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For me, YouTube is the most effective ad sponsored service by far. Users are forced to watch at least 5 seconds of ads before watching any content. This 5 secon

For me, YouTube is the most effective ad sponsored service by far. Users are forced to watch at least 5 seconds of ads before watching any content. This 5 second window is very focused as there is no time to context switch to anything else. Contrast this with Google search - sure there are some ads at the top but these are easy to mentally filter out.

loloquwowndueo 4y ago
Cue uBlock origin - I don’t recall the last time I watched an injected ad on YouTube. Of course most content these days is peddling some product, or has a quick word from sponsors - but at least I don’t have to put up with unrelated ads in the middle of a stream.
- causi 4y ago
  You, my friend, need to install SponsorBlock.
- osigurdson 4y ago
  I don't bother with that stuff. I just wish the ads were more relevant.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- pier25 4y ago
  And so the creators don't get paid when you watch their content. I pay for YouTube Premium. Creators get paid and I don't watch ads. We have a family plan so this applies to the whole family. We spend way more time watching YouTube than Netflix but pay for both.
  - j-bos 4y ago
    Echoing this, a YT premium subscription feels like a proper transaction.
  - edgyquant 4y ago
    Nearly all of them shill some product in there video. They get paid.
    - Tepix 4y ago
      Do you want to encourage this behaviour versus those who merely rely on what YouTube pays them?
      - 998244353 4y ago
        If I had to choose between seeing the ads by YouTube and seeing the creator's own ad, I'd choose the second. I don't really know why. But if I turn off ad blocking, YouTube's own ads are way more obnoxious and intrusive. Maybe it's because every advertiser has figured out they need to cram as much shit into a 5-second segment? Or maybe it is because seeing an ad at the very beginning is much more psychologically disruptive (or if the YT ad is in the middle, it is usually inserted without any regard to the video, even breaking up sentences).
    - judge2020 4y ago
      Even with sponsors, adsense is always an incredible driver of revenue[0,1] especially as more and more people (especially in the US) have an iPhone which prevents any ad blockers within the YouTube app. And YouTube Premium views pay out a lot more per view than any ad-supported view[2,3]. 0: https://twitter.com/linusgsebastian/status/1609468262219403264?s=20 https://twitter.com/linusgsebastian/status/16094682622194032... 1: https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515?s=20 https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515?s=2... 2: https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486935690315112455?s=20 https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486935690315112455?s=2... 3: https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/1513177490730061829?s=20 https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/1513177490730061829?s=2...
  - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
    > And so the creators don't get paid when you watch their content. They could ask the users to pay for the content they produce and measure how many microseconds would pass before they switch to someone else's videos. It's an option. I don't want to watch ads, I skip sponsored sections, I feel no guilt about it, if they can't monetize enough and have to shutdown operations, I can survive without that content. What would you say if I was dancing in the middle of the streets asking for money and blaming people who don't give any because "I am not being paid for the show I've put up, you ingrates!"? Nobody asked or forced content creators to upload their content on YT.
    - PixelForg 4y ago
      Your analogy is only correct if you watch content that's recommended to you, but many of us actively watch YouTubers we have subscribed to, in that case it makes sense for the creators to get paid then. Edit - Edited the comment a bit
      - JohnFen 4y ago
        95% of what I watch on YouTube is from YouTubers I actively subscribe to. I rarely use YouTube's recommendations (in no small part because YouTube is bad at recommendations for me). I'm very happy to support the ones I follow who are doing it for a living. For most, I consider their cut of my Premium fee to be sufficient. For some, I go beyond by giving them money through Patreon and the like, or buying their swag.
      - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
        of course it is fair to be paid, they should be paid regardless by YouTube though, not by me watching the ADS. If I block the ads, YouTube should pay them nonetheless. Because I chose to block the ADS, not the content creator. But it's not my responsibility to watch the ADS or the sponsored content. The content has been uploaded as "public & free" and I watch it for free.
        maximus-decimus 4y ago
  - ahtihn 4y ago
    I don't really care that creators don't get paid. Youtube was better when no one was getting paid.
  - JohnFen 4y ago
    > And so the creators don't get paid when you watch their content. Let's be honest here -- creators aren't really getting paid any meaningful amount of money from those ads anymore. Those days are long gone. That's why all YouTubers who care about revenue do their own ads as part of their own content, and/or use things like Patreon. There's only one reason why YouTubers even bother to allow YouTube to "monetize" them -- if they don't, YouTube won't recommend them to other viewers. I also pay for Premium, though.
    - Panzer04 4y ago
      This is untrue afaik. Even big channels with big self-sponsorship (eg Linus Tech Tips) still make (pulling out of thin air here) something like 20-30%+ of their revenue from native google ads.
      - JohnFen 4y ago
        As I understand it, the big channels do make decent money from their cut of Google's ads. But the vast majority of YouTubers aren't big. I think it's a percentage game.
  - titaniumtown 4y ago
    Youtube ad revenue is a very small part of income made from creating Youtube videos. Most people who makes videos take up sponsorships which are way more lucrative.
- kgwxd 4y ago
  Sponsors are the way ads should work. Ads aren't the problem, tracking is.
- goku12 4y ago
  It could be argued that the worst thing that happened to ads are targeted ads. The targeting part manages to insert irrelevant ads at the most inappropriate times, even after invading users' activity across the web. Even simple non-tracking ads like a word from the sponsor are sometimes relevant and manages to avoid invasive breaks.
  - JohnFen 4y ago
    Ignoring the issue that targeted advertising requires surveillance, my biggest problem with it is that it removes the only useful thing about ads: You used to be able to tell pretty quickly what demographic any given content was made for by noticing what ads were running with it. Targeted advertising removes that signal.
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  One time while working at Google, someone sent me an email linking to a video file related to our work. Before I could watch the video, I had to watch an ad of a unicorn pooping and then a man eating it. I was quite repulsed and livid about it.
  - boulos 4y ago
    Ahh, you mean the original Squatty Potty ads: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q It's definitely bizarre. I assume they were going for memorable, but your report sounds like it failed at the basic goal: remembering the product.
- wintermutestwin 4y ago
  Cue the people implying that blocking YT's ads is a form of theft. I'd gladly pay for ad-free YT, mostly to send the message that I will never ever go back to watching ads. The problem is that google is already stealing my data. Where is the stalker-free option? Of course, I'd never trust google anyway...
  - JohnFen 4y ago
    > I'd gladly pay for ad-free YT Then why don't you? That's been an option for years.
    - wintermutestwin 4y ago
      >The problem is that google is already stealing my data. My data is worth much more to me than the cost of a YT sub.
      - JohnFen 4y ago
        But, as you said, google is already stealing your data anyway. Would paying a bit of money every month really make that any worse? But aside from that, it's totally possible to minimize your exposure and still pay for Premium. What I do is have a Google account that is only used for YouTube, paid for through a prepaid debit card, and I only watch YouTube on a single tablet that is not used for any other purpose. It's not perfect protection, but it's also not terrible.
        wintermutestwin 4y ago
        If I give data thieving Google money, I am sending the message that I am OK with their data theft (regardless of going through ridiculous hoops to keep them from stealing it).
        JohnFen 4y ago
        Yeah, I'm with you there. YouTube is the last Google service (outside of Android) that I still use. I'll be ditching it as soon as some other service comes reasonably close to being able to replace it for me. That hasn't happened yet, but the day is coming closer.
- favourable 4y ago
  > Cue uBlock origin uBo doesn't work everywhere. I do have it installed on Firefox for Android though.
Waterluvian 4y ago
You can’t filter out google ads because you don’t know which are ads beyond the handful they label as such. Google filters and shapes the results so much now that I’m inclined to say it’s all essentially advertising. That is, Google is giving you want it wants you to see in what order, and lately filters out anything that isn’t helpful for Google.
opdahl 4y ago
Your point is certainly valid, but I have a slightly different perspective on the matter. Google Search Ads hold a certain magic that is unparalleled in the digital marketing world. Unlike video ads, which can be intrusive and irrelevant to a viewer's current needs, Google Search Ads are precisely targeted to solve the exact problem or question a user is currently facing. I've personally experimented with YouTube ads and discovered that while they can be useful for building brand awareness, they don't always lead to direct website traffic. As my company grows, I've realized that spending money on platforms like TikTok or Facebook simply doesn't make sense, as we can't yet promote our products in high enough volumes to truly stick in a user's memory. However, with Google Search Ads, we're able to reach potential customers at the exact moment when our product can be of service, leading to higher click-through rates and ultimately, a higher conversion rate than we could ever achieve with video ads.
taco_emoji 4y ago
As a consumer, this is 90% of the reason I avoid Youtube as much as possible. EDIT: Also just because people are forced to watch 5 seconds of an ad doesn't mean it's got any measurable positive effect (for the advertiser) whatsoever.
- sebzim4500 4y ago
  Because youtube ads respond almost instantly to changing the settings, you can normally get a pretty good idea of whether you are getting any return.
- osigurdson 4y ago
  I think if the ads are relevant it is a really good system. I’m only annoyed when ads are not relevant. Unfortunately the ads are irrelevant 90% of the time. These days they are sometimes not even in the right language - not sure what is up with that.
- osigurdson 4y ago
  If you have any idea what Monday.com or Asana is then YouTube is probably working.
  - taco_emoji 4y ago
    Well, I have no idea what those are, so...
  - HDThoreaun 4y ago
    You can thank the MTA for knowing that monday.com exists
JohnFen 4y ago
> Users are forced to watch at least 5 seconds of ads before watching any content. Not all users. I pay Google in order to not have to watch those ads, and they aren't served to me.
- devmunchies 4y ago
  Same. Which is a tough spot for YouTube. The user's with the most disposable income and possibly niche targets for high value products are inaccessible. I only pay $9-10 per month, whereas there are some companies who would pay way more for me (eng leadership/founder) to learn about their product. It would be very expensive CAC (cust. acquisition cost) but maybe worth it for a some niche products. Maybe Google needs a way to "recommend" reviews for products in the video recommendations so that businesses can pay for placement (like Google Ads).
  - JohnFen 4y ago
    > Maybe Google needs a way to "recommend" reviews I would say "please don't give them any ideas", but I already ignore YouTube recommendations anyway, so that wouldn't actually bother me. However, if YouTube found a sneaky way to get ads in front of me regardless of my premium membership, that would eliminate the entire value of the premium membership. And, for me, it would reduce the value of YouTube enough to get me to finally ditch YouTube once and for all. Which might not be a bad thing, really.
    - devmunchies 4y ago
      I don’t mind ads, what I’m paying for is time. I don’t like ads where I have to wait for them to end.

loloquwowndueo 4y ago

Cue uBlock origin - I don’t recall the last time I watched an injected ad on YouTube. Of course most content these days is peddling some product, or has a quick word from sponsors - but at least I don’t have to put up with unrelated ads in the middle of a stream.

causi 4y ago
You, my friend, need to install SponsorBlock.
osigurdson 4y ago
I don't bother with that stuff. I just wish the ads were more relevant.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
pier25 4y ago
And so the creators don't get paid when you watch their content. I pay for YouTube Premium. Creators get paid and I don't watch ads. We have a family plan so this applies to the whole family. We spend way more time watching YouTube than Netflix but pay for both.
- j-bos 4y ago
  Echoing this, a YT premium subscription feels like a proper transaction.
- edgyquant 4y ago
  Nearly all of them shill some product in there video. They get paid.
  - Tepix 4y ago
    Do you want to encourage this behaviour versus those who merely rely on what YouTube pays them?
    - 998244353 4y ago
      If I had to choose between seeing the ads by YouTube and seeing the creator's own ad, I'd choose the second. I don't really know why. But if I turn off ad blocking, YouTube's own ads are way more obnoxious and intrusive. Maybe it's because every advertiser has figured out they need to cram as much shit into a 5-second segment? Or maybe it is because seeing an ad at the very beginning is much more psychologically disruptive (or if the YT ad is in the middle, it is usually inserted without any regard to the video, even breaking up sentences).
  - judge2020 4y ago
    Even with sponsors, adsense is always an incredible driver of revenue[0,1] especially as more and more people (especially in the US) have an iPhone which prevents any ad blockers within the YouTube app. And YouTube Premium views pay out a lot more per view than any ad-supported view[2,3]. 0: https://twitter.com/linusgsebastian/status/1609468262219403264?s=20 https://twitter.com/linusgsebastian/status/16094682622194032... 1: https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515?s=20 https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515?s=2... 2: https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486935690315112455?s=20 https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486935690315112455?s=2... 3: https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/1513177490730061829?s=20 https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/1513177490730061829?s=2...
- peoplefromibiza 4y ago
  > And so the creators don't get paid when you watch their content. They could ask the users to pay for the content they produce and measure how many microseconds would pass before they switch to someone else's videos. It's an option. I don't want to watch ads, I skip sponsored sections, I feel no guilt about it, if they can't monetize enough and have to shutdown operations, I can survive without that content. What would you say if I was dancing in the middle of the streets asking for money and blaming people who don't give any because "I am not being paid for the show I've put up, you ingrates!"? Nobody asked or forced content creators to upload their content on YT.
  - PixelForg 4y ago
    Your analogy is only correct if you watch content that's recommended to you, but many of us actively watch YouTubers we have subscribed to, in that case it makes sense for the creators to get paid then. Edit - Edited the comment a bit
    - JohnFen 4y ago
      95% of what I watch on YouTube is from YouTubers I actively subscribe to. I rarely use YouTube's recommendations (in no small part because YouTube is bad at recommendations for me). I'm very happy to support the ones I follow who are doing it for a living. For most, I consider their cut of my Premium fee to be sufficient. For some, I go beyond by giving them money through Patreon and the like, or buying their swag.
    - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
      of course it is fair to be paid, they should be paid regardless by YouTube though, not by me watching the ADS. If I block the ads, YouTube should pay them nonetheless. Because I chose to block the ADS, not the content creator. But it's not my responsibility to watch the ADS or the sponsored content. The content has been uploaded as "public & free" and I watch it for free.
      - maximus-decimus 4y ago
- ahtihn 4y ago
  I don't really care that creators don't get paid. Youtube was better when no one was getting paid.
- JohnFen 4y ago
  > And so the creators don't get paid when you watch their content. Let's be honest here -- creators aren't really getting paid any meaningful amount of money from those ads anymore. Those days are long gone. That's why all YouTubers who care about revenue do their own ads as part of their own content, and/or use things like Patreon. There's only one reason why YouTubers even bother to allow YouTube to "monetize" them -- if they don't, YouTube won't recommend them to other viewers. I also pay for Premium, though.
  - Panzer04 4y ago
    This is untrue afaik. Even big channels with big self-sponsorship (eg Linus Tech Tips) still make (pulling out of thin air here) something like 20-30%+ of their revenue from native google ads.
    - JohnFen 4y ago
      As I understand it, the big channels do make decent money from their cut of Google's ads. But the vast majority of YouTubers aren't big. I think it's a percentage game.
- titaniumtown 4y ago
  Youtube ad revenue is a very small part of income made from creating Youtube videos. Most people who makes videos take up sponsorships which are way more lucrative.
kgwxd 4y ago
Sponsors are the way ads should work. Ads aren't the problem, tracking is.
goku12 4y ago
It could be argued that the worst thing that happened to ads are targeted ads. The targeting part manages to insert irrelevant ads at the most inappropriate times, even after invading users' activity across the web. Even simple non-tracking ads like a word from the sponsor are sometimes relevant and manages to avoid invasive breaks.
- JohnFen 4y ago
  Ignoring the issue that targeted advertising requires surveillance, my biggest problem with it is that it removes the only useful thing about ads: You used to be able to tell pretty quickly what demographic any given content was made for by noticing what ads were running with it. Targeted advertising removes that signal.
sgtnoodle 4y ago
One time while working at Google, someone sent me an email linking to a video file related to our work. Before I could watch the video, I had to watch an ad of a unicorn pooping and then a man eating it. I was quite repulsed and livid about it.
- boulos 4y ago
  Ahh, you mean the original Squatty Potty ads: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q It's definitely bizarre. I assume they were going for memorable, but your report sounds like it failed at the basic goal: remembering the product.
wintermutestwin 4y ago
Cue the people implying that blocking YT's ads is a form of theft. I'd gladly pay for ad-free YT, mostly to send the message that I will never ever go back to watching ads. The problem is that google is already stealing my data. Where is the stalker-free option? Of course, I'd never trust google anyway...
- JohnFen 4y ago
  > I'd gladly pay for ad-free YT Then why don't you? That's been an option for years.
  - wintermutestwin 4y ago
    >The problem is that google is already stealing my data. My data is worth much more to me than the cost of a YT sub.
    - JohnFen 4y ago
      But, as you said, google is already stealing your data anyway. Would paying a bit of money every month really make that any worse? But aside from that, it's totally possible to minimize your exposure and still pay for Premium. What I do is have a Google account that is only used for YouTube, paid for through a prepaid debit card, and I only watch YouTube on a single tablet that is not used for any other purpose. It's not perfect protection, but it's also not terrible.
      - wintermutestwin 4y ago
        If I give data thieving Google money, I am sending the message that I am OK with their data theft (regardless of going through ridiculous hoops to keep them from stealing it).
        JohnFen 4y ago
        Yeah, I'm with you there. YouTube is the last Google service (outside of Android) that I still use. I'll be ditching it as soon as some other service comes reasonably close to being able to replace it for me. That hasn't happened yet, but the day is coming closer.
favourable 4y ago
> Cue uBlock origin uBo doesn't work everywhere. I do have it installed on Firefox for Android though.

Waterluvian 4y ago

You can’t filter out google ads because you don’t know which are ads beyond the handful they label as such. Google filters and shapes the results so much now that I’m inclined to say it’s all essentially advertising. That is, Google is giving you want it wants you to see in what order, and lately filters out anything that isn’t helpful for Google.

opdahl 4y ago

Your point is certainly valid, but I have a slightly different perspective on the matter. Google Search Ads hold a certain magic that is unparalleled in the digital marketing world. Unlike video ads, which can be intrusive and irrelevant to a viewer's current needs, Google Search Ads are precisely targeted to solve the exact problem or question a user is currently facing. I've personally experimented with YouTube ads and discovered that while they can be useful for building brand awareness, they don't always lead to direct website traffic. As my company grows, I've realized that spending money on platforms like TikTok or Facebook simply doesn't make sense, as we can't yet promote our products in high enough volumes to truly stick in a user's memory. However, with Google Search Ads, we're able to reach potential customers at the exact moment when our product can be of service, leading to higher click-through rates and ultimately, a higher conversion rate than we could ever achieve with video ads.

taco_emoji 4y ago

As a consumer, this is 90% of the reason I avoid Youtube as much as possible. EDIT: Also just because people are forced to watch 5 seconds of an ad doesn't mean it's got any measurable positive effect (for the advertiser) whatsoever.

sebzim4500 4y ago
Because youtube ads respond almost instantly to changing the settings, you can normally get a pretty good idea of whether you are getting any return.
osigurdson 4y ago
I think if the ads are relevant it is a really good system. I’m only annoyed when ads are not relevant. Unfortunately the ads are irrelevant 90% of the time. These days they are sometimes not even in the right language - not sure what is up with that.
osigurdson 4y ago
If you have any idea what Monday.com or Asana is then YouTube is probably working.
- taco_emoji 4y ago
  Well, I have no idea what those are, so...
- HDThoreaun 4y ago
  You can thank the MTA for knowing that monday.com exists

JohnFen 4y ago

> Users are forced to watch at least 5 seconds of ads before watching any content. Not all users. I pay Google in order to not have to watch those ads, and they aren't served to me.

devmunchies 4y ago
Same. Which is a tough spot for YouTube. The user's with the most disposable income and possibly niche targets for high value products are inaccessible. I only pay $9-10 per month, whereas there are some companies who would pay way more for me (eng leadership/founder) to learn about their product. It would be very expensive CAC (cust. acquisition cost) but maybe worth it for a some niche products. Maybe Google needs a way to "recommend" reviews for products in the video recommendations so that businesses can pay for placement (like Google Ads).
- JohnFen 4y ago
  > Maybe Google needs a way to "recommend" reviews I would say "please don't give them any ideas", but I already ignore YouTube recommendations anyway, so that wouldn't actually bother me. However, if YouTube found a sneaky way to get ads in front of me regardless of my premium membership, that would eliminate the entire value of the premium membership. And, for me, it would reduce the value of YouTube enough to get me to finally ditch YouTube once and for all. Which might not be a bad thing, really.
  - devmunchies 4y ago
    I don’t mind ads, what I’m paying for is time. I don’t like ads where I have to wait for them to end.