2 billion people are active on YouTube every month. That massive swath of consumers has made it so just about every platform on earth has started to get active on the platform.
Among the many modes of engagement YouTube offers, posting videos to share with audiences is by far the most popular. However, given the amount of videos that get uploaded on YouTube, it’s difficult to garner consistent viewership.
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Enter cost per view advertising (CPV).
Cost per view is a metric that many marketers are looking to buy against in order to gain the traction they’re looking for without breaking the bank. If you’re not sure what this metric is and if you should be busying against it, keep reading to learn more!
What Is Cost Per View?
To frame our cost per view discussion, let’s first talk about the definition of the metric. Much like its title suggests, cost per view means the amount of money you’ll pay per view you get on a video.
In practice, if you ran your video as an advertisement on YouTube, once a viewer engaged with your content or watched it for a period of time, your CPV rate would be deducted from your overall marketing budget.
How Much Does a View Cost?
Now that you know what cost per view is, the next thing to be curious about is how much views costs. On YouTube that number will vary.
If you were trying to attract viewers in a non-competitive niche, running your ad might cost you a few cents. Alternatively, if you were trying to advertise a particular kind of candy in the weeks leading up to Halloween, your cost per view would be much higher.
Ad costs are all based on supply, demand, and keyword competitiveness. The better you can understand those factors, the better you’ll be able to scale your ad campaigns across YouTube in a financially responsible manner.
Scaling ads successfully on YouTube is a whole topic in itself, as you can see here.
What Constitutes a View?
In order to be charged for a view on YouTube, your advertised video will either need to be watched for 30 seconds or engaged with. If your video is shorter than 30 seconds, viewers must watch the whole video.
This CPV threshold is different from classic impressions/CPMs (cost per million) metrics which only require a viewer to watch for 1 or 2 seconds.
In general, advertisers find CPV to be a fair way to ensure that their message connects with an audience prior to be charged.
Proceed With Cost Per View Advertising Confidently
As a marketer or producer, understanding cost per view advertising allows you to confidently put money behind your content to drive viewership. With the right kind of content, that investment could mean serious returns.
Expanding on the idea of the “right kind of content”, before you start spending a ton on marketing, refine what you’re creating, take time to understand your audience better, and ensure that people are likely to enjoy what you craft if watched.
For more on advertising, check out additional content on our blog.
