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A guide to non-skippable video ads and reservation-based YouTube ads

Oliver (Olly) is the founder and Managing Director of PWD Digital Agency, which he started in Perth in 2007. With nearly two decades in digital marketing, Oliver and his team specialise in SEO, Google Ads, web design, and conversion-focused digital strategy for Australian businesses.

19th May 2017

YouTube, bought through Google Ads, sells both skippable and non-skippable video formats to any advertiser and publishes the rules for each, which is why it is the platform this question usually means. In 2026 its line-up is skippable in-stream, non-skippable in-stream, bumper, in-feed video, Shorts and masthead ads. Non-skippable formats can be bought two ways: in the auction with a target CPM bid, or on reservation at a fixed CPM booked in advance.

This guide covers the formats as Google currently names them, how reservation buying differs from the auction, what moves video CPMs, and the creative and banner assets you need before you spend.

Which platform leads for skippable and non-skippable video ads?

YouTube. It sells skippable and non-skippable formats to any advertiser with a Google Ads account, using the same account, targeting and reporting as search. Streaming services and connected TV networks sell non-skippable inventory too, usually through programmatic platforms or direct deals reached through a media buyer.

YouTube ad formats in 2026

Google’s help page About video ad formats is the source for the names and rules below, and it is the page to check before any campaign, because names and lengths change.

Skippable in-stream ads

Play before, during or after other videos on YouTube and on Google video partner sites and apps. The viewer can skip after five seconds. There is no maximum length, though Google recommends under three minutes. Bought on cost per view or target CPM. This is the format for most advertisers most of the time, because you pay for people who chose to keep watching.

Non-skippable in-stream ads

Play before, during or after other videos and cannot be skipped. Google’s formats page puts them at 60 seconds or shorter, and its non-skippable in-stream page sets out the auction versions: standard non-skippable at 7 to 15 seconds, and a 30-second version shown on connected TV. Bought on target CPM. This is the format for a complete message that has to be seen in full.

Bumper ads

Six-second non-skippable ads before, during or after other videos, bought on target CPM. Built for reach and frequency: one idea, one frame, one line.

In-feed video ads

A thumbnail and text shown in YouTube search results, the home feed and next to related videos. The viewer clicks to watch, so the ad is charged on clicks or on views once it plays. The format for content people would choose to watch, such as how-to videos, reviews and longer brand films.

YouTube Shorts ads

Vertical video shown between organic Shorts on phones, desktop and connected devices. Viewers swipe past, so the ad behaves like a skippable one. Google recommends under 60 seconds. Bought on views, impressions or engagement.

The placement at the top of the YouTube home feed. Reservation only, booked through a Google sales representative, and priced on impressions or by the hour. Built for launches and events where you need the whole audience on one day.

How does Google Ads work on YouTube?

You upload the video to a YouTube channel, then build a Video campaign in Google Ads that uses that video as the ad. The campaign goal decides which formats are available, and the format decides how you are charged: per view, per thousand impressions, or per click. Targeting works as it does elsewhere in Google Ads: audiences (including your own site visitors and customer lists), demographics, topics, keywords and specific channels or videos as placements. Keep the Google Ads account and the YouTube channel in the business’s name and link the two so channel engagement flows into your audiences. Our guide to getting the most from YouTube ads with a strategic approach covers campaign structure.

Keyword targeting deserves a note, because it is where video-on-demand and streaming offers usually go wrong. Keywords in a Video campaign match the content the viewer is watching and their recent searches, not a search they typed this second. The offer has to make sense to someone mid-video, and the landing page has to carry it without asking them to start again.

How do you create non-skippable ads on YouTube?

There are two routes, and the difference is price certainty.

In the auction. Create a Video campaign with a reach objective, choose the non-skippable in-stream format, upload a video within the length rules, and bid with target CPM. You compete for impressions with everyone else and pay around your target. This is self-serve and can be live the same day.

On reservation. Google’s reservation help page describes buying specific placements at a fixed cost per thousand impressions, with charges only for impressions actually delivered. Reservation is available for non-skippable in-stream ads at 15, 30 or 60 seconds, skippable in-stream, bumpers, Shorts, pause ads and masthead. Some of it can be booked in Google Ads Reservation or through Display & Video 360 instant deals, and the rest still goes through a Google representative.

Either way the constraint is the creative. A non-skippable ad that is not worth 15 seconds of a stranger’s attention does measurable damage to how people feel about the brand, because they cannot leave.

Reservation versus auction buying

Auction buying gives you flexibility. You can start, stop, change the video and shift budget between formats at any time, and you pay a market price that moves with competition. It suits ongoing campaigns and testing.

Reservation buying gives you certainty. The CPM is fixed, the impression volume is agreed in advance, and premium placements (first position in a video, top content, the masthead) are only sold this way. It suits launches, sale periods and any campaign where being seen on a specific date matters more than paying the lowest price. The cost is commitment: creative and budget are locked before the campaign runs, and there is no pausing to fix a weak ad. Start in the auction, and move to reservation when you have a proven video, a date-bound campaign and the budget to guarantee volume.

What affects CPM in programmatic video advertising?

Video CPMs move on format, screen, deal type, audience data and how strictly you buy.

Format. Non-skippable and bumper impressions cost more per thousand than skippable ones because delivery is guaranteed.
Screen. Connected TV costs more than mobile or desktop. The ad is full screen, sound on and unskippable.
Deal type. Open auction is cheapest and least predictable. Private marketplace and programmatic guaranteed deals cost more and fix the publisher list or the price.
Audience data. Third-party audience segments add a data fee to the media CPM. Your own customer lists and site visitors do not.
Viewability and completion. Paying only for viewable or completed impressions raises the CPM and cuts the waste.
Season. Retail peaks and major events pull more advertisers into video and lift every CPM in the channel.

A cheap video CPM is usually cheap for a reason: small players inside articles, sound off, half on screen. Compare CPMs at the same format, screen and viewability standard or not at all. Our explainer on what CPM is and what influences it goes deeper.

Creative specs and what makes video ads work

The format sets the brief. Before production, decide which formats the video has to serve, because a 30-second brand film cannot be trimmed into a bumper as an afterthought.

Skippable in-stream: the first five seconds carry the brand and the reason to keep watching. Assume most viewers leave at the skip point and make sure the ad has done its job by then.
Non-skippable: one message, delivered in full, ending on the action. No slow builds.
Bumper: a single frame’s worth of idea. Brand, claim, done.
Shorts: vertical (9:16), fast, native to the feed, with the hook in the first second and captions burned in.
In-feed: the thumbnail and title do the selling, so treat them as the ad.
All formats: design for sound off with on-screen text, land the brand early, and cut a 16:9 version for in-stream and a 9:16 version for Shorts from the same shoot.

PWD’s video production team shoots and edits in Perth across social, corporate, product, event and testimonial formats, and plans the cut-downs at the concept stage so one shoot covers every placement.

Video campaigns need still assets too. A skippable in-stream ad can carry a companion banner beside the player, a video campaign should be followed by display remarketing to the people who watched, and a channel needs its own art. Build these from the same frames, colours and line as the video so the viewer recognises the campaign wherever they meet it.

Practical rules: one message per banner, the brand visible without animation, a button-shaped call to action, versions for the standard sizes the platform lists rather than one stretched image, minimal text inside the image, and a check on a phone before anything is approved.

When to hand YouTube advertising to an agency

Hand it over when you need reservation buying, connected TV or a mix of video and display, when you need the video produced as well as placed, or when nobody in the business will read the placement and audience reports every week. YouTube’s auction rewards the advertisers who cut the wrong placements and refresh creative before it fatigues, and that is weekly work.

Keep it in-house for a single skippable campaign with a proven video and a clear conversion to measure. Our guide to which digital marketing services you need helps you decide what else to add.

Frequently asked questions

Which two video ad formats are designed for engagement and consideration?

Skippable in-stream and in-feed video ads. Both are formats the viewer chooses to keep watching or to click on, so they are charged on views or clicks rather than impressions, and they suit campaigns where you want people to consider you before they buy. Non-skippable and bumper ads are built for reach and message delivery instead.

Get a video and YouTube plan

If you have a video and no plan, or a plan and no video, PWD covers both in-house from West Leederville: production through the video production team, and placement, targeting and reporting through our Google Ads Perth team.

Call 08 6146 0195 or request a free website and ad account audit to see where video fits.

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