Video Ads vs. Image Ads: What Should Publishers Choose

Digital advertising is, by far, the most popular form of website monetization. In fact, PwC predicts that the total advertising revenue on the internet will exceed $720 billion by 2026. Website owners all over the world are generating revenue through the ads shown on their web pages. And while advertising is generally a great way to earn from your digital assets, not all ads are created equal. Video ads and image ads are two of the most popular advertising formats, but figuring out which one is right for your website is not as straightforward as it may seem. 

So let me take you on a deep dive into the differences between video ads and image ads, what makes them so effective, and how to choose the best format for your website. 

What Are Video Ads and Why You Should Use Them

Video ads are dynamic ads that show up in a video player. They come in a wide variety – autoplay or click-to-play, muted or with sound, within content or standalone, skippable or unskippable, and so on. The precise settings for each ad will depend on the advertiser’s and publisher’s preferences, as well as the capabilities of the ad network. 

Benefits of Video Ads for Publishers

There is a hefty list of benefits publishers get when they put video ads on their websites:

• Higher Ad Revenue – Video ads come with higher CPMs than most other ad formats. According to Confect, the average video ad sells for 24% more than the average image ad. In my experience, it’s not uncommon for this difference to be even larger.
• Higher Engagement – Dynamic visual content is generally more engaging than still images, and the same goes for advertisements. An engaged audience is more likely to stick around on your website, interact with your content, and improve your dwell times.
• High Customizability – Because video ads come in such a wide range of variations, you can adapt them to fit your website well without compromising the UX. For instance, you can toggle the autoplay and mute options to find the right balance between attention-catching and intrusive.

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Drawbacks of Video Ads for Publishers

As with any other monetization method, video ads do have certain limitations:

• Harder Implementation – Unlike other formats, videos require a video player in order to work. This makes video advertisements somewhat more difficult to implement than other ad formats. 
• Intrusiveness – These ads are more difficult to ignore than image ads, to which users have already developed a sort of blindness. This can make video ads too intrusive to some viewers, especially if they interrupt their viewing experience too often (I’m looking at you, YouTube!).

What Are Image Ads and Why You Should Use Them

Image ads are also referred to in the industry as banner ads. They are static, can come in various shapes and sizes, and are generally shown within the content (i.e. in between paragraphs of a text or on the side of the screen). 

Benefits of Image Ads for Publishers

If you’re considering adding image ads to your website, here are some benefits you can count on:

• Higher Demand – Because image ads are more affordable than videos, more advertisers are looking for image ad inventory. This translates to higher fill rates for publishers.
• Easier to Implement – Image ads don’t really require any additional technology, such as a video player. This makes them easier to implement, especially for publishers who are inexperienced in ad monetization. 
• Unintrusive – Unlike video ads, which may pop up in the middle of a user watching a clip, image ads are almost entirely unintrusive (when done right). 

Drawbacks of Image Ads for Publishers

Of course, there are certain drawbacks you should count on, too:

• Less Earning Power – Image ads might be in higher demand, but they still sell for significantly lower CPMs. Depending on the website, this could mean significantly lower ad revenue overall.
• Banner Blindness – Anyone who uses the internet regularly has become so used to banner ads everywhere that we barely even notice them anymore (I know I have). This is especially important if you’re charging for inventory in CPC, rather than CPM.

Video Ads or Image Ads: Which One Should You Choose?

So, all things considered, what is better – image or video ads? The truth is, you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) make a clear-cut decision between the two. In most cases, the best way to go is to use a combination of different ad formats. 

Of course, there should be a method to it – certain formats perform better in certain contexts. Below you’ll find some useful tips for placing instream, outstream, and image ads on your website that have helped me in the past.

Tips for Instream Video Ads

If you’ve ever watched a YouTube video, you’ve seen instream ads. These are the video ads that show up before, during, or after the video content, within the same player. Here’s when – and how – I use instream video ads on my site:

• Keep mid-roll ads moderate – The precise density of mid-rolls will depend on the length of the video. I try not to put mid-roll ads more often than every three minutes for a 10-minute video.
• Make pre-roll ads skippable – Pre-rolls show up before the user has started watching content. This means that they are still not invested in the video and are more likely to click away if the ad is too long or unskippable.
• Post-roll ads are for playlists – Post-roll ads don’t make much sense in standalone videos, as there is no motivation for the user to actually watch the ad. However, I find that using them in playlists as an interlude between two pieces of content does generate some impressions.
• Limit ads on premium content – If you offer any paywalled content, consider removing ads from it. While having multiple monetization channels is a great idea, your users likely won’t be too happy to have to pay just to view ads.
• Use the “Call Ad Again” feature – Various features on the TargetVideo video platform allow publishers to optimize their ad-serving strategies. One such feature is Call Ad Again, which allows the player to place an additional ad call after the first one has come up empty.

Tips for Outstream Video Ads

Whether you don’t have existing video content or you simply want to supplement your ad-serving strategy with outstream video ads, here are some tips to help:

• Make your outstream player sticky – By making the player follow the user as they scroll, you will significantly increase the viewability of your video inventory. See what this looks like in action here.
• Loop the outstream ads – TargetVideo’s Loop Ads feature allows publishers to set up their outstream player so that it keeps looping as many ads as the publisher decides. This has proven to be a great strategy for increasing ad-serving opportunities for me. 
• Think of the design – An outstream ad shouldn’t affect the user-friendliness of your website. Make sure that the player isn’t covering any content, buttons, menus, or other website elements. 
• Think of mobile environments – Even more than on desktop, mobile environments can make outstream ads quite intrusive due to the smaller size of the screen. Keep this in mind when considering mobile ad monetization. 

Tips for Using Image Ads

Lastly, adding image ads to your monetization strategy could additionally boost your ad revenue. Here are some things to keep in mind when implementing image ads:

• Don’t overdo them – While video ads show up and then go away, image ads are constantly on your website. If there are too many of them, they will clutter the page.
• Keep them below the fold – The rule of not overdoing image ads is especially important in the above-the-fold part of the page. After all, you don’t want the first thing your website visitors see to be an ad, rather than something about your business.
• Use standardized dimensions – Image ads can come in various sizes, but using the most common, standardized dimensions will ensure a higher demand for your inventory.

Monetize Through Video Ads With TargetVideo

So what’s my final verdict – are video ads or image ads better for website monetization? The short answer is – video ads. The longer one is that the right combination of both will bring the best results. 

TargetVideo can help you get started with selling your video inventory. Sign up for the comprehensive video platform and enjoy having full control over every tiny variable in your monetization strategy. If you’d prefer a hands-off approach, you can always check out the plug-and-play Managed Player, which helps you generate a passive income through instream ads. Contact TargetVideo’s sales team to learn more about both options and request a demo.

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