Advertisements comprise the biggest chunk of many YouTube content creators’ earnings, but how much do they really earn for each ad they show to viewers? Let’s break things down and find out the approximate YouTube ad revenue per view that you can get.
Understanding how YouTube ad revenue works
A common misconception about YouTube ad revenue is that it is directly tied to the number of ads running on your videos. This is only partially true, as YouTube creators actually earn based on the level of engagement that each ad on their videos gets. What this means is that while you might only run a few ads per video, you can still get a considerable return if people are watching and engaging with them.
Determining ad revenue
The amount you get paid for ad engagement is determined by the cost per impressions (CPI) that marketers set on their ads. There are two CPI types YouTube ads use:
- Cost per view (CPV): Advertisers pay only for each successful viewing of the ad. This is the more commonly employed format and is found in In-Stream and In-Display ads.
- Cost per click (CPC): Advertisers pay only if the ad is clicked. This type of ad might come in the form of non-skippable video ads or text ads on your channel.
Since the type of ads that YouTube inserts vary for each video, this affects the CPI measurements used to determine the revenue you get. For this discussion, we are focusing only on CPV ads, such as this one:
According to experts, marketers typically set their CPV rates between $0.10 and $0.30. They then pay the site for every 1000 impressions. YouTube then pays 68% of this amount to content creators.
Calculating YouTube ad revenue per view
Now that you have a good idea of the potential earnings from each ad on your videos, you can determine the approximate YouTube ad revenue per view your video gets. When calculating this, remember that not all your viewers will watch the ads in full. In fact, only 15% of people will watch them long enough to count as paid views.
Taking this into account, you can calculate the approximate ad review per video view with this formula:
RV=(Vtotal x Vad) x CPV x .68
Vtotal
Where:
- RV is the approximate ad revenue for video view
- Vtotal is the total number of video views
- Vad is the percentage of watchers who viewed the ad (expressed in decimals)
- CPV is the specified rate for the ad
If your video, for example, gets 1000 views, and 15% of those watch an ad with a CPV rate of $0.18:
RV=(1000 views x .15) x $0.18 x .68
1000 views
RV=$0.01836
Your approximate ad revenue per video view for that ad is less than 2 cents. This might seem small, but with multiple ads running, you get a higher average revenue per view. The other trick, of course, is getting more views on your videos to earn more!
Factors that affect your average ad revenue per view
Note that there are a variety of factors that affect how much revenue you actually get from ads in practice. Some of the significant ones are:
- Video length: Longer videos allow YouTube to insert more ads.
- Audience retention: The better your video is at keeping audiences, the more likely YouTube will put ads on it.
- Quality of traffic: YouTube determines what ads best fit your videos’ viewer demographics.
- Ad quality: High-quality ads fare better in getting viewers and delivering a good return for you.
By understanding the impact of these factors on your potential ad revenue, you better predict your earnings and plan how to attract ads that offer better returns.
There are various tools you can use for studying the effects of these factors. YouTube’s own analytics tools deliver plenty of details about your channel and audience statistics. This information helps you get a better approximation of the YouTube ad revenue per view that you can gain.
YouTube money calculators are another handy tool for approximating your ad revenue per view. These simple tools let you input your channel stats and get estimated earnings for different CPV rates.
There are various calculators available, each offering extra features for better understanding how your ad revenues come about.
Other things to consider about your YouTube earnings
With over a million creators joining YouTube, there is now stiff competition for advertisers. This competition has a significant impact on the number and kind of ads that your videos get. Marketers have also become more demanding about the kind of channels and videos they want their ads to appear in, paying higher rates for better ad spaces.
Third-party analytics tools like SocialBlade and Tubular Labs are useful for studying your competitors.
By looking into the kind, and the number, of ads that other creators are getting and analyzing their channel statistics, you get a good picture of how well they fare in terms of ad revenue. Note that this tactic doesn’t give you actual figures, but you can get plenty of insights about their strategies for attracting ads. You can then adapt these strategies to your own channel.
To capture the interest of advertisers, you need to come up with better videos that get more viewership. That effort increases your video production costs. You might, for instance, spend $500 for video editing costs alone. Compare that with the $18.36 earnings that you get for every 1000 video views and you can see how it impacts your net ad revenue.
Increasing your YouTube revenue
Considering all the factors that affect YouTube ad revenue, you might end up earning less than what you expected. To gain more, combining ads with other YouTube income generators is a good move. Some of the additional opportunities to explore are:
- Affiliate marketing: You encourage your viewers to click and buy through affiliate links that you attach to your videos. Joining the relevant programs will provide a steady income stream.
- Direct promotions: You can reach out directly to brands and promote their products right on your videos for a fee.
- Exclusive content: Use content subscription platforms like Patreon to offer paid bonus content to your most avid viewers.
- Paid consultations/lectures: Aside from giving you extra income, sharing your knowledge with select clients is effective for building your credibility and attracting more viewers to your channel.
These other means are employed by even the highest paid YouTubers to diversify and increase their incomes. By taking advantage of them, you can make your channel into a sustainable venture even with a small YouTube ad revenue per view.
Know how much you really earn from YouTube ad views
Getting the approximate YouTube ad revenue per view of your videos might be a simple calculation, but it has a large impact on your channel’s financial success. With it, you get a clearer picture of your income generation potential.
Looking deeper at the factors that affect your ad revenue per view also gives you plenty of insights on how effective your channel is in attracting viewers and advertisers. Take advantage of this information to enhance your channel, get more viewers, and generate more earnings.
Date: December 19, 2018 / Categories: Analytics, Statistics, / Author: Rich Drees
