How to Use Existing YouTube Videos as a Pre-Roll Ad

  • 14 October 2024
  • 7 mins read

YouTube provides a powerful advertising platform, and pre-roll commercials, which appear before the viewer's selected video, are a popular format. 

This post will review the procedures required in leveraging an existing YouTube video as a pre-roll ad, such as creating a Google Ads campaign, targeting the correct audience, and improving your ad's effectiveness.

3 Ways to Put Pre-Roll Ads on YouTube Videos

Here are the easy ways you will find out in this guide to use pre-roll ads in your YouTube videos:

Method 1: How to Put Pre-Roll Ads on YouTube Videos While Uploading

  1. First of all, go to youtube.com on your computer and sign in to your account if needed.
  2. After that, on the homepage click on the Hamburger icon in the top left corner of the screen.
  1. Then click on the Your Videos option on the panel on the left side of the screen.
  1. Now, click on the Upload Video option in the next window.
  1. After that click on the Select Files on the popup window and then upload a video from your files.
  1. Then wait for a while until your video gets uploaded and then click on the Next button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
  1. Now, on the next page, you have to turn on the monetization. For that click on the dropdown box on the next page.
  1. After that click on the Turn On option and then click on the Done option from the dropdown box.
  1. Now, click on the Pre-Roll option and other options according to your need for the ads. You can also turn on the Mid-Roll option if the length of your is eight minutes or more than eight minutes.
  1. Then select the timings for when the ad should be played during the video or you can place ads automatically and then click on the Continue button on the top right corner of the popup window.

Method 2: How to Put Pre-Roll Ads on YouTube Videos After Uploading

  1. First of all, go to youtube.com on your computer and sign in to your account if needed.
  2. After that, on the homepage click on the Hamburger icon in the top left corner of the screen.
  1. Then click on the Your Videos option on the panel on the left side of the screen.
  1. After that click on the Content option from the left panel on the screen and find out the video that you want to turn on ads.
  1. After that click on the Off option in the monetization section.
  1. Then click on the On option from the dropdown menu.

Method 3: How to Change Settings for Pre-Roll Ads on YouTube Videos While Uploading

  1. First of all, go to youtube.com on your computer and sign in to your account if needed.
  2. After that, on the homepage click on the Hamburger icon in the top left corner of the screen.
  1. Then click on the Your Videos option on the panel on the left side of the screen.
  1. Then click on the Settings option from the left panel on the next screen.
  1. After that click on the Upload Defaults option on the left panel of the popup window.
  1. Then click on the Monetization option, check all the ads options and click on the Save button on the bottom right corner of the popup window, so that whenever you upload a video you do not have to turn on the ads all the time.

More to explore in YouTube guides:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Can I place advertisements on my YouTube videos before monetization?

    Plus

    Advertisements may display on your uploaded videos even if you have not monetized them yourself. If your video contains content for which you do not own all essential rights, the rights holder may have chosen to display advertisements on it. YouTube may also run advertising on videos on channels that are not part of the YouTube Partner Program.

  • Can I add advertisements to my YouTube videos if I don't have a thousand subscribers?

    Plus

    To be monetized on YouTube, channels must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 view hours during the last 12 months. These guidelines are in place to prevent inappropriate content from appearing in advertisements. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

  • How much money do you make from YouTube with 1000 subscribers?

    Plus

    The average monthly profits for YouTube channels with 1,000 followers range from $50 to $100. However, it might differ greatly depending on various circumstances, including Niche: Some niches are more successful than others, with tech, business, and finance channels often surpassing those in other categories.

  • What are YouTube's pre-roll advertisements?

    Plus

    There are three kinds of pre-roll ads: skippable, non-skippable, and bumper. Skippable adverts allow you to skip them after the first 5 seconds. Non-skippable commercials are typically 15 to 20 seconds long and cannot be skipped, as the name implies. Bumper ads are adverts that appear 6 seconds before a video and cannot be skipped.

  • How do you create a pre-roll on YouTube?

    Plus

    Setting up a YouTube pre-roll ad involves the following steps: Create an ad video and publish it to YouTube. Create a new ad campaign on Google Ads. Create a targeting strategy to help you reach your ideal customers. Select where you want your pre-roll ad to appear (on YouTube channels or videos). Upload and create the advertisement.

Bottom Line

Reusing current YouTube videos in pre-roll advertisements improves their reach and engages new audiences. This post explained how to enable monetization during upload or for existing videos, as well as how to customize ad settings. A compelling pre-roll commercial may greatly enhance the impact of your video.