Create a companion banner for a video ad

Hero image of the YouTube Companion Banner

A companion banner appears next to your video ad on YouTube. You can either upload a custom image for the banner, or allow Google Ads to generate an image from your YouTube channel banner. In this article, you'll learn how to create a companion banner in Google Ads.

Things to know

  • Skippable in-stream ads, non-skippable in-stream ads, and bumper ads support companion banners.
  • Companion banners only show on desktop. They don't appear on mobile devices, connected TVs, or other devices that support YouTube.
  • Companion banners appear next to the ad on the YouTube watch page. When a viewer clicks on the companion banner, they'll go to a website URL that you provided when creating the campaign.
  • A click on companion banner counts as a view (even if the viewer doesn't watch at least 30 seconds of the ad).

Companion banner specs

When you create a video ad, we recommend automatically generating an image from your YouTube channel banner instead of uploading a custom image. 

If you want to upload an image for the companion banner, make sure the image follows our requirements and specifications:

Accepted types 300 pixels by 60 pixels resolution for YouTube companion banner image GIF frame rate should be less than 5 frames per second Maximum files size for companion banners is 150 kilobytes

File types:

JPEG, GIF, or PNG

Resolution:

300px x 60px

GIF frame rate:

Less than 5 frames per second

Maximum size:

150 KB

Instructions

  1. In Google Ads, begin creating your campaign.
  2. Enter the settings for your campaign and ad group. After you enter the YouTube URL for your ad, the "Companion banner (computers only)" section appears.

    A visual example of how to enter your YouTube Companion Banner details
  3. Choose how you want to customize your companion banner.
    • Autogenerate using your channel banner (recommended): Google Ads generates a companion banner from your YouTube channel banner.
    • Upload an image: Use a custom image from your computer. You can't upload images that don't meet our specifications.
  4. When you finish, click Create campaign. When your ad shows on desktop, your companion banner appears next to it.

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