In an unexpected move YouTube has removed all AdSense side banner and In-Video banner ads from YouTube sometime in the beginning of April. There have been no official updates from YouTube on whether the banners will return or whether video creators will receive reduced pay. However, there are several strong implications for AdWords going forward.

(no, we're not that into 2CELLOS, no offence, guys)

Are AdWords Display campaigns going to become obsolete?

AdWords Display Network has always had its critics, but Display campaigns continue to spend strongly and there have been no signs of slowing down. However, mainstream exposure is getting narrower as DoubleClick and other Display Networks continue to capture a larger share of the Display market.

It is very possible that YouTube found their banner ads - especially In-Video banners to be highly unprofitable. In some cases, marketing agencies have noticed hundreds of clicks with 100% bounce rate for these banners. These could have all been accidental clicks when attempting to close the tiny In-Video ads. It's also likely that YouTube is trying to focus on Video ads as they target a captive audience and their impact is much easier to assess.

But My Display Campaigns Can't Spend Their Budgets!

The short-term solution would be to increase the bids on your other placements. YouTube was a major driver of Display campaign impressions and clicks, but there is no shortage of placements in the AdSense Display Network. Here are a few examples of high volume sites:

accuweather.com
weather.com
cbssports.com
foxnews.com
espn.com
Local news sources & sports team sites

If your Display budgets are within a couple of thousand dollars per month, AdSense is still a very viable option and a good source of profitable traffic. In high-spend scenarios, it may be worth exploring other Display Networks.

For higher profitability and additional targets in your current AdWords Display Campaigns, try out:

Contextual Targeting
In-Market Audiences
Topic Targeting

Written by Dmitri Tymos