5 things to consider if your YouTube view rate is low

Managing a social media advertising campaign requires commitment and an obsessive attention to detail. Once a campaign has started, you need to take the time to study the advertising metrics that matter most to you and keep track of performance indicators such as cost-per-view (CPV) and clickthrough rate (CTR).

After you have a firm grasp on the metrics, figure out what is working and not working within your campaign ad groups and then take the necessary steps to remedy the situation as warranted.

A low view rate is one thing that could go wrong with your video ad campaign.

View rate is the total number of views on your video ad, divided by the number of people the ad was served to.

Video view rate is an important gauge of your ad’s appeal to the YouTube viewer. The higher the view rate, the greater the engagement shown by the audience.

You want your video to be viewed, not skipped or ignored — but, what can you do to improve views?

Potential problems and solutions to boost your view rate

Having a bid that’s too low. Your ad bid has to be competitive to be served. Increase your bid for auction and compare to see if views go up.
Restrictive ad parameters or wrong target audience. Either one could lead to low ad views. Improve your targeting by reviewing your methods and adjusting as necessary. It can take a lot of dialing up or dialing down before you discover exactly who and what to target for campaign success.
A poorly executed ad. Ad quality can lower your CPV as the ad auction places a high value on ads that command a user’s willingness to view-through. Improve your ad creative to boost ad view.
Ad length. Shorter ads tend to have higher view rates. Internet users value brevity. Remember, your ad is keeping someone from accessing the content they selected. Your ad needs to be so riveting that the viewer momentarily forgets his destination.
Ad fatigue. While there are measures in place to ensure that your ad isn’t repeatedly served to the same customer, it isn’t always foolproof. Infuse your campaign with other high-quality ad creatives, if available.

Taking the time to examine each possibility for poor view rate, you can start to diagnose and make corrections to achieve future campaign success.

by Lynn Pedotto