YouTube ads. Video in front of people still making up their minds.
DataReportal's Digital 2027 reports put YouTube's ad reach in late 2026 at 268 million users in the US and 59 million in the UK. We run YouTube campaigns from your own Google Ads account and show your video to people who have searched for what you sell or who watch videos about it. Then we count the calls and enquiries that follow, because a view on its own pays no bills.
What it looks like
An ad before a YouTube video.
A skippable in-stream ad plays before, during or after the video someone chose to watch. The skip button appears after five seconds, so those five seconds have to say who you are and what you offer. Under the player sits a card with your name, web address and a button. The example is an illustration with a made-up business.
- With cost-per-view bidding you pay only when someone watches 30 seconds, the whole ad if it is shorter, or clicks.
- The ad video has to be on YouTube as public or unlisted, so it never needs to show in your channel's video list.
- From the same shoot we cut a six-second bumper, which viewers cannot skip.
- US ad reach, late 2026
- 268 million
- UK ad reach, late 2026
- 59 million
- Skip button appears after
- 5 seconds
- Facts checked
- 7 Nov 2026
What you get
What a YouTube campaign includes.
Monthly management covers audiences, the ads themselves, campaigns and tracking. You pay Google for media on a card in your company's name, and we charge a management fee, never a percentage of spend.
Audiences
The ad should reach people close to buying, not everyone who happens to be watching YouTube.
- Custom segments built from what people search on Google and YouTube
- Channels and videos you want to appear alongside
- People who watched your videos or visited your site
- Topics and interests when narrow audiences run too small
- Content and channels your ads must never sit next to
Video and ads
An ad video is short and says what you offer from the first second. If you have none, we film one on site or recut footage you already own.
- A script with the offer in the first five seconds
- 15- to 30-second cuts plus a six-second bumper
- A vertical cut for Shorts
- Burned-in captions and the offer on screen
- Headline, web address and button under the player
Campaigns
YouTube ads run from Google Ads. We choose the campaign type for the goal: reach, views or enquiries.
- Skippable in-stream ads before and during videos
- Six-second bumpers that repeat one message
- Demand Gen across YouTube, Shorts, Gmail and Discover
- In-feed ads among YouTube search results
- A weekly check of where the ads actually ran
Tracking
A view is not the goal. We track what came next: a click, a call, an enquiry or a sale.
- Site conversions linked to Google Ads
- Engaged-view conversions, reported apart from clicks
- Viewer audiences for the next campaign
- Comparison with search and your other channels
- A monthly report with proposed changes
Comparison
Search ads or YouTube ads.
Both run from the same Google Ads account, but they do different jobs. Search catches someone who is already looking, while YouTube puts you in front of people before they start searching or while they are still weighing it up. For many businesses the two work best side by side.
| What we compare | Google search ad | YouTube ad |
|---|---|---|
| When the buyer sees you | While typing what they need | While watching a video on the topic |
| What they see | Text with a headline and link | Video, business name and button |
| How you pay | Per click | Per view or per thousand impressions |
| What you need | Ad copy and a landing page | A 6 to 30-second video |
| Best for | Urgent demand: a leak, a slot today | Bigger decisions people need to see |
| What we measure | Click, call, enquiry | View, click, enquiry and the later enquiry |
How it runs
The first four weeks.
-
Week 1
Account and tracking
We link your YouTube channel to your company's Google Ads account and set up enquiry tracking. No ad goes live before tracking works.
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Week 2
Video
We write a script that leads with the offer, then film or recut what you already have. You get a landscape cut, a vertical cut and a six-second version.
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Week 3
Launch
The same ad goes to two or three audiences so we can see which one brings enquiries. Channels and content that do not suit your brand are excluded.
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Week 4
First report
We compare cost per view, clicks and enquiries by audience. Budget moves to what works, and the next video builds on the parts people watched to the end.
Who this is for
Who it works for, and who it does not.
It makes sense if:
- Your customers take days or weeks to decide, so a video helps them remember you
- You have something worth showing: the product in use, a before and after, your premises
- You already run search ads and want to reach people before they start searching
- You can set aside at least a month of test budget on top of search
It does not make sense if:
- You need the phone to ring today for an emergency service: search ads come first
- You have no footage at all and do not want us to film on site
- You only want more views and subscribers, with no link to sales
YouTube adds to search ads rather than replacing them. If you are new to paid advertising, we will suggest starting with search. Ad reach is not a count of active users, and the figures and ad rules on this page were checked on 7 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
YouTube ads questions.
How much does a YouTube ad cost?
You set the budget and pay Google directly on your company card. With skippable ads on cost-per-view bidding, a view is charged only when someone watches 30 seconds, the whole ad if shorter, or clicks. Six-second bumpers are charged per thousand impressions. We quote our management fee after the first call, once we know the scope.
Do we need a professionally produced video?
Not necessarily. It matters more that the offer is clear in the first five seconds than that the ad looks like a TV commercial. Phone footage with clean sound and captions is often enough to start. If you have nothing, we film on site.
How long should the ad be?
Google sets no maximum for skippable ads but recommends keeping them under three minutes. We cut versions of 15 to 30 seconds. For non-skippable ads the maximum is 15 to 60 seconds depending on the campaign type, and the shortest, which Google calls a bumper, runs up to six seconds.
Who sees the ad?
The people we choose: those who searched for your service on Google and YouTube, viewers of specific channels and videos, visitors to your site and people who watched your videos. We exclude content you do not want to appear next to, such as tragedy news or children's channels.
What are Shorts ads?
Vertical ads between short videos. Viewers can swipe past them straight away, so the message has to land in the first second. Shorts themselves can run up to three minutes, but Google recommends keeping Shorts ads under 60 seconds.
How do you know an ad brought an enquiry?
Google Ads counts clicks that end in an enquiry, and also engaged-view conversions: someone watched at least 10 seconds of a skippable ad, did not click, but came back later and got in touch. For Shorts and in-feed ads the threshold is five seconds. We report the two separately so you can see what was a direct result.
Do we need cookie consent for YouTube remarketing?
For visitors in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Google's EU user consent policy requires consent before personal data is used for ad personalisation. For EEA traffic, that choice also has to reach Google, through consent mode or a consent banner built on IAB Europe's TCF, or those visitors drop out of remarketing. We set this up as part of tracking.
What happens if we stop working together?
You give 30 days' written notice. The channel, the Google Ads account, the videos and the audiences stay yours, and you remove our access yourself. If we filmed for you, the raw footage comes with the final report.