YouTube is one of the best video-sharing platforms. This platform has a billion users from all over the world. That’s why if you want to share your content, then YouTube can be the greatest platform for you.
YouTube is a platform where many people come to consume content, and as it enables different language translation systems, there are no boundaries for your channel.
Furthermore, if you are a businessman or any type of service provider, you can use YouTube to increase awareness of your goods. If you want to increase awareness for your channel, videos, or products, YouTube ads can be a wonderful choice.
You may be running YouTube ads, but a common issue is that they aren’t getting any impressions or views. This article will explain what to check if your ads aren’t working.
You should know
There is one important condition before running any campaign. That is, the video you will use to run or promote the campaign must not have any policy violations. Google AdWords does not accept many types of content, rendering campaigns impossible. Like
- Gambling.
- Drugs.
- Pharmaceutical products, etc.
If you have content outside of these unacceptable categories, you can run campaigns through Google AdWords. So this is the first parameter: you have to confirm that your videos are not under any violations and outside of the unacceptable categories from Google.
Let’s start the checking
So if your videos are not under any violation, then the problem is somewhere else. So now it’s time to enter in your Google AdWords account to examine some settings for the campaign.
Restrictions
First of all, before running the campaign, we must verify whether our campaign is eligible for Google AdWords. If the campaign is not eligible for any reason and falls under restrictions, we need to examine the situation thoroughly and resolve the issue.
Your campaign can come under restrictions for many reasons, but here let’s talk about some.
Policy Compliance:
It is very important to follow Google AdWords policies. If your content violates any of the policies, such as gambling, drugs, or content that is not suitable for minors, it will not be possible to promote it through AdWords. For example, if your product is on Google AdWords’ “Unacceptable Products” list, Google will cancel your campaign.
At the beginning, we discussed that if you want to run a campaign on YouTube, your product must first be on the Google acceptable product list.
Targeting options:
Sometimes our targeting settings can also be a reason why a campaign is not eligible. For example, if we show ads only in a location where that type of product or service is prohibited, our campaign may be disqualified.
Please remember to verify the law before running your campaign in any specific location; otherwise, your campaign may be disqualified.
Billing issues:
If there are any billing-related issues, such as credit card information not being updated or a problem with the billing address, the campaign will not run. These types of issues can be easily checked and resolved.
It’s important to address these issues promptly to ensure the campaign runs smoothly on YouTube.
If your campaign is ineligible for any reason, you should first identify the issues. For example, if your campaign was disqualified due to a policy violation, you can rectify it by reviewing the content and making it compliant with the policy.
Thus, it is crucial to first check eligibility and then resolve any issues to successfully launch your campaign.
Location Audience & Demographics
If your campaign is unrestricted and compliant with the Google Ads policy, review its other aspects.
Location targeting and audience scope
We often target very small or specific areas (e.g., a specific neighbourhood or a 2-3 kilometre radius) in our campaigns. This is technically called ‘hyper-segmentation’.
- Problem: When the targeted area is too small, the number of audience or ‘Audience Pool’, becomes very limited. As a result, the Google Ads algorithm lacks sufficient data, and the ad misses the opportunity to reach people (impressions).
- Example: Suppose you have targeted only a specific street in New York where only 500 people live. If Google searches for potential customers, the small number means the ad won’t run well, even with your budget.
- Solution: We should keep the location a bit “broad.” That is, target a specific small area as well as the surrounding area or the entire city so that Google can identify the right customers for you from the large audience.
Demographic section optimization
Another important thing is the demographic settings (age, gender, household income, etc.). If we do not specify anything in this section or make the wrong selection, the campaign may be off-target.
Budget & Bidding Strategy
There may be some major limitations in the budget and bidding settings that are causing our campaign to not deliver the expected results or to stop suddenly. Below is a detailed explanation:
Insufficient budget and Google’s algorithm
When setting up a campaign, we often set a very low budget. When the budget is too low, Google’s learning phase or ability to work is reduced.
- Problem: Google is a competitive place. If you set your daily budget too low, Google can’t send your ad to a large auction. This slows down your ad delivery or stops it altogether.
- Example: Suppose your competitors are spending 500 taka per day in a particular area, but you have only given them a budget of 50 taka. In this situation, even if Google would like to, your ad won’t have the opportunity to reach enough people because your budget is much lower than the competition’s.
The impact of bidding
Many people keep their average bid amount too low, even with a sufficient budget. This is a major obstacle for YouTube or video campaigns.
- Problem: There is a cost to show ads on YouTube. If you set a very low bid (e.g. 1 cent), but the current market price for that specific audience or keyword is 10 cents, Google will not be able to show your ad to anyone.
- Geographical variation: It is important to remember that advertising expenses are not the same everywhere. The cost of showing an ad in New York City may be different from the cost of showing an ad in a remote village. If you set the same low bid for all locations, your ad will not run in expensive or competitive areas. That’s why before selecting the bid, you have to understand where you are running the ads.
Results and Solutions
If the budget and bidding are not in line with the market, YouTube ads stop running.
Solution: We should keep the budget and bids somewhat flexible at the beginning. Once the campaign starts collecting data or is running, we can gradually reduce costs and optimise it later. Please review your budget and bidding to ensure there are no similar issues in that section.
Start & End Date
Mistakes regarding start and end dates can be a major reason why YouTube ads or video campaigns do not produce the expected results or are suddenly closed.
After publishing any Google Ads campaign, it goes through a ‘Review’ process. Then its ‘learning phase’ begins. If you set the campaign duration too short or accidentally set a date that ends soon, the campaign will expire as soon as it becomes “eligible” or active.
Another major reason for not getting advertising results can be the time zone or time difference. Your campaign may not receive any impressions, even if it is ‘eligible’ or active.
The main reason for this is that your campaign schedule is not in sync with your selected location or country time. Maybe it is midnight in your targeted area, or your scheduled time has not started there yet. Therefore, in the case of global campaigns, it is very important to adjust the correct geographical location and time accordingly.
Network
In advertising campaigns, many times we inadvertently do not set up the ‘Network Section’ correctly. Especially in the case of YouTube campaigns, if the YouTube option is not selected correctly in the network settings, the ad does not appear on the desired platform. Therefore, the campaign must check the network section from the settings to see if YouTube videos and its partner networks are properly activated there.
If you do not ensure the correct network selection, you will not get any impressions or views directly from YouTube despite spending your budget. Therefore, it is important to re-check this small but important aspect of the technical settings to ensure maximum effectiveness of the campaign.
Language
Correct language selection is very important for the success of advertising. Many times, due to selecting the wrong language, our video reaches people who do not understand the language of your video. Since to get a full view on YouTube, the viewer has to watch the video for a certain time; if they do not understand the language, they stop the video at the beginning.
As a result, the watch time and number of views of the video do not increase as expected. Therefore, to ensure the reach and engagement of the campaign, it is important to ensure the correct language settings in accordance with the language of the target audience.
Ultimately, running a successful YouTube Ads campaign is not just about publishing ads. Each of the technical aspects we discussed above is the lifeblood of a successful campaign. Flaws in any of these aspects can lead to a complete waste of your investment.
If your campaign isn’t working or delivering the desired results, check these technical checklists after the ad goes live. But it’s best to verify these points at the start of the campaign. Only proper planning and regular optimisation can ensure that your video reaches the right audience and achieves the desired goals.
