Use Floodlight optimization for YouTube and Demand Gen

This article describes configuring YouTube line items to report and optimize based on Floodlight data.
You also have the option to use YouTube-enabled Floodlight activities for conversion reporting and optimization for YouTube line items. Learn more

Overview

YouTube and Demand Gen line items can be set to report and optimize toward conversions as measured by your Floodlight configuration. This allows more consistent optimization and measurement of conversions across YouTube and non-YouTube campaigns within the enabled advertiser.

Using Floodlight optimization for YouTube and Demand Gen eliminates the need to enable conversion tracking at the Floodlight activity level. This unlocks the ability to report and optimize toward in-app and offline conversions on YouTube and Demand Gen line items, and web conversions that are using the image tag format.

If it is not already, your Floodlight group will use Engaged View conversions and a default Engaged View attribution model will be created. This is to ensure that conversions that occur after users engage with your video ads on YouTube are accounted for in both reporting and optimization. This default model does not contribute to attribution model caps, and existing attribution models will not automatically opt into Engaged Views. YouTube auto-tagging will be enabled for this advertiser and can only be disabled when Floodlight optimization is disabled. This improves the accuracy of conversion attribution and is required for line item optimization.

When Floodlight optimization is enabled, the option to use line item-specific conversion goals for YouTube video action line items is not presented during campaign creation, as this is on by default. The Floodlight activities included for measurement and optimization are selected at the line item level.

Enable Floodlight optimization

Floodlight optimization is an advertiser-level setting that applies to all new and existing YouTube line items within the advertiser.

Open your advertiser in Display & Video 360.
In the left menu, click Advertiser Settings > Basic details.
In the YouTube section, check Use Floodlight data for conversion optimization on YouTube and Demand Gen line items.

After enabling Floodlight optimization, check the Conversion tracking section of your existing YouTube video action campaigns to confirm that Floodlight activities are selected for optimization and conversion counting. If no Floodlight activities are selected, the line item will not optimize toward any conversions.

YouTube auto-tagging will be automatically enabled when Floodlight optimization is enabled. Check Partner Settings > Advertiser Configuration > YouTube auto-tagging to confirm that auto-tagging is enabled.

Create a Demand Gen line item with Floodlight optimization

Floodlight optimization and YouTube auto-tagging are required for Demand Gen line items. Start by enabling Floodlight optimization for YouTube and ensure YouTube auto-tagging is enabled for your advertiser in Display & Video 360 Partner Settings to improve attribution signals for conversion measurement. Next, follow instructions to Create a Demand Gen line item.

Create a YouTube video action line item with Floodlight optimization

YouTube video action line items are a simple and cost-effective way to drive conversions across YouTube. To use YouTube video action line items optimized using Floodlight data, start by enabling Floodlight optimization for YouTube.

Set up your line item

Start in an existing insertion order or create a new one.
Click New line item.
Click YouTube & partners video.
Enter the following information for your line item:
- Name for your line item.
- Select Drive conversions as the objective.
Click Next.

Configure your line item's settings

In the Targeting section, you'll see that the inventory source and device targeting are set automatically. You can click Add targeting to set other line-item level targeting options. Additional types of targeting are available in the line item's ad groups.
Configure your line item's settings:
- Pick custom flight dates or use the same dates as the line item's insertion order.
- Enter the line item's budget and pacing settings. After you save the line item, you can't change between daily and flight, but you can update the budget amount.
- In the Bid strategy section, choose either maximize conversions or target CPA as your bid strategy. If you choose target CPA, set your target bid. (Optional) Once you’ve collected enough conversions you can update the bid strategy to maximize conversion value or target ROAS. Learn more about value based bidding strategies for YouTube video action line items.
- (Optional) Select the line item's frequency cap. Learn more about frequency caps in Display & Video 360.
- (Optional) Add a lead form to generate leads for your business. Lead forms can serve on mobile and tablet devices running Android. The lead form option is visible during line item creation if you’ve enabled this feature for your advertiser. Learn more about lead forms.
- (Optional) Add a product feed to your line item to show browsable product imagery below your video ads. The product feed option is visible during line item creation if you have linked a Google Merchant Center account to your advertiser. Learn more about product feeds.
- (Optional) After you have configured and saved your line item, add sitelinks to it to enhance your ads on mobile devices with more links, taking people to specific pages on your site. Sitelinks are a best practice for all video action line items. Learn more about sitelinks.

Select the Floodlight activities you want the YouTube video action line item to optimize towards and track as conversions. At least one Floodlight activity must be selected.
- With Floodlight optimization for YouTube enabled, the Engaged View (read only) model is used for default reporting and optimization and this cannot be changed.
- The post-click and post-view window can be customized, which impacts reporting and optimization if set to a shorter window than your Floodlight configuration. Learn more about conversion counting for line items
(Optional) Choose any additional settings for your line item, including Third-party vendors to enable third-party measurement for your line item.

Create your ad group and ads

Click Create new ad group to set up an ad group for your line item:
1. Enter a name for your ad group.
2. Click Add targeting to configure ad-group level targeting. Learn more about targeting options for YouTube & partners line items.
  - If using audience targeting, choose one Audience type per ad group for best control and visibility into performance.
  - Enable Optimized targeting to use Google’s machine learning to discover new and relevant customers likely to convert within your campaign goals.
  To prevent narrowing eligible inventory, positive targeting of keywords, categories or placements is not available for YouTube video action line items. Exclusions are supported.
3. If you're using target CPA bidding, enter a target CPA for your ad group in the "Bid strategy" section. Leave this section blank to use the bid value you set for the entire line item.
4. Click Create new ad to pick a YouTube video to use as a creative, set the landing page, and add a CTA and headline:
  1. Enter a name for your ad.
  2. Search for a YouTube video or paste a YouTube URL in the “Video” field. Videos must be 10 seconds or longer. The ad format is automatically determined and is displayed in “Preview”.
  3. (Optional) Perform any of the following to preview your ad in the “Preview” section:
    - Click the All formats dropdown to change the preview by ad format.
    - Select a network to view how ad formats are shown on different channels.
    - Select a device icon to show a preview of your ad on different devices.
    - Click Preview ad on YouTube to see a live preview of your ad on YouTube.com.
    - Click Copy link to copy the URL of your ad that will appear on YouTube. Clicking the arrow beside this link opens a panel where you can set a video to play after the ad you’ve created.
  4. Under “Companion banner”, choose between Use auto generated image from your channel banner or Upload my own image option. Companion banners appear on computers only.
  5. Enter the landing page URL for your ad. You can customize the display URL for your ad by providing up to two descriptive terms that will be appended to your landing page domain.
  6. Enter the text for your call to action, which can contain up to 10 characters including spaces. The CTA should be a compelling action that directs users to the website specified in your final URL.
  7. In the “Headline” field, enter a 15-character headline (including spaces) that promotes your product or service.
  8. Add a long headline and description. Long headlines can be up to 90 characters and descriptions can be up to 70 characters.
  9. (Optional) Under “Click tracker URL”, add a tracking template, final URL suffix, or custom parameters to the final URL. If you’re using Campaign Manager 360, you can select an existing tracking ad you'd like to use to see enhanced metrics in Campaign Manager 360.
5. Click Create ad.
(Optional) If you'd like to use multiple ads, click Create new ad again and repeat the steps above. For best results run at least 5 ads per ad group, with a different call-to-action button and headline for each ad.
Click Create ad group.
Click Create to save your new line item.

When starting a new line item or making changes to bids, targeting, or ads, allow for 7 to 10 days before evaluating performance and making optimizations.

Reporting when Floodlight optimization is enabled

Floodlight activities selected at the line item level are used to drive the YouTube video action and Demand Gen line item’s performance and tracked as conversions in reporting.

When Floodlight optimization for YouTube is enabled, YouTube video action and Demand Gen line items are optimized based on conversions that take place after a user clicks or engages your ad. The conversion window for post-click and post-Engaged View conversions is set in your Floodlight configuration, or your line item (if shorter). The Engaged View window is based on the Post-View conversion conversion window. Engaged Views have a default minimum time threshold of 10 seconds of your video ad, set in your Floodlight configuration.

When Floodlight optimization is enabled, conversion reporting for all YouTube and Demand Gen line items will default to being based on the Engaged View attribution model:

Standard report & Conversions metric
YouTube conversion report & YouTube Conversions metric

Conversion reporting based on alternative attribution models can be achieved by selecting another model in standard reports.

We recommend using Standard reports for most reporting needs and to compare performance against other line items. If you need to analyze dimensions (e.g. audiences) that are only available in YouTube reports, the YouTube Conversions report can be used to achieve these detailed data cuts. When using target CPA bidding and deciding what CPA to set, we recommend basing it off the CPA reported in the YouTube Conversions report.

Overview of standard and YouTube reports when Floodlight optimization is enabled:

	Standard report	YouTube report
Default attribution model	Engaged View model Report based on Floodlight activities selected at the line item level. Same if Biddable Conversions model selected.	Engaged View model Report based on Floodlight activities selected at the line item level.
Possible to report on alternative attribution models, including those not used for bidding	Yes If alternative attribution models selected, report will be based on all Floodlight activities, not only those selected at the line item level	No
Possible to break out reporting by specific Floodlight activities	Yes Use Floodlight Activity & Floodlight Activity ID dimensions	Yes Use Conversion Type dimension (note: not compatible with revenue metrics)
Conversions reporting metric	Total Conversions metric Includes: Post-click conversions and Post-view conversions, which, depending on the attribution model selected either includes all Post-view conversions, or only the Post-view conversions that met the Engaged View criteria set in your Floodlight configuration.	Conversions metric Includes: Post-click conversions and Post-view conversions that met YouTube’s minimum Engaged View time threshold of 10 seconds. Possible to break out Post-click and Post-Engaged View conversions using the Conversion Ad Event Type dimension. Possible to use the Inventory Source dimension to break out Google video partners and YouTube inventory.
Recommended to evaluate overall performance and compare with non-YouTube line items	Yes Choose your primary or “source-of-truth” attribution model	No
Recommended to set target CPA for YouTube video action line items	No	Yes

The Engagement metric acts differently for YouTube video action line items and other YouTube line item types in the YouTube Standard report:

For YouTube video action line items or skippable formats: The number of clicks on the ad or 10 seconds of viewing time. If both happen, only the click is counted.
For all other YouTube non-skippable formats: The number of clicks on interactive video elements, such as teasers or expanding cards, that don't take users to an external site.

Differences between Conversions and YouTube Conversions metrics

Enabling Floodlight optimization for YouTube allows for the YouTube Conversions metric in the YouTube report to be based on conversions deduplicated by your Floodlight configuration. There may still be differences between the YouTube Conversions and Conversions metrics due to measurement differences.

Conversions in the standard report are attributed to the day of the conversion, whereas YouTube Conversions in the YouTube report are attributed to the day of the ad interaction. Reporting on cumulative conversions across a wide time horizon can take this into account.
Conversions in the standard report take into account the Engaged View time threshold as defined in your Floodlight configuration. YouTube Conversions in the YouTube report only take into account Engaged View Conversions that meet YouTube’s minimum Engaged View time threshold of 10 seconds.

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