Why Does YouTube Have So Many Ads? (10 Reasons Why)

 

YouTube ads have recently become increasingly more common, and users have been noticing ads on their videos whether the content creator has monetized the channel or not.

The frequency of ads has caused many users to question what changed within YouTube and whether users want to continue using the website.

Although you’d think that more ads mean more people being paid for the content they create, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

 

Why Does YouTube Have So Many Ads?

 

There are a large variety of reasons that you may be noticing an increase in the number of ads you’re seeing, ranging from things that content creators control to the decisions made by the corporate staff of YouTube.

Many of the content creators across YouTube have spoken up about the recent advertisement problem on the platform and how it has lowered their number of viewers.

A content creator is someone who makes videos or other forms of digital media in the online space.

Despite the uproar from consumers and content creators, YouTube hasn’t given any explanation for the increased number of ads.

They have preferred to speak about how they’re innovating online marketing, but this has only caused creators and consumers to feel ignored.

 

1. Creator Ad Settings

 

Part of the reason you may be seeing more ads is the advertisement settings that YouTube partners have.

A YouTube partner is a content creator who has qualified for monetization of their videos.

There are four different types of ads that YouTube partners can choose from: skippable ad videos, non-skippable ad videos, bumper ads, and overlay ads.

Each type of advertisement has certain platforms they work on and take on unique traits.

Skippable ads are the advertisements that you can skip after five seconds, but they are normally longer videos.

The unskippable ads are the 15- to 20-second videos that make the viewer watch the entire video before returning to the intended video.

Bumper videos are the short, unskippable ads that play before and after a video.

On average, these videos are only about six seconds long, and YouTube partners must have their skippable and unskippable advertisement settings turned on.

Overlay ads are completely unlike the other advertisement options because they can only be applied to viewers who are watching on a computer.

These ads are usually just images that can be found in the lower 20% of the video, measuring out at 486 pixels by 60 pixels or 728 pixels by 90 pixels.

YouTube partners are also able to decide whether or not to have mid-roll advertising, which are the ads that play in the middle of a video and are indicated by yellow tick marks on the video’s progress bar.

 

2. Only A Portion Of Ad Sales Goes To The Creators

 

When content creators first become YouTube partners, they’re usually shocked by how little they make from YouTube’s AdSense program.

Out of all the AdSense revenue, YouTube partners are only getting 68%.

Two factors play into how much money a content creator is going to make: the number of views they’re getting and the amount of engagement those ads have.

Different types of ads promise more engagement, but it’s at the cost of annoying the audience.

Engagement with advertisements can mean a variety of things, from simply viewing the advertisement or having the audience interact with those advertisements.

The non-skippable ads tend to bring in the most engagement, but those are the most infuriating types of advertisements.

On average, a YouTube partner makes about $18 per 1,000 views.

However, some partners may find that they’re only making about $3 to $5 per 1,000 views due to low engagement levels.

If a channel gets 1,000 views per day and has an engagement level of 50%, they’ll only make $1.84 to $3.06 per day.

This comes to only $55 to $92 per month and $671 to $1,118 annually.

Some of the most popular YouTube partners, such as Markiplier or Mr. Beast, are making $12.5 million and $29.5 million from their channels.

However, most YouTube partners find that the AdSense program isn’t enough to keep them afloat.

 

3. YouTubers Don’t Make Enough From Ad Revenue Alone

 

To make up for the lack of money YouTube partners are making from AdSense, many of them have been advertising directly with businesses through partnerships or have begun trying to sell their own merchandise.

Making daily videos for YouTube can be incredibly time-consuming, especially if the content creators decide to edit their videos.

To ensure that they have the time to devote to their channel and fanbase, many content creators have to begin working on their own personal brands.

A YouTuber is going to make much more money when they team up with another brand or company directly.

For example, you may see with Ridge wallets or the mobile game Raid Shadow Legends.

This also allows the creator to make a more definite amount of money, instead of having to gamble on how views their video is going to get.

After most YouTube partners gain a following of about 100,000, many YouTubers begin to make their own merchandise.

These YouTubers then have to market their products to their audience to make back the money they lose by having the merchandise made.

There has been a multitude of YouTube partner brands that have become just as popular as their creators.

Some of the best examples are Cloak by Jacksepticeye, Markiplier, and CrankGamePlays and Teddy Fresh by H3H3.

 

4. Doubling Up Ads Works Better Than Interrupting A Video

 

YouTube has recently added a variant to their traditional ad formats that have been so despised by consumers and content creators that a petition to have them removed has recently started.

The social media platform has recently started giving viewers double ads at the beginning and the ending of videos.

Research done by YouTube and some of their advertisers has led them to believe that double ads at the beginning of a video are more effective than interrupting the entire video.

However, consumers have found these double advertisements to be vastly more annoying because it makes it a hassle to get to the content they actually wanted to watch.

YouTube recently found that their mid-roll advertisements were causing them and the content creator to lose viewers.

Viewers blame the distracting nature of the mid-roll advertisements for causing the viewers to lose interest in what they’re watching.

Most consumers question the true intention YouTube has for beginning the double ad.

If they wanted ads to be less distracting, why not lower the number of ads and increase the cost for businesses to advertise on the platform?

YouTube also claims that these ads have had an increased engagement level when compared to their single ad formats, but content creators aren’t seeing much of a boost in AdSense revenue, and their numbers are being hurt because of the number of ads on YouTube.

 

5. Competition From Twitch And TikTok  

 

For years, YouTube was the king of online content.

It had seen the rise and fall of many other social platform competitors, such as MySpace and Vine.

When Twitch and TikTok were introduced to the public market, YouTube thought that history would repeat itself and instead received a rude awakening.

Twitch is a live-streaming platform where their affiliates can choose whether or not to play ads and get direct support from their viewers in the form of subscriptions.

TikTok is a short-form video platform that makes it easy for content creators to be noticed and paid.

When Twitch became popular, it was responsible for 65% of all live-stream views on the internet.

While YouTube did attempt to put a dent in that number with their own live-streaming services, it wasn’t enough to move the needle.

Twitch took away a lot of YouTube’s viewers and watch time, a feat that couldn’t even be achieved by Microsoft’s own platform, Mixer.

When it became apparent that YouTube couldn’t keep up in the live-streaming circle, they decided to buckle down and stay with traditional online videos.

Like Twitch, TikTok took another massive swing at YouTube’s audience and has become a sensation that nearly every generation is getting in on.

At this point, YouTube decided to try copying their competitor again with YouTube Shorts.

With the noticeably smaller regular audience, YouTube felt forced to place more ads for individual viewers to watch.

If they can’t get 100 viewers to watch one advertisement, they’ll get one viewer to watch 10 advertisements before they leave the website.

Between how YouTube handles their advertisements and how they handle the concerns of their content creators, YouTube is losing people at a rapid rate.

 

6. Free To Use

 

The reason that YouTube has advertisements in the first place is that it is a free application to use, and they need a way to pay their bills, their staff members, and the YouTube partners that make the platform what it is.

Most consumers understand that some degree of advertisement is a necessary evil, but many of those consumers don’t mind sitting through a short advertisement if they know that money is going towards the content creator they’re watching.

Like every other business, YouTube offers a product that it is looking to sell to the highest bidder.

Their high-value product is you and the amount of time you spend watching their advertisements.

Many users’ biggest complaint is that it is becoming increasingly clear that YouTube is more concerned about selling their rare assets than providing users with a reliable service.

This is made increasingly frustrating by the fact that YouTube is making more than enough money to sustain itself comfortably and expand.

In 2020, YouTube made $20 billion from ad revenue alone.

YouTube is in no danger of completely running out of money, so many users question the clear and desperate cash grab.

 

7. YouTube Premium Marketing

 

Gambling on how many views their platform is going to get isn’t exactly helpful for the business side of YouTube.

By offering a regularly paid subscription service like YouTube Premium, YouTube can more accurately tally how much money they’re making.

When YouTube Premium (originally known as YouTube Red) was first introduced, most consumers questioned why anyone would pay for a free service.

YouTube tried to improve the service by creating original series, but still, not many users were subscribing to YouTube Premium.

There are theories among creators and consumers that YouTube has increased the number of advertisements seen on their free version of YouTube to give consumers a bigger reason to join YouTube Premium.

However, some believe that this theory isn’t true because YouTube makes so much more from advertisements than it ever has from YouTube Premium.

It becomes a question of how much potential profit YouTube is willing to sacrifice for stability and consistency.

 

8. Ad Blockers

 

Not every consumer desperate to get rid of advertisements on YouTube is desperate enough to pay for YouTube Premium.

Luckily, there are a variety of ways to get around advertisements on YouTube that have been spreading across the internet.

The most common way that people get rid of advertisements is by installing ad blockers on their devices.

While ad blockers may sound like the answers to consumers’ problems, they’re not always the most reliable and are prone to be filled with computer bugs or viruses.

Luckily, Reddit users Android Police and 9to5Google showed their Reddit communities their safe trick to getting rid of advertisements.

All you need to do is copy the video’s URL and plug it into an incognito website browser tab.

You then add an extra period after the “.com” in the YouTube link.

While this measure will safely and reliably get rid of ads on the YouTube videos you’re trying to watch, it can be a bit time-consuming and may just be more worth it to watch the advertisement in some cases.

With more consumers finding ways around watching advertisements, YouTube feels the need to make up for lost viewers by giving their normal viewers even more advertisements to watch.

However, they could just be driving more consumers to use these measures.

 

9. Online Advertisement Is More Successful

 

Online Advertisements have quickly proven to be one of the most successful ways for companies to market themselves and their goods.

YouTube’s ads are known for being incredibly effective and are in high demand.

Like the rest of the internet, YouTube’s ads have a global reach.

This means that you can reach consumers who would never know about you otherwise.

Many sellers of online advertisement spots are willing to do some research for the companies they work with, most commonly including trying to match a content creator’s target audience with a company’s target audience.

If a video talks about parenting, you’re more likely to get an advertisement about diapers or baby formula.

Videos that are about woodwork or general repair are more likely to get advertisements that pertain to tools or home improvement products.

Online advertising also makes it easier for companies to engage with their target audience.

By engaging with their target audience, companies can create more brand recognition and get a more direct response about how the audience feels about an advertisement.

YouTube also offers its advertisers online analytics to help them figure out how to most effectively place their advertisements.

The transparency and ease you get with online advertisements are making television advertising a thing of the past.

 

10. It’s Cost Effective

 

Part of the reason YouTube’s advertisements are so desired by companies is because of how cost-effective and inexpensive they are.

A single advertisement costs anywhere from $0.10 to $0.30, depending on engagement, bidding, placement, and format.

Most small-scale advertisers have a daily advertisement budget of about $10, which gets them 100 advertisements.

When YouTube sells their advertisements, they’ve begun taking bids for their advertising positions due to their increased popularity.

These costs are nothing compared to how much it costs to advertise on a national television network.

The average television commercial costs $104,700, not including film production costs that can range from $2,000 to over $50,000.

 

Conclusion

YouTube is going to have to decide whether listening to its creators and consumers is more important or if the platform is more concerned about the bottom dollar it is making.

They know that they have a product and service that is unlike anything else on the market, so it makes no sense to risk it by oversaturating the platform with advertisements.

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