How to Promote Your YouTube Video With Google Ads (2027)

By Corey Frankosky · Last Updated October 28, 2026

You have two ways to promote a YouTube video with Google Ads. You can click Promote inside YouTube Studio and launch a simple promotion in a few minutes, or you can build a Video or Demand Gen campaign inside Google Ads and get full control over goals, bidding, targeting and reporting. Both run on the same Google Ads system, and both put your video in front of people who have never seen your channel.

This guide covers how to promote YouTube videos going into 2027: how the Promote button and Google Ads campaigns differ, which goal to pick for views or subscribers, step by step setup for each, which formats work best for growing a channel, targeting, budget, how to measure earned views and subscribers, and the mistakes I see most. I run the Surfside PPC YouTube channel, so everything here is written from the point of view of someone trying to grow a channel, not just buy cheap views. If you want the full picture of every YouTube ad format and campaign type, start with my YouTube Ads guide.

1Two Ways to Promote a YouTube Video

The fastest way to promote a YouTube video is the Promote button in YouTube Studio. Google describes it as a simplified ad tool powered by Google Ads for videos and Shorts. You can open it from the three dot menu on any video, the Promote button on a watch page, or the Promotions tab under Content in YouTube Studio.

The second way is to use Google Ads directly. Inside Google Ads you build a Video campaign for views or reach, or a Demand Gen campaign with the YouTube engagements goal for subscribers.

Sources: YouTube Help, promotions and Google Ads Help, Create a Video campaign, accessed October 28, 2026.

Keep in mind that promotions created in YouTube Studio can only be managed on YouTube, not in Google Ads. Google's own Promote creator playbook says the Audience growth goal in Promote and the YouTube engagements goal in Google Ads are the same product. Promote has the simpler interface. Google Ads has the deeper settings and reporting.

I walk through the Google Ads side in this video. It was recorded in 2022, so some menus have changed, but the logic is the same.

2Pick the Right Goal: Views, Subscribers or Reach

The goal decides what Google optimizes for. In Google Ads, you start with the objective YouTube reach, views, and engagements. Google's video formats page notes this objective was formerly called Awareness and consideration. From there, the campaign goal sends you down one of three paths.

• Video views. Builds a Video campaign that bids on Target CPV. Google finds as many views as it can across in-stream, in-feed and Shorts placements. Use it when you want a specific video watched.
• YouTube subscriptions and engagements. Sends you to a Demand Gen campaign with the YouTube engagements goal. It optimizes for channel subscriptions or follow-on views. Use it when the goal is a bigger channel, not one bigger video. This is the modern version of using AdWords to promote a YouTube channel.
• Reach. Builds a Video campaign with a subtype such as Efficient reach, Non-skippable reach, Target frequency, Ad sequence or Audio reach. These bid on Target CPM and are built for brand awareness, not channel growth.

TrueView in-stream and in-feed for consideration campaigns were the old version. Google is evolving those into Video view campaigns. On the conversion side, Demand Gen replaced Video action campaigns, which is why the subscriber goal now lives in Demand Gen.

Promote keeps it simpler with three goals: Audience growth for subscribers, Video views for views, and Website visits for clicks to your site.

3How to Promote a Video in YouTube Studio

A Google Ads account is required, and the playbook says one gets set up for you during your first promotion. Here is the process on desktop.

1. Open YouTube Studio. Go to Content, then the Promotions tab, and click New promotion. You can also click the three dot menu on any video and choose Promote.
2. Choose your goal. Pick Audience growth, Video views or Website visits.
3. Choose the video. It must be public or unlisted. Private videos cannot be promoted, and the playbook says the video needs to be longer than 10 seconds. You can edit the headline and description the ad uses.
4. Set the audience. Choose locations and languages, then open advanced targeting for age, gender and interests if you need them.
5. Set the budget and end date. You set a total budget, and you are never billed more than that amount for the promotion.
6. Submit for review. Every promotion goes through a Google Ads policy review of the video, headline and description. The playbook says this usually takes 1 to 2 days before the ad starts serving.

4How to Set Up a Video Views Campaign in Google Ads

If you want more control, build the campaign in Google Ads. Before you start, link your YouTube channel to Google Ads. In Google Ads, go to Tools, then Data manager, select Connect Product, then YouTube. You can also start from YouTube Studio under Settings, Channel, Advanced settings, then Link Account.

Here is the process from Google's Create a Video campaign page.

1. Start a new campaign. Go to Campaigns, click the plus icon, then New campaign.
2. Pick the objective. Choose YouTube reach, views, and engagements, choose Auction, then the Video views goal and the Video campaign type.
3. Set bidding and budget. Video views uses Target CPV. You enter the average amount you are willing to pay per view. Then set a daily budget or a campaign total budget with start and end dates.
4. Set networks, locations and languages. Keep YouTube selected. Google recommends keeping Video partners on the Display Network selected as well.
5. Build the ad group targeting. Add audiences and demographics, plus optional keywords, topics and placements. Google warns that adding too many limits your reach.
6. Create the ad. Paste your YouTube video URL, add a final URL, call to action, headline and, for in-feed placements, a long headline and description.

Video views campaigns use multi-format video ads by default, so one campaign can serve as skippable in-stream, in-feed and Shorts ads. Google lets you opt out of formats, but says that may reduce your views.

5How to Set Up a YouTube Engagements Campaign for Subscribers

If subscribers are the goal, use Demand Gen with the YouTube engagements goal. Once your channel is linked, Google adds two conversion actions to your account: YouTube channel subscriptions and YouTube follow-on views. Google's YouTube Engagements goals page lays out the setup.

1. Start a new campaign. Click the plus icon, then New campaign, then Create a campaign without guidance.
2. Pick Demand Gen. Select Demand Gen as the campaign type and click Continue.
3. Pick the goal. Under Campaign goal, select YouTube engagements.
4. Set bidding. Google recommends Maximize conversions for the first 14 days, then switching to Target CPA once you have enough conversions. Google gives about 50 conversions as an example.
5. Point the ad at your channel. Use your channel URL or a playlist URL as the landing URL. Engagement ads swap the call to action button for a subscribe button.
6. Mix your creative. Google recommends a mix of short, long and vertical videos.

Two limits are worth knowing. This goal serves only on YouTube inventory inside Demand Gen, not on Google video partners, and it does not serve to signed out YouTube viewers. My Smart Bidding explainer and bidding strategies guide explain how Maximize conversions and Target CPA work.

6Best Formats for Growing a Channel

For channel growth, the format matters because each one counts a view differently and puts the viewer in a different frame of mind.

Sources: Google Ads Help, video ad formats and About Video views, accessed October 28, 2026.

In-feed is the best fit for most channels. The viewer chose to click your thumbnail, and in Video views campaigns a click goes straight to your video. That is the same behavior as an organic view, which is why I lean on in-feed when the goal is long term viewers. It also means your thumbnail and title are doing the selling.

Shorts ads are a natural fit if your channel already posts Shorts. They run in the Shorts feed, and in a Video views campaign they only serve when you keep multi-format ads turned on. Viewers can swipe away right away, so the first second has to earn the next nine.

Skippable in-stream interrupts someone else's video. Viewers can skip after 5 seconds. Many of those viewers were trying to watch something else, so your hook has to be strong. My YouTube in-stream ads guide covers how to write a hook that survives the skip button.

7Targeting Your YouTube Video Promotion

Targeting is where Google Ads pulls ahead of Promote. Here are the levers that matter.

• Locations and languages. Set these to the audience you actually want. If you sell to the United States, do not let a cheap view from another country count as a win.
• Audiences. Interest and in-market segments let you reach people who care about your topic. Google's engagements page recommends audience segments relevant to your channel's content.
• Your own data segments. Once your channel is linked, you can build audiences from people who interacted with your videos. Google says these data segments were previously called remarketing lists. My remarketing explainer and Google Ads remarketing guide cover how to use them.
• Keywords, topics and placements. Optional in Video campaigns. They narrow where your ad shows, so add a few, not dozens.

In Promote, you get locations, languages, age, gender and interests. The playbook notes that Google may expand beyond the interests you select, so Promote gives you less control over who sees the ad.

8Budget and Cost Per View

For Promote, Google gives a direct number. The playbook says you can get results with as little as $5, but Google generally recommends at least $100 because performance tends to improve over time. You set a total budget and are never charged more than it.

In Google Ads, you choose a daily budget or a campaign total budget. Google does not publish a recommended cost per view for Video views campaigns. You set a Target CPV, and Google says individual views may cost more or less than your target. For the YouTube engagements goal, start with Maximize conversions and let the first two weeks set your baseline cost per subscriber.

I did not find a current, sourced cost per view figure that I trust enough to quote here. If you want benchmark ranges, see my YouTube ads benchmarks post, which cites its sources and dates. My advice is to run your first promotion long enough to get your own cost per view and cost per subscriber, then decide whether to scale.

9Measuring Earned Views and Subscribers

What matters most is what people did after the ad. Google calls these earned actions.

• What they are. Earned views, likes, subscribers, playlist additions and shares that happen on your linked channel within 7 days of someone viewing your ad. You are not charged for them.
• What you need. A linked YouTube channel with the engagement permission turned on, which you can check under the YouTube section of your linked accounts. Google also says earned actions reporting will not show if personalized ads are disabled on the linked channel.
• Conversions columns. In a YouTube engagements campaign, subscriptions and follow-on views show in the Conversions column when they are your primary goal, or All conversions when they are secondary.
• Promote reporting. The Promotions tab shows impressions, views, subscribers, total cost and website visits. Follow-on views, the organic views from people who watched your promotion, are shown only for Audience growth promotions.

Keep in mind that subscribers and watch time from ads do not count toward YouTube Partner Program eligibility. Only organic subscribers count. Google also says promotions do not affect your organic performance or recommendations.

When I look at a channel promotion, cost per earned subscriber and earned views per paid view tell me more than raw cost per view. A cheap view that never comes back is not a cheap view.

10Common Mistakes When Promoting YouTube Videos

• Running a views campaign when you want subscribers. Google optimizes for exactly what you ask for. If you want subscribers, use Audience growth or the YouTube engagements goal.
• Not linking the channel. Without the link you lose earned actions, engagement conversions and channel audiences.
• Promoting your weakest video. Ads do not fix a video people do not want to watch. Promote a video that shows the kind of content a new subscriber will get.
• Ignoring the thumbnail. Promoted videos use the same thumbnail as organic ones, and Google's playbook says it is what many viewers see first.
• Expecting monetization help. Paid subscribers and watch time do not count toward YouTube Partner Program thresholds.
• Judging one short promotion. Promotions can take 1 to 2 days to start delivering and optimizing. Give the campaign time and test more than one video.

11Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• YouTube Help, promotions in YouTube Studio. Accessed October 28, 2026.
• YouTube, "Promote Creator Playbook" (US edition). Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, "Create a Video campaign". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, "About Video views". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, "About YouTube Engagements goals in Demand Gen". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, video ad formats. Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, video metrics and earned actions. Accessed October 28, 2026.
• YouTube Help, "Link YouTube channels or videos and Google Ads accounts". Accessed October 28, 2026.
• Google Ads Help, "Video Action Campaigns are being upgraded to Demand Gen". Accessed October 28, 2026.