Monetize content with video ads. Varrando starting guide
Video advertising abounds in options and jargon terminology. If you’re new to understanding how to monetize content with video ads, fear not. We’ll go through some initial guidelines and summarize the current video landscape to get you started.
1. Why monetize with video ads in the first place?
Because online video ads are expensive. More expensive than display ads. Which is why everybody wants to monetize content with video ads. It used to be that only video content publishers could monetize with video ads. They had the right video format to run the ads against. Obviously, this restricted access to online video ads for editorial publishers.
But online advertising, like anything else tech-related, innovates. Thanks to a recent such innovation, everybody can now join the club. Regardless of their content. That’s right. The rise of outstream video ads has opened up monetization to all kinds of content: video, editorial, games, apps, photos, etc.
Outstream formats have extremely good engagement (“viewability”). And, consequently, very good CPMs, CTAs and CRT rates. Even better than traditional pre-roll online video ads.
2. Why a VAST/VPAID compliant video player for online video ads?
There is no talk about online video ads without a video player. Most, if not all, ads existing out there are VAST/VPAID compliant. There’s no getting around it. Publishers need a VAST/VPAID compliant video player to monetize online video ads. Outstream ads, DFP ads, any other 3rd part ad server video ads are VAST/VPAID complaint.
VAST/VPAID are industry protocols to standardize serving of online video ads. Monetizing online content with any type of video ads requires a video player that knows how to “read” these protocols.
Choose the right video player. Say, you just started and want to monetize with Google DFP video ads. It’s a great option for new comers. But it has a few issues on mobile. Now, a good video player like Varrando knows to take the ads from Google DFP and correct those issues.
So, make sure technology works for you, not against you.
3. Why understand the industry acronyms?
Since a good part of video advertising involves technical people writing documentation, there are plenty of acronyms to go around. Check this out: “VAST/VPAID IAB ad tags have higher CPMs and CTAs with better CTR. IMA SDK serves VAST ads through its DFP server.”
If you have online video background the terms are probably familiar to you. All the better if you have marketing skills as well. But, if you are an amazing content creator, and so far, your primary focus was to engage viewers with original stories, it can be confusing. Perhaps a little frustrating.
It’s a lot easier to make decisions about your monetizing strategies if you understand all your acronym-atic options beforehand. Here are some sources that have a go at explaining everything in plain English.
- What is VAST and VPAID: https://varrando.com/what-is-vast-vpaid-how-about-a-vast-vpaid-video-player/
- Outstream vs Instream: https://varrando.com/instream-vs-outstream-video-player-varrando-sneak-peek-insights/
- What is Google IMA: https://varrando.com/what-is-google-ima-what-is-dfp-what-are-outstream-ads-varrando-explains/
- What is Video Header Bidding: https://varrando.com/what-is-video-header-bidding-programmatic-advertising-rtb-essentials-untangled/
- Advanced Ad Serving Optimizations: https://varrando.com/vast-vpaid-google-ima-outstream-video-ads-html5-video-player-match/
- Video Player Technical Requirements: https://varrando.com/best-html5-online-video-player-for-video-ads-monetization-review/
4. Why choose your topics and do audience segmentation?
I’m fairly sure, I’m not telling anything new. Write, film, draw, take photos for the right type of audience is the ABC of any publisher. Again, an amazing content creator, probably knows this part already. And, is very good at it.
Now, for “new” part. Based on audience segmentation a publisher can choose how, where and how much to dip their toes into ads monetization.
Why? Because monetizing with video ads is a game of match and find. Find the best content and match it with the most expensive ad. For instance: you are a big publisher and have a network of websites under the same umbrella. You could make more revenue from displaying ads from car companies on your only race car review website vs. play all your car ads on every website across all network. In online advertising, relevance can be more expensive than quantity.
These best practices help you decide how to start. With a single ad server like Google DFP? Or have multiple ad partners and ad tags competitions bid for your available inventory. Both options are thoroughly explained in the reference links provided at point 3 of this article.
Good luck, and, as always, Happy Campaigning!
