2.6 billion people log in to YouTube every month to watch entertainment or educational videos. With such a vast user base, YouTube is the world’s second most-used social media network after Facebook.
People access the platform multiple times every day. On average, users spend 45.6 minutes a day watching videos on YouTube.
With such a massive and active audience, YouTube is the perfect platform for businesses of all sizes to advertise their brands and convert potential customers into buyers.
If you want to run YouTube ads, you must ensure you use the latest and most accurate YouTube ad specifications.
In this article, you’ll find the complete list of the most popular and effective ad formats and YouTube specs and sizes.
Table of contents:
- YouTube in-feed video ads specifications
- YouTube skippable video ads specifications
- YouTube non-skippable video ads specifications
- YouTube bumper ads specifications
- YouTube display ads specifications
- YouTube in-video overlay ads specifications
- Sponsored cards
Just in case you’re in doubt, here are three more reasons to run YouTube ads:
YouTube ads are highly effective
According to Google, 59% of the platform’s users find YouTube ads more relevant than TV commercials.
Not only are YouTube ads relevant, but they’re also compelling. 70% of people purchase products after seeing their ads on YouTube.
YouTube allows local & global reach
YouTube covers 100+ countries and 80 languages worldwide, which means brands can reach massive audiences located in multiple countries, and cities around the world. But small local businesses can also reach local audiences with YouTube advertising.
Unmatched targeting capabilities
The platform offers a massive reach and unparalleled targeting capacity, coupled with automation and machine learning technology. To name but a few.
The Complete List Of YouTube Ad Requirements
There are multiple ad formats available on YouTube that you can use to achieve your marketing goals.
1. In-feed YouTube video ad specs
In-feed video ads are shown on a user’s YouTube homepage, search results page, or as related videos on the right-hand side column. They appear as a thumbnail image, with a headline and two lines of text.
This video ad format is ideal for building brand consideration, because it is served as a relevant option to people searching for related content.
In-feed video ad resolutions:
- Full HD: 1920 x 1080 (horizontal), 1080 x 1920 (vertical), 1080 x 1080 (square).
- Standard HD: 1280 x 720 (horizontal), 720 x 1280 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
- SD: 640 x 480 (horizontal), 480 x 640 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (horizontal), 1:1 (square), 4:3 (horizontal), 9:16 (vertical), 2:3 (vertical).
Accepted formats: MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4), WMV, MOV, AVI, FLVm MPEG-1, MP4, MPEGPS, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm & HEVC (h265).
Maximum file size: 256GB.
Video duration: up to 15 seconds (recommended duration).
YouTube ad copy specs: headline (up to 2 lines, 40 characters per line); description (up to 2 lines, 35 characters per line).
Required assets: a thumbnail image, a headline (maximum 100 characters), a description (up to 2 lines, maximum 35 characters each), an URL to your website/landing page.
Thumbnail specs: resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels, 1280 x 640 pixels; aspect ratio: 16:9; accepted formats: JPG, GIF, PNG.
2. Skippable in-stream video ads
Skippable in-stream ads appear before, during, or after a video on YouTube. These video ads can be skipped after the first five seconds, and the user can continue to watch the selected video.
These ads are ideal for driving conversions, sales, website traffic, product and brand consideration, brand awareness, and reach.
Skippable in-stream ad resolutions:
- Full HD: 1920 x 1080 (horizontal), 1080 x 1920 (vertical), 1080 x 1080 (square).
- Standard HD: 1280 x 720 (horizontal), 720 x 1280 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
- SD: 640 x 480 (horizontal), 480 x 640 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (horizontal), 1:1 (square), 9:16 (vertical), 4:3 (horizontal), 2:3 (vertical).
Accepted formats: MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4), WMV, MOV, AVI, FLVm MPEG-1, MP4, MPEGPS, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm & HEVC (h265).
Maximum file size: 256GB.
Video duration: 15 seconds to 6 minutes.
YouTube ad copy specs: headline (up to 15 characters), description: up to 15 characters.
Required assets: a thumbnail image, a description (up to 2 lines, maxium 35 characters each), an URL to your website/landing page.
Thumbnail specs: resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels, 1280 x 640 pixels; aspect ratio: 16:9; accepted formats: JPG, GIF, PNG.
YouTube companion banner specs
A companion banner is an image that appears next to your ad on desktop computers only. You can choose to use an auto-generated banner, or upload an image. If you opt for the auto-generated banner, YouTube will pull information from your YouTube channel to generate a banner.
Requirements for uploaded companion banner: resolution: 300 x 60 pixels; accepted formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG; maximum file size: 150KB.
3. Non-skippable in-stream video ads
Non-skippable video ads appear before, during, or after a video on YouTube, and can be up to 15-20 seconds long.
The user doesn’t have the option to skip these ads, and must watch them until the end before they can continue watching the video.
This ad format is best for increasing brand awareness and reach.
Non-skippable ad resolutions:
- Full HD: 1920 x 1080 (horizontal), 1080 x 1920 (vertical), 1080 x 1080 (square).
- Standard HD: 1280 x 720 (horizontal), 720 x 1280 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
- SD: 640 x 480 (horizontal), 480 x 640 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (horizontal), 1:1 (square), 9:16 (vertical), 4:3 (horizontal), 2:3 (vertical).
Accepted formats: MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4), WMV, MOV, AVI, FLVm MPEG-1, MP4, MPEGPS, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm & HEVC (h265).
Maximum file size: 128GB.
Video duration: up to 15-20 seconds.
YouTube ad copy specs: headline (up to 15 characters); description (up to 15 characters); CTA (up to 10 characters).
Required assets: a thumbnail image, a description, an URL to your website/landing page.
Thumbnail specs: resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels, 1280 x 640 pixels; aspect ratio: 16:9; accepted formats: JPG, GIF, PNG.
YouTube companion banner specs: resolution: 300 x 60 pixels; accepted formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG; maximum file size: 150KB.
4. YouTube bumper ad specs
Bumper ads are also non-skippable video ads that can appear before, during, or after a selected video on YouTube. The only difference is that these are short-form video ads and can have a length of up to six seconds.
Advertisers are free to choose where in the video content their ad will appear.
If you decide to run bumper ads, you need to craft a highly impactful video with a very concise message. Bumper ads are a great way to raise brand awareness or reinforce other ads.
YouTube pre-roll ad specs and sizes:
- Full HD: 1920 x 1080 (horizontal), 1080 x 1920 (vertical), 1080 x 1080 (square).
- Standard HD: 1280 x 720 (horizontal), 720 x 1280 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
- SD: 640 x 480 (horizontal), 480 x 640 (vertical), 480 x 480 (square).
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (horizontal), 1:1 (square), 9:16 (vertical), 4:3 (horizontal), 2:3 (vertical).
Accepted formats: MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4), WMV, MOV, AVI, FLVm MPEG-1, MP4, MPEGPS, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm & HEVC (h265).
Maximum file size: 1GB.
Video duration: up to 6 seconds.
YouTube ad copy specs: headline (up to 15 characters); description (up to 15 characters); CTA (up to 10 characters).
Required assets: a thumbnail image, a description (up to 2 lines, maxium 35 characters each), a URL to your website/landing page.
Thumbnail specs: resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels, 1280 x 640 pixels; aspect ratio: 16:9; accepted formats: JPG, GIF, PNG.
YouTube companion banner specs: resolution: 300 x 60 pixels; accepted formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG; maximum file size: 150KB.
5. YouTube display ads dimensions
When you set up your display ads campaign in Google Ads, the platform will ask you to choose your placements. You can choose to show your display ads on YouTube’s right-hand side, right above the related videos column.
The best part about YouTube display ads is that you can set your ads to appear with specific videos, on certain channels, or on all of YouTube.
YouTube display ads specs:
- Resolution: 300 x 250 pixels, 300 x 60 pixels.
- Accepted file types: JPG, PNG, GIF.
- Maximum file size: 150KB.
6. In-video overlay ads specs
Overlay YouTube ads are rectangular banner ads of 480 x 70 pixels, that show up after the video has started playing.
Overlay ads requirements:
To create YouTube banner ads, follow these specifications:
- Dimensions: 480 x 70 pixels.
- Accepted file types: JPG, PNG, and static GIF.
- Maximum file size: 150KB.
7. Sponsored cards
If you want to make it easier for the viewers to find out more about the products you advertise in your video ad, you can use the Sponsored cards format. This ad format allows you to lay your products over the video, so that people can click the links and go to your website instantly.
You can choose to show these cards when you mention the products in the video, or at the end of the video.
Sponsored cards requirements:
- Accepted file formats: JPG, PNG, GIF.
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Maximum file size: 5MB.
Conclusion
Use these YouTube ad dimensions to design outstanding ads, and come back here whenever you need updated YouTube advertising specs. We will be keeping this page updated.
