By combining inventory from YouTube, Google video partners, and more, YouTube video action line items can help you drive improved performance for your campaigns by reaching new customers. The video that you include in the campaign should be at least 10 seconds in length.
YouTube video action line items may be a good choice for you if:
- You want to use video to drive action to your business, service, or product.
- You’re looking to increase scale or improve CPA performance and efficiency.
- You already use conversion tracking in your line items.
About YouTube video action line items
Responsive skippable in-stream and in-feed ads
Ads can also appear in videos running on desktop and in the YouTube app on TV. Functionality may be different depending on the device.
Features |
Specifications |
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Max 10 characters |
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Max 15 characters Used in the skippable in-stream ad format |
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Max 90 characters Used in the in-feed video ad format |
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Max 70 characters |
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You can add: Adding a creative option may change the overall appearance of the ad. Only one creative option can serve at a time in a single campaign. |
Expand a section to see how YouTube video action line items look in different places on YouTube and Google video partners:
YouTube Home feed
YouTube watch page
Smartphone
Computer
TV
YouTube watch next
YouTube search results
Desktop
Mobile
Google video partners
Vertical-friendly video ads
Optimize your YouTube video action line items by having vertical videos in your creative assets as a best practice. The mobile-friendly, full-screen experience of vertical videos can help improve your campaign’s engagement with mobile video viewers.
Vertical videos are supported with possible placements in-feed, in-stream, on YouTube Search, and YouTube Shorts. A large share of Google video partners inventory is vertical-focused, like gaming and video apps, to further utilize your vertical and square video assets. Vertical videos may also be served in-feed to people using desktops as your best performing assets are served based on user behavior and environment.
Bidding
Bids are set based on either maximizing conversions or target CPA (cost per acquisition). Both of these automated bidding strategies optimize your bids for conversions rather than views in order to drive clicks and relevant conversions on your websites.
- Maximize conversions (recommended for initial creation): Display & Video 360 automatically sets bids to help get the most conversions for your campaign while spending your budget. This bid strategy uses advanced machine learning to optimize bids and offers auction-time bidding capabilities that tailor bids for every auction.
- Target CPA: You set the average amount you’re willing to pay for a conversion, and Display & Video 360 then automatically sets your bids to give you as many conversions as possible at your targeted cost-per-acquisition. Target CPA is only suggested if you have robust conversion data in your Display & Video 360 advertiser.
- Maximize conversion value: Allows you to maximize the total conversion value of your line item within a specified budget. Display & Video 360 will automatically set bids that are based on a predicted conversion value. This bid strategy is available when the line item has collected at least 30 conversions with reported values within the last 30 days (distributed across at least 2 previous days in this period). Learn more about value based bidding strategies for YouTube video action line items
- Target ROAS: Specify a specific return on ad spend goal, based on the sales revenue collected through your Floodlight activities. Line items will seek to acquire users who are likely to have this set return within the selected conversion window. Target ROAS is only suggested if you have robust conversion data in your Display & Video 360 advertiser. This bid strategy is available when the line item has collected at least 30 conversions with reported values within the last 30 days (distributed across at least 2 previous days in this period). Learn more about value based bidding strategies for YouTube video action line items
Compare bidding strategies
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Max conversions |
Target CPA |
Max conversion value |
Target ROAS |
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Goal |
Maximize conversions for budget |
Maximize conversions within tCPA |
Maximize conversion values for budget |
Maximize conversions within your tROAS |
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When |
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More details about Maximize conversions bidding
More details about target CPA bidding
Target CPA bidding uses conversion data from your line item to predict the likelihood that an engaged user will convert. Display & Video 360 uses this prediction to manage your bids to maximize conversions at your target CPA.
Your actual CPA may be above or below your target CPA. This is because:
- Your actual CPA depends on factors outside of Google’s control, like changes to your website, your ads, or increased competition in ad auctions.
- Your actual conversion rate can be lower than the predicted conversion rate.
Conversion tracking and optimization
YouTube video action line items can be configured to report and optimize toward the following conversion and measurement scenarios:
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Floodlight optimization for YouTube |
Optimized using YouTube-enabled Floodlight activities |
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YouTube-enabled Floodlight activity requirements |
Not required |
Must enable each Floodlight activity for YouTube tracking |
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Compatible conversion types for optimization |
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| Compatible with value based bidding strategies (Maximize conversion value & Target ROAS) | Compatible | Not compatible |
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Methodology used for optimization of video action line items and Display & Video 360 YouTube report (inc. YouTube Conversions metric) |
Floodlight methodology, deduplicated across YouTube and other media measured by your Floodlight configuration. |
YouTube-enabled Floodlight methodology, does not take into account any other type of media measured by your Floodlight configuration. |
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Methodology used for Display & Video 360 standard report (inc. Conversions metric) |
Floodlight methodology, source for cross-media measurement is based on Floodlight attribution. |
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Create YouTube video action line items
Creating a YouTube video action line item has a few different steps from a regular YouTube & partners line item based on the bidding options and ad setup.
To create YouTube video action line item you must enable Floodlight optimization for YouTube or use YouTube-enabled Floodlight activities for reporting and conversion optimization.
- Create a YouTube video action line item using Floodlight optimization
- Create a YouTube video action line item optimized using YouTube-enabled Floodlight activities
YouTube & partners video action line items are automatically opted in to video partners to ensure that you achieve the best performance. Contact your Google account manager if you would like to opt out.
Reporting for YouTube video action line items
YouTube video action line items use the same reporting options as regular YouTube & partners line items. Learn more
- Learn more about reporting for line items using Floodlight optimization for YouTube
- Learn more about reporting for line items optimized using YouTube-enabled Floodlight activities