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Let’s start with sketching up the field. YouTube is massive. Here are a bunch of stats to clarify that:
On a global level, YouTube has billions of monthly logged-in users (Source: Google/YouTube Internal Data).
YouTube Shorts is now averaging over 200 billion daily Views (a/o April 2025)Source: Google/YouTube Internal Data).
In Denmark alone, YouTube reaches over 4 million people aged +18 (YouTube Internal Data, May 2024).
The average person watches 40 minutes of YouTube PER day in May 2024 (YouTube Internal Data, May 2024)
According to Search Engine Journal, and other sources, YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine with over 2.5 billion (yes, that’s with a B) logged in users per month and over 1 billion hours of video watched on the platform every day.
By now, there’s no doubt that YouTube is big. So the question is, how does your company get a piece of the cake? How can your company utilise the ad spaces on YouTube.
Here’s the 3 core points of what YouTube can help your company with:
Drive brand awareness
Generate consideration from the right audiences
Support action (lead generation and conversions)
So whether, you are interested in increasing brand awareness, retarget people who are considering your product/service or quite simply focus on hard conversions, there’s multiple ways to utilize YouTube Ads and its formats.
Let’s be really clear; the way we very simply define awareness is good ol’ showcasing your company, or product, to new potential customers/clients who are not familiar with your company. In other terms, super cold audiences that don’t know you.
When it comes to YouTube Ads, awareness campaigns aim to get your message in front of as many relevant viewers as possible by using formats designed to capture attention and build familiarity.
So, what formats can you help do that:
Skippable In-Stream Ads:
Scalable, skippable after 5s. Great for storytelling.
Non-Skippable In-Stream:
15–20s ads, force-viewed. High impact, but risky if creative isn’t tight.
Bumper Ads:
6-second non-skippable bursts. Ideal for frequency.
Masthead Ads:
Premium inventory on YouTube’s homepage. Use for big launches.
Shorts Ads:
Vertical video between YouTube Shorts. Mobile-first. Fast. Effective.
Don’t let hard conversions be your only definition of performance.
Instead, take a broader view and track the softer metrics that help paint the full picture:
impressions, clicks, average watch time, frequency, CTR, and CPC all give you insight into how your content is working.
Your CTR alone is a great indicator of how well your video is performing and whether it's content you should produce more of, or if it’s time to try something else.
Yes, on-site behaviour is important. But at this stage, I’d prioritize on-platform behaviour. Why? Because it’s rare that someone takes concrete action on your site the first time they see you. If they do, great. That says a lot about your product, pricing, and website. But most of the time, your job is just to earn a second look, which takes us to next subject: Consideration
Now that they’ve seen you; maybe watched a video, visited your site, or clicked around, you don’t want to just let them forget you and just go on. You have to keep the users engaged over time. It might be a few days if you sell something cheap (clothing and other goods that don’t cost a fortune) or over weeks/months if you sell something more expensive and have longer user journeys (B2B, SaaS, houses, cars).
This is where consideration campaigns come in. They’re all about staying top of mind and nudging people who’ve already shown some level of interest. Think of it as retargeting with more depth. You’re not selling hard here, you’re reminding them why they were interested in the first place.
This is where consideration campaigns come in. They’re all about staying top of mind and nudging people who’ve already shown some level of interest. Think of it as retargeting with more depth. You’re not selling hard here, you’re reminding them why they were interested in the first place.
So, what formats can help you do that?
In-Feed Video Ads:
These show up when people are scrolling or searching on YouTube. Great for product explainers or testimonials.
Shorts Ads (for Consideration).
Still vertical, still fast but here, you’re reaching warmer users. Keep it snappy, but with a bit more depth.
Video View Campaigns (VVC):
Google mixes formats (In-Stream, Shorts, In-Feed) and shows them to the right people at the right time to get you as many views as possible. Let the algorithm do the heavy lifting.
At this point, I get that you’re interested in conversions, not just on-platform metrics. I would be too.
That said, this stage is still more about engagement than closing the deal. So while it makes sense to pay closer attention to on-site behaviour like time on page, scroll depth, or visits to high-value pages, it shouldn’t come at the expense of understanding how your content is performing on YouTube.
Your messaging here will likely be a bit different from the Awareness stage. That’s why it’s important to track how people respond: look at click-through rates, watch time, engagement, and other signals that tell you whether you’re hitting the mark.
If you are to see hard conversions in this stage, good. Find out what’s giving your the conversions (video, messaging, offer) and keep going.
This is where things get real. This is where you should see a return on your money invested. Purchases, sign ups, leads, MQLs, SQLs and should know you after they’ve gotten to know your brand and what you do.I don’t have a time specific conclusion on when people are expected to convert. That’s just impossible, but you do it right and have the right content, people will have gotten some kind of affection for your brand and choose you over others.
They know you. Maybe they’ve watched a couple of videos, visited your site, checked out your pricing, read reviews, Google’d you (hello Search-campaigns). Now it’s time to get them to do something; sign up, book a call, buy the product.
Let’s talk format:
Demand Gen Campaigns.
These go across YouTube, Gmail, Discover and are built for one thing: conversions. Whether that’s sign-ups, purchases, or lead forms, these campaigns are focused on results.
It’s not a YouTube-only campaign, but YouTube is a big part of the inventory. Super useful if you want to go beyond just search intent and hit people while they’re browsing or watching.
In this stage, it’s natural to start seeing conversions both on-platform and in your backend systems.
But here’s the thing: your YouTube or Demand Gen campaigns might not always get the credit directly. Instead, you might see increased performance in your branded or generic search campaigns. Maybe search volume for your brand goes up. Maybe more people are Googling the problem your product solves.
My message for the Action stage is simple: be patient.
If your product, pricing, offer, and website are strong your customers will come. You just have to give your full funnel time to do its job.
YouTube isn’t just for entertainment. It’s a powerhouse platform for reaching real people with real intent before they search, while they research, and after they’ve visited your site.
If you’re already running Google Ads, YouTube should be the natural next step. And if you’re not using it yet, it’s time to rethink how you approach awareness, consideration, and demand generation.
You don’t have to go all in overnight. But you do need to start testing, learning, and improving because the opportunity is already there. Just make sure you are present and utilizing it.
Do you want to get tips and tricks on how to gain even more from your Google Ads activities?
Then reach out to me on email, ss@profoundnorth.com, or by phone, +45 93 93 03 43.
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