YouTube to add ‘Shopping’ ads below videos ahead of the holiday season

YouTube has announced that it is set to add ‘Shopping’ ads just below currently playing videos just in time for the upcoming holiday season.

The new ads will show recent products or brands based upon your Google Search history in a horizontal bar underneath any video currently playing within the dedicated mobile app or when viewing in a web browser. Not only that, but these new holiday ads may also appear within your Home feed and YouTube search results.

These new ads are not all that YouTube announced, with other notable changes being more interactive video ads for viewers. Video ads will now give viewers far more actionable information to help drive a purchase or further product or service research. You may be shown store location, pricing information, or in-depth product information. This is part of the new TrueView stielink extensions that add additional landing pages to specific product pages and even holiday catalogs.

YouTube stated that during a beta test with 30 advertisers, the addition of these extra TrueView sitelinks increased conversion rate by 23%. Clearly, these additions are being added to help advertisers get even greater reach, while simultaneously giving customers more direct routes to intriguing products and services this holiday period.

Clearly, this move is perfectly timed ahead of arguably the biggest spending season of the year. With more and more people doing pre-research on products in places like YouTube before a purchase, the new holiday-focused ads could help advertisers and retailers reach an even larger potential customer base over the coming months.

More on YouTube:

• YouTube for Android TV rolls out refreshed UI w/ new sections
• YouTube homepage showing videos in list view, removes most carousels
• YouTube app adds HDR video support for the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

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