconds for advertisers using maximize conversions or target CPA bidding.
YouTube said that the change of the default attribution from 30 seconds and 30 days to 10 seconds and 3 days to better reflect "the relationship between video ad exposure and conversions."
"To inform these changes, we conducted large-scale experiments to analyze the incremental conversion volume driven by TrueView for action ads across a broad range of advertiser industries and conversion types," wrote YouTube group product manager Nicky Rettke.
As a result, advertisers can look forward to:
- More accurate conversion counting.
- Faster ramp up times for your target CPA campaigns.
- More current reporting thanks to reduced conversion lag.
Google also said that the updated attribution will better reflect the role of video in the customer journey. However, it also changes the way advertisers are charged for views.
Because advertisers are charged on an engagement basis for TrueView ads, the shorter time frame means that advertisers will be charged more often. Advertisers need to monitor their TrueView for action campaigns closely to understand the impact of this change on their budgets and performance.
For example, depending on their needs, advertisers can monitor the following for any of their video ads:
- Audience retention performance for each video.
- Video performance and viewer engagement.
- Percent of views and percent of cost of each video.
If in any case advertisers want to change this, they have to ask their Google representative to customize this time frame.