YouTube ads
YouTube ads let a small business show what it does in 15 or 30 seconds to people nearby or in a specific niche, at a fraction of what TV used to cost. I plan the format, targeting and tracking so the video leads to searches, calls and sales rather than just a view count.
Free: a 30-minute call, an action plan and a price range in writing.
Which YouTube
format does what
Skippable in-stream
Plays before or during videos. You pay when someone watches 30 seconds or interacts. Good for explaining an offer.
Non-skippable and bumpers
Short spots of up to 6 or 15 seconds that everyone sees. Useful for reminders, not for complex messages.
In-feed video
Appears in YouTube search and related videos. The viewer chooses to click, so attention is higher.
Shorts
Vertical video in the Shorts feed. Cheap reach among younger viewers; the first second decides everything.
Video for leads
Video campaigns with a clear call to action and a form or landing page, measured on leads rather than views.
Video remarketing
Ads for people who already watched your videos or visited your site, which is often where YouTube pays off.
Short videos
people watch to the end
I edit vertical reels with captions, because most people watch without sound.
- The key point in the first seconds
- On-screen captions
- One reel, several formats
First month
of a YouTube campaign
-
01
Week 1
Goal and audience
You and I agree what success means: site visits, searches for your brand, calls or sales. I define who should see the ad and where.
-
02
Week 2
Video and setup
You send footage or I script and edit the ad. Campaign, audiences, frequency caps and tracking go live.
-
03
Week 3
First data
View rates, watch time, cost per view and early conversions. Weak placements and audiences get cut.
-
04
Week 4
Remarketing kicks in
Viewers become audiences for Search and Display ads, and the first report shows what the video actually moved.
YouTube ads
pricing
Prices in Canadian dollars. Views and clicks are paid to Google by you.
Campaign, targeting, tracking and remarketing lists.
- Format chosen for your goal
- Location and audience targeting
- Frequency caps
- Viewer lists for remarketing
Monthly, cancel with one month's notice.
- Placement and audience cleanup
- Creative rotation
- Brand lift tracked through search
- Report every 2 weeks
When YouTube ads make sense for a small business
YouTube ads are not a replacement for Search. Someone watching a hockey highlight or a recipe isn't looking for a renovation contractor. What video does well is make people remember you, so that when the need comes, they search for your name instead of a generic phrase. That makes YouTube a good fit for businesses with a visual product (kitchens, landscaping, cosmetics, restaurants), for a new offer nobody searches for yet, and for brands that want to own their local market.
For a plumber with a small budget, I'd usually spend on Search first. For a custom cabinetry company with beautiful finished projects, short videos of real kitchens can lower the cost of every lead that follows.
Targeting that keeps the budget local
The biggest waste in YouTube advertising is reach that can never become a customer. I set location targeting to where you actually work, then layer audiences on top:
- Custom segments built from search terms, such as people who recently searched for “kitchen renovation”.
- Life events like moving or starting a business, where relevant.
- Your own data: website visitors, customer lists and people who watched your other videos.
- Placements on specific channels, used sparingly when there's an obvious fit.
Frequency caps stop the same person from seeing your ad ten times a day, which annoys more than it sells.
What makes a YouTube ad work
The first five seconds decide whether someone skips. Show the result or name the problem immediately, put your logo or name on screen early, and say clearly what to do next. A 15 to 30 second ad is enough for most offers. For Shorts, shoot vertically and treat it like a social video, not a TV spot.
You don't need a studio. A recent phone, natural light and a lapel mic go a long way. If you'd rather not be on camera, a product demo or a time-lapse of a job works too. I can help with the script and editing through my video ads work.
Measuring video properly
Views and view rates are only the surface. I track conversions from viewers, the change in branded searches, and how people who watched a video behave later. Viewers go into audiences for remarketing, so the next ad they see may be a Search or Display ad with an offer. Over a few months, that combined effect is what tells you whether video paid off.
Example: a renovation company in spring
Picture a renovation company planning its spring season. In February, a 20-second video showing a finished basement plays to homeowners in its area. In March, the same viewers see Search and Display ads with a free estimate offer. If the plan works, brand searches go up and leads from Search get cheaper because people already recognise the name. This is the kind of plan I'd test, not a promise of results.
Common mistakes with video budgets
The first mistake is targeting the whole country because the reach number looks impressive. The second is running the same ad for six months until everyone who sees it is tired of it. The third is judging the campaign on clicks after two weeks and switching it off before remarketing and brand searches had a chance to show anything. I plan a test period of at least six to eight weeks with two or three video versions, a clear budget cap and agreed numbers to look at, so the decision to keep or stop is based on evidence.
Related campaign types
YouTube ads can also run inside Demand Gen and Performance Max campaigns, together with images on Discover and Gmail. For most small businesses, I start with a standalone video campaign because it's easier to control and measure.
Setup is $650 and management starts from $750 a month. To compare all channels, see the Google Ads services overview.
Video and
reach campaigns
YouTube ads
questions
Do I need a professional video?
Not necessarily. For a local business, a clear phone-shot clip of you, your team or your work often performs as well as a polished production, sometimes better. What matters is a strong first five seconds, a visible brand and one clear next step. Sound should be clean, and captions help since many people watch muted.
Can YouTube ads target just my city?
Yes. You can target cities, postal areas or a radius around your location, and combine that with interests, life events or custom segments based on what people search. For a business serving one metro area, I keep targeting tight so the budget isn't spread across the whole province.
How do I know if YouTube ads worked?
Direct clicks from video are usually low, so I look further: more searches for your brand, more direct visits, conversions from people who saw the video, and remarketing results. I set up these measurements before launch so the report shows impact, not just views.
What budget do YouTube ads need?
Views are cheap compared to search clicks, so a few hundred dollars buys a lot of reach in a mid-sized city. To learn anything useful, though, I'd plan YouTube as an addition to Search, not instead of it. Most clients start video once Search is running at about $1,000 a month.
Will my ad show on content I don't like?
I exclude sensitive content categories, children's content where it doesn't fit and placements that waste money, like mobile games. YouTube's controls aren't perfect, so I check placement reports regularly and keep adding exclusions.
Let's turn it into
a 30-second ad
Tell me what you sell and who buys. I'll suggest a format and a simple script on a free 30-minute call.