YouTube advertising formats

There are several types of ads that may appear during or next to your videos when you've turned on video monetization. 

The table below reflects ad options available in YouTube Studio, where you can control placement of ads before (“pre”), during (“mid”), or after (“post”) the video.

Video ad format	Description	Platform	Spec
Skippable video ads	Skippable video ads allow viewers to skip ads after 5 seconds.	Computer, mobile devices, TV, and game consoles	Plays in video player (option to skip after 5 seconds).
Non-skippable video ads	Non-skippable video ads must be watched before a video can be viewed.	Computer, mobile devices, TV, and game consoles	Plays in video player. 15 or 20 seconds in length, depending on regional standards.
Bumper ads	Short, non-skippable video ads of up to 6 seconds that must be watched before a video can be viewed. Bumper ads are turned on when skippable or non-skippable ads are turned on.	Computer, mobile devices, TV, and game consoles	Plays in video player, up to 6 seconds long.
Overlay ads	Overlay image or text ads that can appear on the lower 20% portion of a video.	Computer only	468x60 or 728x90 pixels in size

Learn more about managing mid-roll ad breaks in this article: Manage mid-roll ad breaks in long videos.

Update type of ads in bulk

You can set which ad formats appear on all or some of your videos at once.

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. In the left Menu, click Content.
3. Check the Select all box at the top to select all videos, then click Select all.
4. Click EditAd settings.
5. Check the box for Update type of ads, then choose which ad types you'd like.
6. Select Update videos to apply the new settings.

Default ad settings

To set the default video ad types for your channel for new uploads, refer to this article in our Help Center: Set your default ad formats.

Ads outside the video player

Watch feed ads are ads that appear in the feed of recommended videos below the player on mobile and next to the player on computers. These types of ads cannot be controlled from within YouTube Studio.

Back-to-back ads

Also referred to as ad pods, two back-to-back video ads can occur when you turn on skippable or non-skippable ads on your video. This kind of ad format only displays on longer form video content (at least 5 minutes in length) on the platforms mentioned in the table above. 

Ad pods help reduce interruptions for viewers of longer videos, resulting in a better viewer experience. 

Ads on shorter videos

Video ads may be less likely to serve on short videos. This practice helps to better improve overall viewer engagement and revenue over the course of a viewer’s session on YouTube.

Get pro tips to choose the ad formats that show on your videos.