YouTube Ad Specs for 2019

With over 1.9 billion monthly users, YouTube is both the world’s second largest search
engine and top website for video content consumption.
This makes it prime advertising real estate, but to succeed on the platform, advertisers
need to use the correct YouTube ad specifications. These rules help ensure that
your ad gets in front of more viewers, making you more likely to gain new customers
and increase brand awareness.
There are two broad categories of YouTube ads: display and video. Here’s a quick
look at the ad specs for each format.

YouTube Display Ad Specs

In addition to the specifications listed below, all YouTube display ads must
follow Google’s image ad policies.

Standard display ads

Standard display ads are static or animated images that can appear across Google
properties, often directly to the upper right of a YouTube video.

Standard display ads must meet the below specifications:

 Image: 300×250
  File type: GIF, JPG, PNG
 File size: Max. 150KB
 Max. animation length: 30 seconds

Overlay ads
Overlay ads are small static images that appear as an overlay at the bottom of a video.
These are one of the least expensive YouTube ad options, especially when compared
to video ads.
Clicking through these ads opens the advertiser’s landing page in a new tab or window.

Overlay ads must meet the following specs:

 Image: 480×70
 File type: Static GIF, PNG, JPG
 File size: Max. 150KB

YouTube Video Ad Specs

All YouTube video ads must follow the same basic specifications:
 Video Codec: H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4
 Audio Codec: AAC, MP3
 Resolution: 640×360 (19:9 aspect ratio) or 480×360 (4:3 aspect ratio)
 Frame Rate: 30 FPS
 File Size: Max. 1 GB
Bumper ads

Bumper ads, also called pre-roll ads, are short videos that appear before a YouTube
video.
In addition to the above, YouTube pre-roll specs include:
 Must be uploaded to YouTube
 Companion image specs:
o 300×60 pixels
o JPG, static GIF, or PNG
o Follow Google’s image ad policies
o Max. 1KB
 Length: Max. 6 seconds

TrueView ads

YouTube TrueView ads refer to video ads that users choose to watch (past the skip
button). Advertisers only pay for these ads when users choose to view them. There are
two types of TrueView ads: TrueView in-stream — also called pre-roll ads — and
TrueView discovery.

TrueView in-stream ads

In-stream ads play before or during a video from a YouTube partner. Viewers have the
opportunity to skip the ads after 5 seconds, but advertisers only pay for the ad when the
viewer watches at least 30 seconds of it or until the end — whichever is shorter — or
clicks through to a landing page.
In-stream ads also offer TrueView for Action, which allows advertisers to add prominent
CTAs and headline text overlays to video ads. This ad format is specifically designed to
drive clicks, making it an especially valuable tool for online retailers who want to drive
purchases, not just awareness.
In addition to the overall YouTube specs listed above, TrueView in-stream ad specs and
requirements are as follows:
 Must be uploaded to YouTube
 Companion image specs:
o 300×60
o JPG, static GIF, or PNG
o Follow Google’s image ad policies
o Max. 150 KB
 Length: 12 seconds to 3 minutes (>30 seconds recommended)

TrueView discovery ads

TrueView discovery ads appear next to YouTube videos and on YouTube search
pages. Advertisers only pay for these ads when a user clicks on them.
These ads offer more leniency and the opportunity for more creativity than traditional
YouTube ads because they don’t have the same 3 minute time limit.
This means that you can use these ads to demo a product, tell your brand story, or
feature a longer form customer testimonial.
TrueView discovery ad specs follow all of the basic YouTube ad specs, plus the
following:
 Must be uploaded to YouTube
 Image: Choose from 4 generated thumbnails
 Headline: Max. 25 characters
 Description: Two lines, max. 35 characters

How To Use YouTube Ads

Make sure that you always follow Google’s advertising policies as well as the technical
ad specs shared above, and keep up to date with new iterations to its ad options, such
as the new call-to-action (CTA) extensions that give advertisers the ability to add an
interactive, customized element to their YouTube ads.