Slava Wagner – SEA, CRO, Data & Forecasting

Youtube Shorts Ads: Generate huge video reach with €0.001 cost per view and €0.50 CPM via Google Ads

With Youtube Shorts Ads you can achieve an incredibly low cost per view of €0.0005 to €0.001 with a CPM of €0.50. This is made possible by completely targeting mobile devices and feeding the algorithm with 15 to 20 Youtube Shorts videos in a Google Ads campaign.

In the past, the cheapest impressions on Google Ads were only available on the Display Network: for as little as €2 to €3 you could get 1,000 impressions on website banners from Google partner websites that use Google AdSense. That’s very cheap, because impressions in the Google search network can cost an average of €50 to €60 – sometimes much less, sometimes much more. But it’s also true that the cheap display impressions usually can’t achieve a good cost per conversion and cost per lead, whereas the cost per lead of a search network campaign is almost always better.

Still, when it comes to creating a lot of awareness and reaching a lot of people, cheap CPMs are the key metric. With Youtube Shorts Ads, an even cheaper CPM is possible: 

  • CPM from Youtube Shorts Ads: You can get 1,000 impressions for just €0.50. That means: With an advertising budget of €500, a total of 1,000,000 impressions are possible. 
  • CPV from Youtube Shorts Ads: The CPV (cost per view) is also extremely cheap : you get a view for €0.0005 to €0.001 – depending on how well the videos are received by the users. This means that for an advertising budget of just €1, 1,000 to 2,000 views are realistically possible.
  • CPC of Youtube Shorts Ads: The CPC should not be forgotten, because with your Youtube Shorts you get cheap CPCs (cost per click) parallel to the cheap views. Depending on the CTR (click-through rate), these can be around €0.20 to €0.40. All in all, a very cheap CPC compared to the Google Ads search network, where it is €1 – €2 in many sectors. Despite everything, the quality of the traffic from Youtube Shorts Ads should not be nearly as high as from the Google search network, since in the latter there is a direct search intention on the part of the user – and not on the part of the Youtube viewer.

However, you should be aware that reaching a large number of users very cheaply can quickly generate hundreds of thousands of views. This means that you can only generate conversions if your videos convey a really convincing advertising message with a call to action. The primary focus of the method presented here is the generation of huge numbers of calls at a favorable price in the area of brand or product perception or in demand gen.

You need many individual Youtube Shorts for your Youtube Shorts Ads, which you should place in the individual ad groups of a campaign. This allows the algorithm to find the best formative video (in terms of viewer retention), which can then generate many views for the desired target CPM of €0.50 for 1,000 impressions. Most videos won’t make it.

With Youtube Shorts Ads you can generate a good 1,000 views for your Youtube Shorts video in one campaign for around €1. at a CPM of around €0.50.

In certain cases, you can even lower your CPM to under €0.50 with Youtube Shorts Ads. In this example: CPM of €0.37. Larger bids initially started with a target CPM of €2. The target CPM then switched to €1.50, then to €1 and then to €0.50.

Instructions: This is how you can place super cheap Youtube Shorts Ads via Google Ads

Youtube Shorts are mobile-friendly, portrait-oriented short videos with a maximum duration of 60 seconds. However, Google Ads does not have a separate advertising option for Youtube Shorts to promote them. Rather, Youtube Shorts Ads is a custom configuration. In order to achieve a CPM of €0.50 and CPV values ​​of €0.0005 to €0.001, there are the following setting options for video advertising on Google Ads to consider. The formula is:

  • Set a target CPM of €0.50: You must set a target CPM of €0.50 in the campaign and in all ad groups. However, the campaign may not spend a budget if you manage it that low directly. In such a case, first try to set the target CPM to €1. As soon as the daily budget is actually exhausted in the following days, you should set a target CPM of €0.75. Once the algorithm has assumed that too, you can set a target CPM of €0.50.
  • 15 – 20 Youtube Shorts in one campaign: Only a few videos will manage to reach the target CPM of €0.50. That depends largely on how long the videos are watched. From this, Google Ads concludes how high the added value of your videos is for users. In order for the Google Ads algorithm to have a lot of material to test, you should place around 15-20 Youtube Shorts in individual ad groups in a campaign. In the end, a good 1 – 5 videos will emerge that are effectively delivered at a CPM of €0.50 (where the budget is exhausted and views are generated).
  • No target group restrictions: If you narrow down your target group a little further, you will have great difficulty in reaching a CPM of €0.50. Excluding certain age groups might still work, but restricting to interest-based targeting will definitely stop spending at a target CPM of €0.50 as targeting is naturally in demand, and Google Ads is Unable to serve alignment with a €0.50 CPM.
  • Mobile targeting: Device targeting must not include desktop or tablet users. Only smartphone users should receive impressions. Mobile impressions are by default the cheapest, partly because mobile is typically much less likely to convert than desktop traffic.
  • Campaign type “Brand Awareness and Reach” with video campaign of type “Reach”: These are the options when creating a new campaign with which you can place effective, reach-based Youtube Shorts Ads.

Step 1 for running Youtube Shorts Ads: Select campaign objective

Here again the implementation of Youtube Shorts Ads – step by step. Go to the Google Ads dashboard and create a new campaign. Select “Brand Awareness and Reach” as your campaign goal.

Select the “Brand Awareness and Reach” campaign objective to run Youtube Shorts Ads.

Step 2 in Youtube Shorts Ads: Select campaign subtype - Reach type video campaign

To run Youtube Shorts Ads, first select the “Video” option and then select the campaign sub-type: Reach-type video campaign.

Select the ad networks you want to use for your Youtube Shorts Ads.

Step 3: Set ad networks for Youtube Shorts Ads

To run Youtube Shorts Ads, first select the “Video” option and then select the campaign sub-type: Reach-type video campaign.

Select the ad networks you want to use for your Youtube Shorts Ads.

Step 4 for Youtube Shorts Ads: Set budget

Now set a daily or runtime budget, or the start and end date for the runtime budget. Name your campaigns.

Set the campaign budget for your Youtube Shorts Ads.

Step 5 is crucial for Youtube Shorts Ads: mobile targeting

Target your campaign fully to mobile devices, i.e. smartphones, and disable the other options (computers, tablets and TV screens) accordingly. Mobile has the cheapest impressions, so it’s best suited to reach a target CPM of €0.50.

Only mobile devices (smartphones) should be included in the delivery of your Youtube Shorts Ads, as these have the prospect of the cheapest CPMs of all device types on Google Ads. 

 

Step 6: Set target CPM for Youtube Shorts Ads

Now set the super low target CPM of €0.50 in the campaign. As described above, you can also start out slowly and first set a target CPM of €1, then drop it to €0.75 in a few days and then go to €0.50. The background is that sometimes it can be too hasty for Google Ads to immediately tackle a target CPM that is too low, resulting in little or no budget being spent. With a target CPM of €1, the algorithm can already collect initial experience – about how well the videos are received and how high the viewer retention is. Even at this stage, it becomes clear which YouTube shorts are most likely to be preferred in the delivery of Google Ads. After that you can set the target CPM to €0.50 and the algorithm will try to reach the ambitious mark.

Now set the decisive target CPM of €0.50 for your Youtube Shorts Ads.

Complete! Now you can create and publish your campaign. From there it’s time to test, wait and observe target CPM values. As already described, reaching the target CPM of €0.50 largely depends on how high the viewer retention of your best-performing YouTube shorts is. It also depends on whether you pay a CPV (cost per view) of €0.0005 or €0.001. If the cost per view should become clear, it would be absolutely important to test other Youtube shorts that arouse greater interest in the user in the first few seconds.

Youtube Shorts Ads

f you have questions about Youtube Shorts Ads or are having trouble reaching a target CPM of €0.50, feel free to ask:

Ask your question

info@slavawagner.de

Overview

Benefits and Features of Youtube Shorts Ads

With Youtube Shorts Ads you can generate a huge reach at an extremely low cost:

  • For an advertising budget of €1, you can already achieve 1,000 views for your shorts video (if configured correctly). 
  • You can achieve a CPM of €0.50 (cost per 1,000 impressions) 
  • This is made possible by 15 – 20 Youtube Shorts videos in a campaign in individual ad groups. The algorithm learns which video is most likely to reach the target CPM of €0.50. This is also made possible by the complete orientation on mobile devices.

Ask your question

info@slavawagner.de

FAQ - Summary of Youtube Shorts Ads

Here you will find a summary of important and frequently asked questions about Youtube Shorts Ads:

There is no separate campaign setting for Youtube Shorts Ads on Google Ads. However, you can run ads for your YouTube Shorts by only including Shorts videos in your campaign and by targeting Google Ads to mobile devices (smartphones) only.

You can get huge views for your shorts videos with Youtube Shorts Ads because the prices on Google Ads can be very cheap. It is possible to actually pay only €0.50 for 1,000 impressions in advertising budget with Youtube Shorts Ads and a target CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) of €0.50.

With Youtube Shorts Ads you can achieve a realistic CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions on Google Ads) of €0.50. However, this only works if you place around 15 to 20 YouTube Shorts videos in a campaign in individual ad groups and then set a target CPM of €0.50 at campaign level. The algorithm may not be able to reach this value. In this case, a target CPM of initially €1 should be set, which will later be lowered to €0.80 and only then switched to €0.50.

If implemented correctly, you can even achieve a cost per view of €0.0005 to €0.001 with Youtube Shorts Ads. This requires that you work with a very low target CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions on Google Ads) at the campaign level on Google Ads and use many creatives in a campaign. If the target CPM is €0.50 and the system actually achieves it, it depends on the viewer retention of your shorts videos how high the cost per view (cost per view) will be.

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