The best practices for pre-roll ads on YouTube are video ads that play before the user’s chosen content. These are common on many platforms including YouTube and Facebook. Depending on your marketing goals, you can use these ads for brand recall or to drive conversions. For conversions, you need to make sure your video has a clear call-to-action and landing page that is aligned with the ad.

The key to a successful YouTube pre-roll ad is to grab the viewer’s attention within the first five seconds. This is because viewers are more likely to skip the ad if it isn’t interesting or relevant.

Best Practices: Optimizing Pre-roll Ads on YouTube

Generally, the best way to do this is to create an attention-grabbing video that tells a story. This can be in the form of a cinematic, animated, or even a documentary-style video. If you aren’t able to create your pre-roll ad, there are plenty of companies that offer bespoke YouTube advertising videos like AdZombies who specialize in grabbing the audience’s attention.

Another great tip is to use humor in your pre-roll ad. This is because humor can increase the likelihood of your ad being watched. A good example is Geico’s “unskippable” campaign where their ads were humorous and engaging enough that people didn’t want to skip them. This boosted their ad performance and made them stand out among the rest.