To run a successful Shorts ad campaign, you need to create assets that meet YouTube's specifications and best practices. This includes choosing the right video format, length, and aspect ratio.
This article breaks down the asset specifications and best practices you need to know for YouTube Shorts ads.
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Asset specifications
- The videos you want to use as the YouTube Shorts ads must be uploaded to YouTube. You can set the video as either public or unlisted.
- Vertical video assets are recommended for Shorts ads. If you only have a horizontal asset, you can use our Video Enhancement feature to generate vertical video assets from your existing horizontal asset.
- Square and portrait static image assets are eligible to serve with an enhanced background for Demand Gen Campaigns.
- Video ads can be up to 3 minutes long, though only the first 60 seconds will play on the Shorts feed, with an overlay appearing at 50 seconds that allows the user to watch the rest of the ad on the YouTube watch page.
- It is recommended to add <60 second video ads to match user behavior when watching Shorts. You can use our Trim video tool to generate shorter video from your existing creatives.
- Shorts ads use the advertiser's channel name and description, with descriptions limited to 2 lines of 35 characters each.
Creative considerations
- Use vertical, sound-on assets that feel "social first" and best deliver your brand message on the mobile device. If you only have a horizontal asset, you can use our Video Enhancement feature to generate vertical video assets from your existing horizontal asset.
- Blend in with surrounding organic content.
- Experiment with assets and don't wait to launch a bespoke campaign if you’ve effective ads ready.
- Leverage authentic creator assets when you can.
- Use sound (music, voiceover, or both) in your Shorts ads.
Additional features
Right Hand Side (RHS) Panel
- The RHS panel includes like, dislike, comment, and share buttons.
- Likes will increment, dislikes will hide the count, and comments are not available for Shorts ads.
- The share button will only work on public videos.
Call to Action (CTA) Button
- The CTA button appears 3 seconds into the ad for Performance Max campaigns, App campaigns, and Demand Gen campaigns and 10 seconds for Video View campaigns and Video Reach campaigns.
- A click on a Shorts ad means a click on the Call to Action (CTA) button.
Best practices
To set up a successful YouTube Shorts campaign, consider these best practices:
- Start with clear marketing objectives. Align your campaign with specific goals, such as driving app installs, increasing brand awareness, maximizing views, or generating leads. Shorts can extend the reach of automated mix campaigns with dedicated Shorts buying options.
- Use vertical video assets. Vertical videos, with a 9:16 aspect ratio, are best suited for the Shorts format and deliver better performance compared to landscape assets. While horizontal and square assets are also supported, vertical videos are prioritized for Shorts ads in brand campaigns.
- If you use horizontal assets, they’ll serve with blurred top and bottoms in the vertical Shorts experience.
- Keep videos short and engaging. Although videos can be up to 3 minutes long, only the first 60 seconds play in the Shorts feed. It’s recommended to add video ads of less than 60 seconds to align with user behavior on the Shorts feed.
- Make your ads feel organic and social-first. Blend your ad creative with the surrounding organic content. Use sound (music, voiceover, or both) in your Shorts ads, which has been shown to increase conversions by over 20%. Also, consider using text overlays.
- Consider utilizing creator assets. If possible, partner with creators and use authentic content for your ads. You can boost organic Shorts content through video linking.
- Utilize Creative Preferences: Creative Preferences allows you to anchor video assets to a specific format within a campaign. Select where each video should serve, such as in-stream, in-feed, or Shorts.
- Use appropriate ad lengths. For action-oriented ads, use 10-30 second vertical videos. You can use 6-60 second video for Video Reach Campaigns and 10-60 second videos for other campaign types such as Video Action Campaigns, App Campaigns and Performance Max Campaigns.
- Optimize for mobile. Since Shorts is a mobile-optimized experience, make sure your ads look good on mobile devices. While Shorts ads also appear on desktop, tablet and connected TV devices, recommended best practices for mobile should be followed for assets to render well across devices.
- Leverage Remarketing Lists: Create and use remarketing lists populated with users who have engaged with your organic or ad content on Shorts.
- Contextual Targeting. If you’re using Video Reach or Video view campaigns, use contextual targeting, including keywords, topics or placements to reach viewers based on content they‘re interested in. Note that contextual targeting is not supported for Video Action Campaigns unless allowlisted. Also note that account-level exclusions are the only suitability controls available and campaign or ad group level placement exclusions do not function on a + AND -1 basis.
- Plan Your Media: Consider a launch strategy that includes a testing phase, a launch phase and a phase to maintain brand awareness and generate conversions.
- Monitor and Adjust: Keep an eye on your campaigns and adjust your bids as needed. Use reporting tools to measure the performance of your ads and pay attention to metrics, such as watch time, views, and conversions. Make use of the Shorts-only benchmarks to guide campaign settings.
- Consider using multi-surface solutions. If you’re flexible on placement and prioritize efficiency, use multi-surface solutions that’ll include Shorts to optimize performance. If you need creative control, or have specific creatives for Shorts, consider using Shorts-only solutions.
- Utilize Brand Lift Surveys: Brand Lift Surveys are available in the Shorts environment, allowing you to measure the impact of your campaigns on brand awareness.
- Take advantage of Shopping integrations. You can show Shorts ads in the shopping feed after a user clicks on the "Shopping" chip. You can also use GMC feeds to show image ads in Shorts for Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns.
- Test different ad creatives and identify what works best for your target audience and campaign goals.
- Use the tools provided to create videos such as the video creation tool in Google Ads.
- Use "Drive to Long-Form" to promote longer videos or live streams from Shorts.
