Non-skippable in-stream ads

Non-skippable in-stream ads play before, during or after other videos. Viewers don't have the option to skip the ad. Non-skippable in-stream ads are 15-seconds (or shorter).

In this article, you’ll learn about the technical specs and reporting tools available for non-skippable in-stream ads.

How non-skippable in-stream ads appear on YouTube

Desktop

Mobile

TV screens

Available assets

Asset	Guidelines
YouTube video URL	The link to your YouTube video. The URL can be any standard video uploaded to YouTube. The video must be public or unlisted and comply with our advertising policies and requirements.
Final URL	The URL that people reach after clicking your ad. It should match what your ad promotes. Learn more about final URLs and tracking templates.
Display URL	The website address that appears in your ad. It's typically the URL of the site or page that you're advertising. The display URL must match the domain that people visit when they interact with your ad.
Companion banner	A companion banner is an image that appears next to your ad on desktop computers. You can choose to have an auto-generated companion banner (based on info from your YouTube channel) or upload a 300x60 JPEG, GIF or PNG (150 KB maximum). Learn more about how to Create a companion banner for a video ad.

Ad specifications

Your video must be uploaded to YouTube and set as public or unlisted to use in an ad.

For non-skippable in-stream, your ad should be 15 seconds (or shorter).

Check the specification details below.

Requirements: Minimum of one horizontal video

	Recommended	Accepted	Callouts
Resolution	1080p (Full HD) Recommended pixels (px) for HD: 1920 x 1080px (horizontal) 1080 x 1920px (vertical) 1080 x 1080px (square)	720p (Standard HD) Minimum px: 1280 x 720px (horizontal) 720 x 1280px (vertical) 480 x 480px (square) Minimum pixels for SD (Standard Definition): 640 x 480 (horizontal) 480 x 640 (vertical) 480 x 480px (square)	For optimal quality, we don’t recommend using SD.
Aspect ratio	16:9 for horizontal 9:16 for vertical 1:1 for square	4:3 (SD) for horizontal 2:3 (SD) for vertical	For optimal quality, we don’t recommend using SD.
Format	.MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4)	.WMV, .AVI, .MOV and .FLV .MPEG-1, .MP4, .MPEGPS, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm and HEVC (h265)	Audio files like MP3, WAV or PCM files on YouTube aren’t accepted.
File size	≤256 GB	-	-
Length	:15 (:20 in certain markets)	≤:15 (≤:20 in certain markets)	If ad is ≤:06, it will run as a Bumper
Headline	≤15 characters	-	If you have a CTA, ≤10 characters

Supported Google Ads goals

• Product and brand consideration (only within the 'Video ad sequence' subtype)
• Brand awareness and reach

Available bidding strategy

Target cost-per-thousand impressions (tCPM)

With Target CPM bidding, you set the average amount that you’re willing to pay for every thousand times that your ad is shown. We'll then optimise bids to help get as much unique reach as possible. Some impressions may cost more or less than your target.

Target CPM bidding is available when you create a Video campaign with the 'Brand awareness and reach' or 'Product and brand consideration' (only within the 'Video ad sequence' subtype) goal.

Reporting

Metrics

All standard video metrics are available for non-skippable in-stream ads except for the following:

• Views
• View rate
• Average cost per view (avg. CPV)
• Conversions

Third-party measurement

Third-party measurement is only available through Ads Data Hub. Learn more about the process for third-party measurement on YouTube.

Policies

Non-skippable in-stream ads must follow Google Ads policies and YouTube policies.