Article - Troubleshooting YouTube Ads (6-Point Checklist)

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AUTHOR: Shashwat Singh

What do you do when your YouTube Ads aren’t getting very good results?

How do you fix YouTube Ads that aren’t working?

There are six important steps which we are going to cover to double-check your YouTube Ads, make sure they’re working properly, and troubleshoot common issues so you can be sure your ads have the best chance of getting great results.

How to Troubleshoot YouTube Ads

These are the six critical steps to make sure your YouTube Ads are actually working, and that they’re set up for success:

1. Double-Check Your Conversion Tracking

One possibility is that your AdWords code might not be firing properly. To fix this, use the Google Tag Assistant on your “thank you” pages to make sure your conversions are actually firing.

A great option is to hire someone who knows AdWords code to make sure your conversion tracking is working. You can affordably outsource this kind of work through freelance platforms such as Upwork.

2. Are You Using CPV or CPA Bidding?

We see great results with CPV bidding, and even slightly better results with CPA.

Unfortunately, CPA campaigns can be more difficult to run, in which case you might have to try a few different things. Your best option is to try both Cost-Per-View (CPV) and True View for Action.

True View for Action ads are YouTube Ads that optimize for a certain action, making them essentially ‘conversion ads.’

3. Check Your Demographics Reports

If you’re starting to spend at scale, look at the demographics in the AdWords report site to make sure you’re not targeting:

• Countries that are losing money

• Age groups that are losing money

• Genders that are losing money

Check all your different types of campaigns, and look at:

• Age

• Gender

• Country

• Region

• Parental status

Try to see if there’s any ‘levers’ you can pull to cut out some of the demographics that aren’t as likely to convert.

4. Make Sure Your Video Creatives are Effective

• Do your videos start with a strong hook?

• Do they have clear calls-to-action?

• Are they shot relatively well?

Your videos should be clear, stable, and shot in widescreen/horizontal format (not vertical).

Check out our other content to learn more about crafting winning video creatives.

5. Double-check Your Placements

Make sure you’re not showing up on low-quality or irrelevant channels.

For example, occasionally you’ll end up showing up on kids’ channels – where no suitable buyers will be watching.

Another place where you’re very unlikely to get conversions is on foreign language channels.

Make sure your placements are correct so you don’t waste ad spend on these kinds of channels.

6. Check Your Conversion Rates on Your Landing Pages

It is critical to make sure your landing pages are optimized for high conversion rates.

If you are getting 10% conversion rates on your landing page, your YouTube Ads aren’t going to make much of a profit.

You need your whole funnel to be set up properly.

 

Fix Your YouTube Ads

Now that you have six ways to troubleshoot your YouTube Ads, pick at least one of these steps to try out today:

1. Check your Adwords conversion tracking

2. Use CPV and True View for Action ads

3. Check your demographics

4. Make sure your video creatives are on point

5. Check your ad placements

6. Check conversion rates on your landing pages