Once a sufficient number of transactions have occurred without issue to the buyers or sellers involved, the feature will be made generally available.
If you're interested in learning more, please contact us.
Specifications and requirements
What are the specifications for video ads?
- In-stream ads are auto-play on user-initiated video content.
- For detailed specifications, see "In-stream video ad units (VAST-compliant)" from Requirements for third-party ad serving.
What do I have to do to run video ads on Ad Exchange?
In order to buy in-stream video inventory on Ad Exchange through either the UI or RTB, a buyer must:
- be an eligible buyer on Ad Exchange (i.e., have an Ad Exchange seat or account), and
- use a certified video vendor to host and serve video ads.
All video ad servers must be certified according to the VAST 2.0 standard and our policy in order to serve video ads on Ad Exchange. This applies to technologies that have already been certified for display ads.
How do I request a certification on a video ad server?
Which vendors are certified to run on video inventory?
Please contact your Ad Exchange account representative to find out if your preferred video technology is certified.
What is VAST 2.0?
VAST is a standard for redirects of in-stream video inventory set by the IAB and adopted across the industry. Additional information is available at http://www.iab.net/media/file/VAST_1_11_FINAL.pdf.
Supported features and targeting options
Can I geo-target ad inventory?
How do I discover video inventory?
Are companion ads supported?
Yes, companion ads can be set up in the user interface. Companion ads will serve if and only if there is a companion slot available. UI users must have a correct ad size pre-loaded via the UI. Companion ads can also serve via RTB if the they are included in the creative declaration at verification. (Learn about the REST API.)
For YouTube companion slots, buyers should include a 300x60 companion ad. For other sites in the Google Display Network, use 300x250. Buyers should include multiple companion sizes with each in-stream ad to increase the likelihood of a match between the companion ad slot and the advertiser’s companion ad sizes. Companion ads are not guaranteed to serve, as not every in-stream impression has a companion slot along with it.
How do I target video via RTB?
If you’ve deployed the additional protocols for real-time bidding and you support VAST 2.0, then you can bid on inventory using RTB.
You’ll need to create separate pre-targeting ad groups exclusively to target video inventory. This allows you to define the range of impressions that you're interested in receiving RTB callouts for.
For every impression that matches your pre-targeting criteria, you'll get an RTB callout.
Will frequency caps be set on these ad units?
How is the video ad inventory vetted? Can an advertiser be assured it is "brand-safe?" How do we ensure that the content is family-safe?
We require family-safe content, targeted at >13-year-olds, for any publisher to join the Google Display Network.
All publishers on YouTube and the Google Display Network must abide by our AdSense webmaster guidelines and be using our IMA SDK so that we're able to track who is/isn't compliant with our policies. We have automated signals as well as manual sweeps to maintain compliance similar to the GDN.
What are “embed sites" or non-GDN placements? Will my advertiser's content run on an "embed site," and what kind of quality can I expect on these sites?
The Google Display Network consists of partnered sites through the AdSense program. These partner sites often distribute their videos via embed links so that other websites or blogs who are not partners can enhance their content offering.
- These embedded players are allowed to serve video ads and are vetted using the same filtering and policy-enforcement systems that track our Google Display Network AdSense partners. So, yes, your advertiser's video ad could run on an embed site, but we whitelist domains whose ad call we'll answer, reducing the likelihood that an ad would appear on an undesireable embed site.
- We only accept content that fits our AdSense webmaster guidelines and are able to filter the embed sites similar to what we do for partner sites.
Does the Ad Exchange Ad Review Toolbar work with in-stream or video overlay ads?
No, the Ad Exchange Ad Review Toolbar does not capture in-stream video or video overlay ads at this time.
Video inventory
What inventory is available for the limited beta?
Selected YouTube and Google Display Network pre-roll as well as some mid-roll and post-roll inventory is available for purchase on the Ad Exchange. The YouTube inventory that is available is a subset of its inventory and will increase or decrease over time based on the success of the beta program. The GDN inventory that is available includes inventory across leading video destinations such as Justin.tv, Crackle, Movieweb, and LiveStream.com.
Is this inventory available globally?
Yes.
How is the inventory purchasable?
In-stream inventory can be purchased through real-time bidding (RTB) and through the user interface. It is not currently available through the standard API.
How do I know which inventory is available in real-time bidding?
The real-time bidding protocol has an indication for in-stream. It is only indicated for in-stream video and video overlay ad requests and contains information about the video:
- The time from the start of the video when the ad will be displayed: this indicates if the ad unit is pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll.
- The maximum allowed duration for the returned ad.
Detailed information is available on the real-time bidding site.
How do I identify video inventory?
Buyers working with the Ad Exchange user interface can identify and target video inventory by vertical or site using the Placement Tool. This is done by selecting “video” as the placement type.
To target video using the placement tool:
- Select video under Placement Types.
or
- In the Advanced options section, select Included Ad Types from the Filter placements drop-down, then select the Instream checkbox.