YouTube Shorts Ads: Campaign Types, Specs, Billing and Best Practices

YouTube Shorts ads are video or image ads that appear between organic Shorts in the vertical, full-screen Shorts feed, and viewers can skip them immediately by swiping up or down. Advertisers buy them through Google Ads campaign types rather than a separate Shorts product: Demand Gen, Video view, Video reach with the "Efficient reach" goal, YouTube reservation, Performance Max and App campaigns can all serve on Shorts, but only some of them let you choose Shorts deliberately and report on it separately.

Every spec, setting and billing rule in this guide comes from Google Ads Help, mainly its "Your guide to YouTube Shorts ads" series and the Demand Gen channel controls article. Google updates these pages often, so check the live setting names in your account before you build.

How YouTube Shorts ads work and where they show

Google describes Shorts as a mobile-optimized experience built around short, vertical, full-screen videos. Shorts ads follow the same pattern as the organic videos around them:

• They are rendered between organic Shorts in the feed.
• Viewers can skip immediately by swiping up or down. There is no five-second wait as with skippable in-stream ads.
• If a viewer scrolls back, the ad is kept and shown again. Google's Shorts FAQ says no new impression is counted when a user swipes back to a Shorts ad.
• A click on a Shorts ad means a click on the call-to-action (CTA) button.

Google lists these entry points where Shorts ads can appear inside the YouTube app and on YouTube in mobile and desktop browsers: the Shorts tab, Shorts shelves on the Home and Search feeds, the channel feed, the gaming feed, the shopping feed, the subscriptions feed and multi-format entry. Shorts ads also serve on tablets, desktop browsers and connected TV devices such as streaming devices, game consoles and smart TVs.

Connected TV behaves differently. Shorts ads on CTV cannot be clicked, so viewers reach the destination through a QR code. If you do not want Shorts ads on CTV, tablets or desktop, device targeting applies to Shorts ads the same way it applies to other formats.

Which campaign types serve on Shorts?

Google's guidance is to start from the marketing objective and pick the campaign type that optimizes for it. The six options differ most in how much control you get over Shorts as a placement.

Demand Gen campaigns

Demand Gen runs across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network, with video, image and text formats. Channel controls are set at the ad group level. Under "Let me choose" in the Channels panel, the Demand Gen channel controls article lists YouTube Shorts as one of three YouTube options, alongside YouTube in-stream and YouTube in-feed. Google's Shorts ads guide, however, says Demand Gen is not a way to buy only Shorts ads, so check what your account allows before planning a Shorts-only ad group. Google recommends "All Google channels" for most advertisers, so the system can use all channels and inventory to get the best results.

Demand Gen is also the only campaign type with creative preferences, which anchor an individual video asset to a specific format. In multi-format Video view and Video reach campaigns, you cannot pin one particular video to Shorts only.

Video view campaigns

Video view campaigns are built for consideration and optimize toward getting as many TrueView views as possible for the budget. You switch Shorts on by checking "YouTube Shorts" in the "Multi-format ads" section, both during setup and later in campaign settings, and you can change it during the flight. Google recommends also selecting "Skippable in-stream ads" and "In-feed ads" when you have assets in more than one orientation. Video view campaigns can also run Drive to Long-Form Shorts, which uses a Short to promote a longer video or a livestream.

Video reach campaigns with the "Efficient reach" goal

Shorts ads are available in Video reach campaigns only with the "Efficient reach" goal, not with the other reach goals. The campaign optimizes toward the best cost per unique user reached, and Shorts is switched on with the same "YouTube Shorts" checkbox under "Multi-format ads".

YouTube reservation campaigns

Reservation buys of Shorts run through YouTube Select Shorts, which targets premium content lineups such as trending music and sports and places ads at the top of the Shorts feed. "First Position" ad position targeting is available for Shorts ads in reservation, and you arrange these buys through a Google Ads representative.

Performance Max campaigns

Performance Max includes Shorts placements automatically across its inventory, but you cannot buy Shorts separately inside it, and its reporting does not break Shorts out from other YouTube inventory.

App Install and App Re-engagement campaigns

App campaigns serve across Search, Google Play, YouTube including Shorts, Discover and the Display Network. As with Performance Max, you cannot buy only Shorts, and Shorts results are bundled into the YouTube network segment.

YouTube Shorts ad specs

Google's Shorts asset specs article sets out the creative rules. The video must be uploaded to YouTube, as public or unlisted, before you can use it as an ad.

Orientation

Vertical 9:16 is the format Google says is best suited to Shorts. Horizontal and square videos are supported, but in the vertical Shorts experience a horizontal asset serves with blurred areas above and below it. Google's FAQ adds that horizontal and square assets are only eligible on a subset of Shorts surfaces, such as desktop and connected TV, while vertical assets are eligible on all of them. If a campaign holds both, Video view and Video reach campaigns prioritize the vertical asset on Shorts. If you only have horizontal footage, the Video enhancements feature can generate vertical versions from it.

Length

• Video reach campaigns: 6 to 60 seconds.
• Other campaign types, such as App and Performance Max: 10 to 60 seconds.
• Action-oriented ads: Google suggests 10 to 30 second vertical videos.

Ads longer than 60 seconds are still eligible on Shorts, and viewers can continue to the YouTube watch page through an overlay. Google nonetheless recommends keeping Shorts ads under 60 seconds to match how people watch Shorts.

Text, CTA and action buttons

• The ad shows the advertiser's channel name and a description. Google recommends a description of up to 90 characters and a headline of up to 40 characters for the mobile CTA overlay card. Text beyond one line on mobile, or two lines on desktop and TV, is truncated.
• The CTA button appears at 3 seconds in Performance Max, App and Demand Gen campaigns, and at 10 seconds in Video view and Video reach campaigns. Without a CTA, mobile Shorts ads are not eligible for the overlay card.
• The right-hand panel of like, dislike, comment and share buttons overlays the creative, as it does on organic Shorts. You can turn comments off, but the other buttons display on every eligible ad and cannot be hidden. Share only works on public videos.
• Hashtags in the ad description are not clickable and do not link to organic hashtags.
• Lead forms are not currently compatible with Shorts ads.

The preview in the ad creation panel shows how text and the Shorts action buttons will sit on your video, which is the quickest way to check that nothing important hides under the right-hand panel.

What do YouTube Shorts ads cost?

Google does not publish a set price or a standard cost per view for Shorts ads. Costs come from the auction and depend on targeting, bidding, competition and creative, so any single CPV figure quoted out of context should be treated with caution. What Google does define precisely is which events you pay for and how they are counted.

• TrueView views: in Video view campaigns you are charged for views. On Shorts, a view counts when the viewer watches at least 10 seconds of the ad, or the whole ad if it is shorter than 10 seconds. A TrueView view is also counted when the viewer clicks the CTA, or clicks like, comment or share on the ad, so those clicks become billable events in view-billed campaigns. Since October 2025, the "Views" metric has been called "TrueView views" in Google Ads, with no change to billing.
• Engaged views: an engaged view is counted when the viewer watches 5 seconds of the ad, or clicks the CTA, like, comment or share.
• YouTube public views: not billable. A Shorts ad adds to the public view count on YouTube as soon as it starts to play or replay, with no minimum watch time.

An illustrative example of how this plays out: a 15-second Shorts ad in a Video view campaign becomes billable once a viewer reaches second 10, or earlier if they tap the CTA or like the ad. A 7-second ad becomes billable when watched to the end, or on one of those clicks. The public view counter on the video moves in both cases from the first frame, which is why public views on an ad-supported Short can run well ahead of the TrueView views in your report.

For planning, Reach Planner forecasts reach and cost per impression for Shorts in Video view and Video reach (Efficient reach) campaigns when you customise the mix to Shorts, except for the "Shorts + In-feed" mix in Video view. The traffic estimator in the right-hand panel during setup gives reach and budget-use estimates. Google warns that the bid recommendations shown during construction may be incorrect for Shorts-only Video view campaigns, so set bids from the Traffic Estimator's expected performance instead.

How to measure Shorts ads

• Segment by ad format. If a Video reach or Video view campaign also runs in-stream or in-feed ads, unsegmented metrics are the sum or average of all formats. Segment by ad format to see Shorts alone.
• Where ads showed. This report shows the channels and videos where Shorts ads ran.
• Watch time per second. Under Assets, then Videos, then Analytics, the Shorts view shows watch time, average watch time per impression and the share of impressions that reached each second.
• Organic actions. Likes and comments on a Shorts ad count on the original Short, and engagement on the action buttons appears in YouTube channel metrics, not in Google Ads.
• Remarketing. Remarketing lists built from Shorts viewers are supported for both organic and ad content.
• Gaps. Store sales and store visit reporting are not available for Shorts ads, and Shorts ads on CTV are not broken out in device reporting.

YouTube Shorts ads vs TikTok ads

The two formats look alike to a viewer, a vertical, sound-on video in a swipeable feed, but the platforms behind them differ in ways that change planning.

Organic engagement. On Shorts, likes and comments on an ad are added to the original Short, but Google's FAQ is explicit that engagement on ads does not influence organic or ad discovery. TikTok's Spark Ads take a similar approach to attribution: TikTok for Business help says views, likes, comments, shares and follows from a boosted post are credited to the original organic post. Neither platform promises that paid engagement improves organic reach.

Buying environment. Shorts ads are bought in Google Ads, so they share audiences, remarketing lists, conversion tracking and budgets with Search, Display and the rest of YouTube. A Demand Gen campaign can move budget between Shorts, in-stream, Discover and Gmail inside one campaign. TikTok ads are bought in a separate ad platform with its own pixel and audiences.

Creative reuse. A vertical video made for TikTok can run on Shorts once it is uploaded to YouTube, provided its audio is cleared for commercial use. Check the CTA timing difference: Google shows the CTA at 3 or 10 seconds depending on campaign type, so the first seconds must carry the message on their own.

Best practices for vertical creative

Google's own guidance for Shorts creative comes down to making ads that look like they belong in the feed:

1. Shoot vertical first. Use 9:16, and keep important text and products away from the right-hand action panel and the bottom caption area. Check with the preview.
2. Design for sound on. Google recommends music, voiceover or both, and trending audio. The royalty-free YouTube Audio Library is available inside the Shorts library. Any other audio used commercially must be cleared with the copyright owner first, or the Short can face enforcement, including copyright takedowns.
3. Keep it native. Google advises making ads feel organic and social-first, considering text overlays, and partnering with creators for authentic content. Brand Partner Access lets advertisers boost creators' organic Shorts.
4. Stay under 60 seconds, and for action goals aim for 10 to 30 seconds.
5. Give the system several assets. Use a variety of vertical videos with different messages, plus horizontal and square versions if you run multi-format campaigns, so the system can match the asset to the surface.
6. Target broadly. Google advises broad targeting for Shorts reach, using affinity, in-market, custom segments, detailed demographics or life events, and recommends against custom search term segments and similar restrictions on Shorts-only campaigns.
7. Plan in phases. Test, launch and then maintain, using Shorts-only benchmarks for watch time, views and conversions rather than comparing with in-stream.

YouTube Shorts ads in the Thai market

The mechanics above are the same in Thailand, but a few of them need extra care with Thai creative. The 90-character description and the truncation after one line on mobile apply to Thai text too, and Thai has no spaces between words, so check in the preview where the line actually breaks before relying on the second half of a sentence. Because the CTA button only appears at 3 or 10 seconds, the opening seconds should state the offer in Thai, on screen and in voiceover, rather than waiting for the end card.

Music is the other point. Popular Thai songs used in a commercial Short still need rights cleared with the copyright owner, the same as any other commercial audio. Where that is not possible, the YouTube Audio Library is the safe source. Finally, if a campaign targets Thai audiences on smart TVs, remember that CTV Shorts ads are not clickable and rely on a QR code, so a TV-heavy plan should be judged on reach and views rather than clicks.

FAQ about YouTube Shorts ads

Can I run ads on YouTube Shorts only?

Google's Video view and Video reach (Efficient reach) guides refer to Shorts-only campaigns, set up with the "YouTube Shorts" checkbox in the Multi-format ads section, while Performance Max and App campaigns cannot buy Shorts alone, and Google's pages disagree on whether Demand Gen can.

How long should a YouTube Shorts ad be?

Under 60 seconds is Google's strong recommendation, with 6 to 60 seconds allowed for Video reach, 10 to 60 seconds for most other campaign types, and 10 to 30 seconds suggested for action-focused ads.

When is a Shorts ad view billed?

In Video view campaigns, a Shorts ad view is billed once the viewer watches 10 seconds, or the full ad if it is shorter, or clicks the CTA, like, comment or share button.

Can I use a horizontal video for Shorts ads?

Yes, but it serves with blurred bars above and below and is only eligible on some Shorts surfaces such as desktop and CTV, so Google recommends a vertical 9:16 version, which you can create with Video enhancements.

If you want Shorts to sit inside a wider YouTube and Google Ads plan rather than run as a one-off, Relevant Audience can help with campaign setup, creative and measurement. See our YouTube advertising services, Google Ads management, remarketing services, or compare with TikTok advertising.