has three options available for video. Each of these options is targeted to a
different aspect of video — aspects that reach both those who create videos
and those who want to advertise on a text site with video. The three types of
video are
Click-to-play video ads: Video ads are a type of ad displayed on your
Web site. You must opt into image ads when you create your first
AdSense for Content ads and use one of the supported formats to add
click-to-play video ads to your site. The supported formats are
• 336x280 (Large rectangle)
• 300x250 (Medium rectangle)
• 250x250 (Square)
• 200x200 (Small square)
• 728x90 (Leaderboard)
• 120x600 (Skyscraper)
• 160x600 (Wide skyscraper)
Video units: This feature allows you to add video content from YouTube
partners to your Web site in a customizable player. The video comes
to you packaged with text overlay ads and a companion banner above
the video — that’s the AdSense part. Note: You must have an Englishlanguage
site to use AdSense video units.
AdSense for Video: This product delivers text overlay and InVideo ads
into your existing video streams. (InVideo ads are ads that actually play
within videos that are embedded on your Web site.) If you have your
own online video content, AdSense for Video can help you earn revenue
from that content. The rub here is that AdSense for Video is in beta
testing, so it’s only available to a limited number of users at this time. It
shouldn’t be long (maybe even before you finish reading this chapter)
before it’s open to the general public, though.
All three of these options are viable for different types of AdSense users, and
each has different uses and capabilities. How do you know which one to use
for your site? That depends on how you want your site visitors to interact
with the ads. (To some extent, it also depends on whether AdSense lets you
use a certain type of video ad, but I get to that in a bit.)
Click-to-play
Click-to-play ads actually take the place of graphic ads on your site, but you
can’t control when that happens. You place a compatible graphic ad on your
Web site, and when AdSense has a click-to-play video ad that fits your site,
it’s shown in place of the static ad. The videos don’t show all the time, and
there is currently no way to make videos replace static images all the time.
See, it’s based on the availability of videos that are appropriate to your site,
but AdSense may not always have advertisers placing ads that match your
site. It’s only when there are matching video ads that your content ads will
be replaced.
The ad formats that accommodate these click-to-play ads are
336x280 (Large rectangle)
300x250 (Medium rectangle)
250x250 (Square)
200x200 (Small square)
728x90 (Leaderboard)
120x600 (Skyscraper)
160x600 (Wide skyscraper)
If you already have one of these ads sizes on your Web site, but it’s not
image-enabled — meaning it’s a text only ad — you can edit the settings
under the Manage Ads option. To edit existing ads, follow these steps:
1. Log into your AdSense account and go to the AdSense Setup tab.
2. Click the Manage Ads link.
3. Click Edit Ad Settings for the ad that you want to change.
The editing page for that ad appears, as shown in Figure 9-2.
4. Use the Format drop-down menu (indicated in Figure 9-2) to select
either Text and Image Ads or Image Ads Only.
5. Click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page.
Within a couple of hours, your ads should be showing images, which can
then be replaced by videos when they are available.
Video units
Video units are ads that are partnered with YouTube videos. Such ads are
displayed within your YouTube videos — both videos that you’ve created
and videos that others have created that you have embedded on your Web
site — in a couple different ways within the video player. They appear both as
a banner at the top of the video player and as a pop-up link within the video
place in the beginning. If you’re using video on your site already, the integrations
of video units are relatively smooth, and it’s a great way to monetize
the video content that your visitors are accustomed to.
Keep in mind that you have to have an active YouTube account to use this
type of video ad and you also have to link your YouTube account to your
AdSense account.
It only takes a few steps to link the two accounts:
1. Open two browser windows and then log in to your YouTube account
in one window and your AdSense account in the other.
2. In the window in which you have your AdSense account open, go to
the AdSense Setup tab and then choose Video Units as the product.
Basically, act as if you’re setting up a video unit for your Web site
3. When you get to the Video Setup page, click the Visit AdSense Video
Units button.
Doing so takes you to the YouTube site, where you’re prompted to connect
your YouTube account and your AdSense account.
4. If you already have a YouTube account and are signed in, verify your
linkage request by entering the e-mail address, phone number, and
postal code associated with your account.
This is why you signed in to both your YouTube account and your
AdSense account in the first step.
5. After you enter this information, click the Submit Confirmation button.
If you don’t have a YouTube account, you’re prompted to sign up for
one. After you’ve created the account, the steps to connect the two
accounts are the same as above.
After you click the Submit Confirmation button, your accounts will be
connected. Then you can return to your AdSense account to begin setting
up video units.
AdSense for Video
AdSense for Video is the newest addition to the video family for AdSense. So
new, in fact, that it’s still in beta testing, and is only available to a certain number
of participants. To be selected, you also have to meet certain restrictions:
You must have a Flash 7 player that you can control.
You must have 1,000,000 or more monthly streams — that’s a million
times a month that your video is viewed by site visitors. Don’t let the
number scare you. It’s not all that uncommon for a popular YouTube
video to get a million or more views in a month’s time.
You must be a U.S.-based Web site owner who publishes AdSense ads on
your site and you must have a (primarily) U.S. viewership.
If you meet these requirements and want to display AdSense for Video ads,
you also need to fill out a sign-up form (as shown in Figure 9-4) and wait to be
accepted into the program. You can find the form at this URL: www.google.
com/adsense/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=video_
joinbeta.
When you do get accepted into the program, AdSense for Video allows you to
place ads in your own streaming video. This is especially useful if you create
and share videos on your Web site and other sites.
Ads can appear in one of two places in your video. Ads can be displayed
InVideo, as shown in Figure 9-5, which means that the ads actually appear
within the window where the video displays.
The alternative is to display ads as text overlays, as shown in Figure 9-6.
The cool thing about InVideo ads is that they’re essentially a video within a
video. The ads play in the lower one-third of the video player you’ve embedded
on your site, and they’re short — usually not more than 60 seconds.
While the ad is showing, the video that should be playing in the player is
paused. Then, when the ad is finished, the area in which it is displayed
shrinks back but still displays a link to the advertiser. The video that you
have set to play should then begin on its own.
Text overlay ads don’t contain any actual video. They are simple text ads
that overlay the lower one-third of the player. Your video plays as usual but
the link remains available throughout the whole video.
There is no inherent advantage to one type of ad over the other — InVideo or
Text Overlay. It’s mostly a personal choice that should be governed by what
you and your visitors prefer. I strongly recommend that you try each configuration
separately for the same amount of time and then compare results to
see which option your Web site audience likes best.
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