The growing popularity of video content that we have been witnessing in recent years has also boosted the popularity of digital video advertising. Although this ad format is generally considered to be effective and engaging, not all video ads are the same. Today, we’ll take a closer look at pre-roll ads and what makes them such a great choice for your ad-powered video business.
- What Are Pre-Roll Ads
- Types of Pre-Roll Ads
- How Long Can Pre-Roll Ads Be?
- How Many Pre-Roll Ads Can You Queue Consecutively?
- How Pre-Roll Ads Compare to Other Instream Ad Formats
- Pre-Roll Ad Best Practices for Publishers
- Pre-Roll Ad Best Practices for Advertisers
- How to Get Pre-Roll Ads on Your Website
- Start With Pre-Roll Advertising With TargetVideo
- FAQ
What Are Pre-Roll Ads
Pre-roll ads are a type of instream video ads. As the name suggests, instream ads show up within a video stream. The term “pre-roll” refers to the specific ad placement in the stream, i.e., before the video starts playing. Other types of instream ads are mid-roll ads, which show up in the middle of the stream, and post-roll ads, which play after the video.
Where Can You See Pre-Roll Ads
Pre-roll ads are one of the most common video ad formats, and you can find them pretty much anywhere where there are videos. Here are some of the most common places you may come across a pre-roll ad:
- Various websites — Any website that contains video content can serve instream ads, including pre-rolls. Whether you’re scrolling through this morning’s news, taking an online course, or browsing for something else, the chances are that you’ll stumble across a pre-roll ad.
- Live streams — Instream video ads are a great way to monetize live streams. They allow the streamer a few extra seconds to prepare, and they are not as intrusive as, for example, mid-roll ads.
- Video-sharing platforms — Video-sharing websites and platforms, such as YouTube, are a goldmine for ad-based monetization. They are likely the first thing that comes to mind when talking about instream video advertising.
Types of Pre-Roll Ads
If you’re planning to put video ads on your website, and you’re considering pre-roll ads, you should be familiar with their different types. There are three main kinds of pre-roll advertisements you can choose from.
Non-Skippable Ads
Non-skippable ads, as the name suggests, are advertisements that have to be played until the end before the video starts. They are usually 15–20 seconds long. The biggest advantage of non-skippable ads is that your viewers have to watch them until the end. However, this can also make them quite intrusive and annoying.
Skippable Ads
Unlike non-skippable ads, skippable pre-roll ads don’t have to play all the way to the end. Usually, the viewer can skip the ad after around 5 seconds of watching it. They are less intrusive, but a good skippable ad can be tricky to make. If the beginning is not catchy enough, viewers will likely be more focused on the 5-second timer to skip the ad than on its actual content.
Bumper Ads
Bumper ads are a type of non-skippable video ads, with one major difference. While a typical non-skippable ad is up to 20 seconds long, a bumper ad can run for a total of 6 seconds. Put simply, they combine the best of both worlds. Since they’re unskippable, they require the viewer’s full attention. However, they’re not long enough to be particularly intrusive or annoying.
How Long Can Pre-Roll Ads Be?
The maximum length of a pre-roll ad depends mainly on the platform and its rules. For example, YouTube puts a 15- or 20-second duration limit for non-skippable ads, depending on the region. On the other hand, skippable ads can be as long as necessary. If you’re planning to monetize your content through AVOD, make sure to get familiar with the rules on your chosen video ad network or platform.
How Many Pre-Roll Ads Can You Queue Consecutively?
As you likely already know, several pre-roll ads can show up consecutively, back-to-back, before the video starts. This video ad serving method mimics the experience of watching traditional linear TV.
To make this possible, publishers use the technology known as ad podding. Ad pods are time slots within a video stream dedicated to advertisements, and they can fit multiple ads within them.
Depending on the platform you’re using, there will likely be a limit to the number and duration of ads you can show before a video. However, even if there are no limitations, it is important to be moderate with ad podding. The last thing you want to do is drive away viewers because they had to watch one ad too many.
How Pre-Roll Ads Compare to Other Instream Ad Formats
How effective are pre-roll video ads? Research shows that they’re more effective than their mid- and post-roll counterparts. More specifically, pre-roll ads have a 47% better conversion rate than mid-rolls; and mid-rolls, in turn, have a 58% better conversion rate than post-rolls.
According to another study, it is not just the conversion rate that makes pre-roll ads great. They are over three times less likely to be labeled as interruptive than their other instream counterparts. They also demonstrate much better ad recall statistics, and viewers generally consider them more informative and engaging.
Because of these numbers, pre-rolls are the undisputably most valuable digital ad real estate of the three instream ad types. In other words, basically all video publishers want to advertise in this slot. This means two things. First, the CPM for pre-rolls is higher, so publishers can earn more money. Second, because of high demand, pre-rolls have a higher ad fill rate.
Pre-Roll Ad Best Practices for Publishers
If you’re looking to add video ads to your content and monetize it, there are certain best practices to follow in order to maximize ad performance and increase your ad revenue.
1. Enable Autoplay
If you enable autoplay on your player, you will ensure that almost every visitor on your website sees a pre-roll ad, whether they’re interested in the video or not. This will convert into higher impression rates and, by extension, higher ad revenue. Keep in mind, however, that most browsers only allow autoplay if the video has been muted, so you might miss out on some high-CPM ads that rely on audio.
2. Use the “Call Ad Again” Feature
Even with the autoplay option activated, there is no guarantee that the player will receive a pre-roll ad to serve every visitor to your website. The “Call Ad Again” feature by TargetVideo will boost your chances of getting those pre-roll impressions. In short, when the ad response for the autoplay pre-roll comes up empty, the player will automatically switch to the click-to-play setting. Then, with “Call Ad Again” activated, once the user clicks on the play button, the player will place another ad call to re-attempt to serve an ad.
3. Create a Playlist of Short Videos
If you send more ad calls, you will be able to serve more ads. By creating a playlist of many shorter videos, you will open up additional pre-roll inventory slots. In other words, every visitor who sticks around long enough to play two or more videos from your playlist will increase your total number of ad impressions.
4. Maximize Viewability With a Floating Video Player
A great way to increase your video ad revenue is to make your HTML5 video player follow the viewer around. Yes, we do mean literally. If a user is watching a video, but scrolls away before it is over, a floating video player will pop up in the corner of the screen and stay there, even as the user scrolls through the page. The player is small enough to be relatively unintrusive to the user experience, but it encourages the viewer to remain engaged with your video content. This ensures more ad impressions, as they only count after a user watches the ad for a certain number of seconds.
5. Leverage Contextual Targeting
The impending death of the third-party cookie is destined to change the landscape of digital advertising. Namely, it will render behavioral targeting almost impossible. This is why it is important to jump on the contextual targeting bandwagon as soon as possible. With contextual video advertising, the ads that show up on your website or app will match the rest of the content. For example, if your content revolves around pets, your visitors will likely see ads for pet stores, pet food, and other pet-related products and services.
Pre-Roll Ad Best Practices for Advertisers
Much like publishers, advertisers need to follow a certain set of guidelines when making a video ad to maximize its effectiveness. Here are some basic pre-roll ad best practices for advertisers.
1. Keep Them Short
Short-form video advertising is as popular as ever, and for a good reason. Shorter video advertisements are easier to consume, more effective, and less intrusive. Although YouTube sets a limit of 30 seconds for non-skippable pre-rolls, statistics show that ads that are around 15 seconds perform better.
2. Make Them Skippable
Nobody wants to be forced to watch a 30-second ad (or longer). If possible, always give your viewers the option to skip an ad they’re not interested in. However, this also means that the ad should have an effective hook to be able to reel people in during the first five seconds.
3. Ensure They Adhere to Better Ads Standards
Better Ads Standards is a set of guidelines for creating engaging, effective advertisements that don’t drive viewers away. These standards are based on thorough research and understanding of the digital advertising industry, and they aim to provide a framework for all digital advertisers and publishers.
How to Get Pre-Roll Ads on Your Website
Do you have a website or app you would like to monetize through ads? If so, you will need to join an ad monetization platform or ad network and sell your ad inventory. The network will connect you with advertisers, and you will be generating ad yield in no time!
The first thing you need to do is find a reliable video player to serve your ads. The player should support a wide array of ad formats, such as VAST and VPAID tags. It should also have video header bidding capabilities to maximize ad fill rate and yield. Lastly, if necessary, it should be customizable enough to match your website’s branding.
Once you have a player, it is time to configure it and implement ad tags. The ad network will use these tags to fill your inventory with the right promotional content. Lastly, simply embed the player into your website, track ad performance and optimize creatives if necessary, and enjoy the ad revenue.
Start With Pre-Roll Advertising With TargetVideo
Are you looking to monetize content through ads? Then give TargetVideo a shot. Our all-in-one online video platform and advertising solution can help you automate the process of distributing and monetizing video content, so you can put all your focus on running your business.
TargetVideo can help you add pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads to your video streams, along with outstream and display advertisements. The platform also has its own Premium Demand, a robust ad network. In other words, you can monetize content as soon as you join the platform, rather than having to look for a third-party network.
Lastly, our lightweight, low-latency HTML5 player supports a long list of ad formats. It is fully customizable to match your company’s branding and comes with an array of engagement-boosting features, such as playlists, contextual matching, and various unique content units.
Join TargetVideo today to start monetizing content through pre-roll ads.
FAQ
1. What is a pre-roll ad?
A pre-roll ad is a video advertisement that shows up within the player before the content begins streaming.
What is the average pre-roll ad length?
Most pre-roll ads are short, with a duration of up to 15 seconds. If a pre-roll ad is longer, it is best to make it skippable.
How to analyze pre-roll ads as a publisher?
You can analyze the performance of your pre-roll ads as a publisher using your chosen ad analytics suite. Brid.TV has built-in, detailed ad analytics that provides in-depth information on the performance of your ads.
Are pre-roll ads better than mid-roll?
No. Mid-roll ads are generally more engaging and have higher CPMs than pre-roll ads. On the other hand, pre-roll ads have higher viewability due to their positioning.
