YouTube Ads consulting: advertising on YouTube, from the video watched to the result measured.

We wrote this guide for marketing and brand teams who want to advertise on YouTube, or who have already launched video campaigns in Google Ads but can’t see what the views add to sales or to the brand. Every mechanism we describe is based on the English documentation of the Google Ads Help Center; the sources are listed by number at the end of the page. We verified campaign types, formats and names against the source as of October 2026; Google has made significant naming and structural changes to video campaigns over the last two years. Our own field observations are marked separately under the heading “Expert note”.

Our YouTube Ads consulting and ad management service runs in three layers: the campaign type that matches the objective, video prepared for each format, and the measurement that connects views to results. The ten sections below explain how these layers work and what we check during setup, in that order.

What are YouTube ads, and how does advertising on YouTube work?

YouTube ads are set up in Google Ads, and advertising on YouTube starts by choosing an objective: sales, leads, website traffic, app promotion, or the objective now called “YouTube reach, views, and engagements”, formerly “awareness and consideration”.¹ The objective determines the campaign subtypes, formats, networks and bidding strategies available.¹ Ad videos must be hosted on YouTube; depending on the format and settings, ads can appear on YouTube and on the sites and apps of Google video partners.²

We cover search ads and Google Ads account structure separately on our Google Ads consulting page; this page goes into YouTube and video formats.

Why did Video action campaigns become Demand Gen?

Video action campaigns, used for sales and leads, have been replaced by Demand Gen campaigns: Google removed the option to create new Video action campaigns in April 2025, began upgrading existing campaigns automatically in July 2025, and moved the last campaigns to Demand Gen by April 2026.⁴ Demand Gen runs not only on YouTube but also on YouTube Shorts, Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network; since March 2025 each of these placements can be selected individually, and image ads have been added alongside video formats.⁴

Which YouTube ad format is right for what?

Google Ads has six main video formats for YouTube: skippable and non-skippable in-stream ads, in-feed video ads, bumper ads, YouTube Shorts ads and the Masthead.²

We choose the format by objective. To introduce a new product to a broad audience, bumper and non-skippable ads deliver the message briefly and in full; to reach people comparing and researching a product, in-feed ads appear in search results and related videos; and to bring people close to buying to the website, skippable ads with a button and Shorts ads do the job. Instead of stacking these formats into one campaign for the same product, we run them in separate campaigns by objective, so we can evaluate each by its own metric.

Since October 2025, the “Views” metric in Google Ads has been called “TrueView views”; the change doesn’t affect billing or how paid views are counted.²

How do you set up a video reach campaign?

Video reach campaigns are designed to reach as many unique people as possible for the budget, and offer three options.³

• Efficient reach: reaches more unique people at a lower cost with bumper ads, skippable ads or a mix of both; with multi-format turned on, in-feed and Shorts ads are added too.
• Non-skip reach: delivers the full message with 15-second ads, 30-second ads served mostly on connected TV, or a mix of 6- to 15-second ads (beta).
• Target frequency: reaches the same people a set number of times per week or month.

In video reach campaigns, Google’s video enhancement feature uses Google AI to create 9:16 vertical versions of an uploaded horizontal video automatically; the feature is on by default in new campaigns, and versions that pass a quality review are served.³ We watch these versions before launch, and upload our own vertical edit when the product or the text is cropped.

How does a Demand Gen campaign work for sales and leads?

In Demand Gen campaigns, YouTube video ads are billed by impression; strategies that rely on conversions and ones that work without conversion data are both supported: Maximize clicks, Maximize conversions, Target CPA, Target ROAS and Target CPC.⁵ Google recommends that advertisers new to Demand Gen start with Maximize conversions, and switch to Target CPA or Target ROAS once the campaign has received at least 50 conversions.⁵

In Demand Gen, video and image ads can run in the same campaign; images are prepared in square, landscape, 4:5 portrait and the 9:16 portrait ratio recommended for Shorts.⁶ Lookalike segments in Demand Gen are moving during 2026 from a strict similarity limit to a suggestion mode that uses the seed list as a signal.¹⁰ That’s why we set up audiences not as a limit, but as a hint given to the system.

In Demand Gen, creative shapes results more than targeting does: having landscape, square and vertical videos and images together in the same campaign lets the ad be shown in a way that suits every placement. For each product or service, we prepare videos and images that open in several different ways, and see from the data which combination drives conversions. We replace weak creatives at the end of the first weeks, and make new versions of the ones that work well.

How are engaged-view conversions measured?

People who watch a video ad often don’t click right away; they act after finishing their viewing session, and engaged-view conversions are designed to measure that behavior.⁷ For a conversion to count this way, the viewer must watch at least 10 seconds of a skippable ad (or the whole ad if it’s shorter), or at least 5 seconds of an in-feed or Shorts ad, or click the call-to-action button, and the conversion must happen within the set window.⁷ Engaged-view conversions are also included in the “Conversions” column; when segmented by ad event type, they’re separated from click-through conversions.⁷

How do you measure brand impact with Brand Lift?

Brand Lift is a free tool that measures the effect of video ads not by clicks or views but by brand metrics such as ad recall, brand awareness and consideration, and it can be used in Video and Demand Gen campaigns.⁹ Once the campaign is live, Google shows short surveys on YouTube to two groups: people who saw the ad and people who were eligible to see it but didn’t; the difference between the two groups’ answers shows the ad’s effect on the brand.⁹

We recommend evaluating awareness campaigns by the Brand Lift result rather than by views. A meaningful result needs enough survey responses, so we plan the study from the start together with the campaign budget and duration.

We don’t read Brand Lift on its own; we read it together with the campaign’s reach and frequency data. If ad recall hasn’t risen, we first look at the video’s opening seconds and when the brand appears, then change frequency and the audience. We carry the result straight into the next campaign’s video and frequency plan.

How do you link a YouTube channel and creator videos?

Linking a YouTube channel to a Google Ads account lets the account show ads to people who have interacted with the channel’s videos, access organic view metrics for ad videos, and see how viewers engage with the channel after the ad.⁸ If you work with a creator, you can also link their video to your account with an access request or a shared code and use it as an ad; making sure you have sufficient rights to use the video as an ad is the advertiser’s responsibility.⁸

Linking the channel is also how you use channel viewers and subscribers as audiences: reaching people who watched your video but didn’t visit your website with a more concrete offer is the most direct way to carry the effect of an awareness campaign through to sales. We use these audiences together with customer lists and website visitors as audience signals in Demand Gen campaigns.

How do you plan a YouTube ads budget and bidding?

We split the YouTube budget by objective: reach campaigns are based on cost per thousand impressions and unique reach, views campaigns on cost per view, and Demand Gen on cost per conversion. In skippable ads, you pay per view with a CPV bid, and by impression with Target CPM, Target CPA and Maximize conversions strategies.² That’s why it’s normal for the same video to run at very different costs in two different campaigns; we compare campaigns not with each other, but with their own objectives.

When planning the budget, we also take campaign duration into account: reach campaigns usually run short and intense for a specific launch or period, while Demand Gen campaigns perform better when they run continuously to keep learning. That’s why we plan the two types’ budgets on separate calendars, and prepare reaching a reach campaign’s viewers with Demand Gen as the next step once it ends.

We run a Demand Gen campaign with Maximize conversions until conversion data builds up, and switch to Target CPA or ROAS after the 50-conversion threshold.⁵ For reach campaigns, we plan the budget together with campaign duration and target frequency.

How does our YouTube Ads service work in the first 30 days?

The job of the first 30 days isn’t to grow the budget; it’s to match objectives to the right campaign types, prepare videos for each format and verify measurement. We work in this order:

1. Week 1 · Measurement and account: conversion tracking, the YouTube channel link and, if any, the migration of old Video action campaigns to Demand Gen are reviewed.
2. Week 2 · Video and setup: video versions are prepared for skippable, bumper, Shorts and in-feed formats; campaigns are launched separated by objective.
3. Week 3 · Review: view rates, skip points and engaged-view conversions are read; weak video versions are replaced.
4. Week 4 · First evaluation: reach and conversion results are compared with objectives; Brand Lift and next month’s video plan are set together.

What should you look for in a YouTube advertising agency?

Because YouTube ads are set up in Google Ads, many Google Ads agencies run YouTube too; what sets them apart is whether videos are edited separately for each format and how brand impact is measured. Three common models:

Ask for concrete answers to these questions: which campaign type serves which objective, are videos edited separately for each format, are engaged-view conversions reported separately, how is brand impact measured, and in whose name are the account and channel?

1. Account and channel: the Google Ads account and YouTube channel are opened in your name; the agency is added as an authorized user, and the channel link is made with your approval.
2. An edit per format: skippable, bumper and Shorts each need their own version; a plan built on one long video wastes the first 5 seconds.
3. Separating conversions: engaged-view and click-through conversions should be shown separately in the report.
4. Measuring awareness: reach campaigns should be judged by Brand Lift or experiment results, not by views.
5. Guarantee language: a guaranteed view count or subscriber growth isn’t a sales or brand result.

What drives YouTube ad pricing and agency fees?

Advertising on YouTube costs two separate things: the ad budget paid to Google, and the fee of the partner who manages the account. Ad costs form in the auction, and how you pay depends on the format and bidding strategy. The factors behind the service fee:

We work out the scope together in the first meeting, then send a written proposal. The ad budget is separate from our service fee and is paid directly to Google.

YouTube Ads consulting pricing: estimated ranges

Estimated range, excluding VAT; rows marked “/ month” are monthly, the others are one-off. Scope is confirmed in a written proposal after the first meeting. As of October 2026. Ad spend is not included in the service fee.

If you’d like to work out together whether YouTube is a reach or sales channel for your brand, pick a meeting day that suits you below.