YouTube skippable in-stream ads: how they work and when you pay

YouTube skippable in-stream ads are video ads that play before, during or after another video and let the viewer skip once 5 seconds have passed. On cost-per-view (CPV) bidding you pay only when someone watches 30 seconds of the ad, watches all of an ad shorter than 30 seconds, or interacts with it, whichever happens first. On Target CPM or conversion-based bidding the same ad is billed per impression instead.

That split between a view and an impression explains most of the confusion around this format. The ad looks identical to the viewer in every case. What changes is the campaign subtype it sits in, the bid strategy attached to that subtype, and therefore what Google Ads counts and charges for. This guide walks through each of those pieces in order.

How skippable in-stream ads work and when you pay

A skippable in-stream ad runs on YouTube watch pages and, if the campaign includes them, on Google video partner sites and apps. The first 5 seconds always play. After that a skip button appears and the viewer decides whether to keep watching. There is no maximum video length, although Google recommends keeping the ad under 3 minutes.

Google Ads records several separate events for one ad play, and they are easy to mix up:

• Impression. Counted when the video ad starts playing on the watch page. Every play is an impression, including the ones skipped at second 5.
• TrueView view. Counted when the viewer watches 30 seconds, or to the end if the ad is shorter than 30 seconds, or clicks an element of the ad such as the call-to-action, a card, a banner, the thumbnail or the logo. Google Ads renamed the "Views" column to "TrueView views" in October 2025. The definition and the billing did not change.
• Engagement. A reporting metric with a shorter threshold. For an in-stream ad longer than 10 seconds, Google Ads Help currently counts an engagement when the viewer watches more than 10 seconds or clicks the ad. For an ad shorter than 10 seconds the viewer has to watch the full video or click.

What you pay for on CPV and on impression bidding

CPV billing follows the TrueView view. You are charged when the viewer reaches 30 seconds (or the end of a shorter ad) or interacts, whichever comes first. A viewer who skips at second 6 without clicking costs nothing on CPV, even though the brand was on screen for 5 seconds. Only one view is billed per impression, no matter how many qualifying actions the viewer takes.

The engagement metric does not set the bill. It sits in reports so you can see how many people stayed past 10 seconds, which is useful for a long ad where the 30-second mark is a high bar. An engagement count that is larger than the TrueView view count is normal for that reason.

When the skippable in-stream ad runs under Target CPM, Target CPA or Maximize conversions bidding, you pay based on impressions. A skip at second 5 is then a paid impression. Neither model is always cheaper. CPV buys people who chose to keep watching. Impression bidding buys the chance to be seen.

Skippable vs non-skippable vs bumper ads

The three in-stream formats differ in whether the viewer has a choice and in how long the ad can be. The table lists the mechanics that Google Ads documents for each.

Google Ads does not count TrueView views for bumper and non-skippable ads. The viewer cannot skip, so watching says nothing about intent. That means view rate and CPV only exist for the skippable format, and a report that mixes formats needs to be split before any of those numbers are read.

The practical difference is what each format asks of the creative. A non-skippable ad guarantees the full message is delivered, so the script can build to its point. A bumper has room for one idea. A skippable ad has to earn everything after second 5, and in exchange it gives you a signal the other two cannot: who chose to stay.

Which campaign subtypes serve skippable in-stream ads

You do not pick "skippable in-stream" as a campaign anymore. You pick a campaign subtype, and the subtype decides which formats can serve and how they are bid.

• Video views campaigns. Built to collect TrueView views, with Target CPV as the bid strategy. Multi-format ads are on by default, so the same campaign also serves in-feed and Shorts ads alongside skippable in-stream. You can opt out by unchecking the multi-format box, which limits where the ads run.
• Video reach campaigns. The efficient reach and target frequency options both include skippable in-stream ads next to bumpers, in-feed and Shorts. They bid on Target CPM, so here the skippable ad is paid per impression.
• Demand Gen campaigns. In-stream is one of the YouTube placements a Demand Gen video asset can fill, and the viewer can still skip after 5 seconds. Bidding is built around conversions or clicks. Videos shorter than 10 seconds are not eligible for the in-stream placement in Demand Gen.

Performance Max and App campaigns can also place video assets in skippable in-stream slots, but the advertiser has far less control over format there.

The consequence for reporting is that "skippable in-stream" results from a Video views campaign and from a Video reach campaign should not be compared line by line. One was optimised to find people who watch. The other was optimised to reach as many different people as possible, and a lower view rate there is the expected result of that goal.

Creative: hooking viewers before the 5-second skip

The first 5 seconds are the only part of the ad that every impression is guaranteed to see. On CPV those seconds are also free when the viewer skips. So the opening has to carry the brand and a reason to keep watching. For many viewers it is the whole ad.

A few choices follow from how the format works:

• Show the brand or product inside the first 5 seconds. A slow build that reveals the brand at second 20 gives the skippers nothing to remember.
• Open on the most concrete thing you have: the product in use, the problem on screen, a direct question. A logo animation uses up the unskippable window without giving a reason to stay.
• State the offer in voice and on screen. Some plays are muted and some are on a TV across the room.
• Give the call-to-action a job. A click counts as a TrueView view and is the only path to the site, so the button text and the landing page should match what the video promised.
• Decide what a 30-second viewer should know. If the ad is longer than 30 seconds, the paid view lands at second 30, so the main message belongs before it.

Google's own creative guidance groups this under four headings it calls ABCD: attention, branding, connection and direction. It is a useful checklist for a script review because each letter maps to a part of the ad that can be checked in the edit.

Length affects billing directly. An ad under 30 seconds only earns a TrueView view when it is watched to the end or clicked. A 2-minute ad earns one at second 30. For Video views campaigns Google recommends supplying a horizontal ad of 60 seconds to 3 minutes, a horizontal ad of 15 seconds and a vertical ad of 10 to 60 seconds, so the campaign has a suitable cut for in-stream, in-feed and Shorts. If production is the bottleneck, AI video production is one way to get several cuts of the same idea without a new shoot for each one.

Target CPV, Target CPM and Max CPV bidding

Three bid types come up with this format, and they behave differently.

Target CPV is the bid strategy for Video views campaigns. You set the average amount you are willing to pay for a view and Google Ads optimises bids to get as many views as possible around that average. Some views will cost more than the target and some less.

Maximum CPV is the older manual version. It is a ceiling: the most you would pay for a single view, with the actual price at or below it. Where an account still shows a maximum CPV bid, read it as a cap. Read a target CPV as an average that the system steers towards.

Target CPM is used by Video reach campaigns. You set the average you are willing to pay per thousand impressions and the campaign optimises for unique reach. A bid set too low can stop ads from serving in some of the selected formats, which is why the campaign setup shows an estimate next to the bid field.

Eligible accounts may also see an automated bid option for Video views and Video reach campaigns, currently in beta. With it you leave the bid empty and Google Ads sets bids in each auction to spend the budget. Google's guidance is to allow 24 hours for the bidding to adjust before making significant changes to audience or budget.

The bid strategy should follow the question you want answered. If the goal is people who watched the message, buy views. If the goal is the number of different people exposed, buy impressions and judge the result on reach. Campaign setup inside Google Ads pushes you towards this choice at the first step, where you pick the subtype.

How to read view rate, and why there is no Thailand benchmark

View rate is TrueView views divided by impressions. It tells you what share of ad plays turned into a view. It is a property of one creative shown to one audience under one campaign setup, which is why a single benchmark figure for Thailand does not exist and any number presented as one should be treated with suspicion.

Here is the arithmetic with invented numbers, purely as an illustrative example. A campaign serves 20,000 skippable in-stream impressions and 5,000 of them become TrueView views. The view rate is 25 percent. If the campaign spent 2,500 baht on CPV, the average CPV is 0.50 baht. These figures are made up to show the calculation and are not a target.

Several things move view rate before creative quality even enters:

• Ad length: a 20-second ad has to be watched to the end to count. A 90-second ad counts at second 30. The two are not measured against the same bar.
• Audience: view rate differs from one audience to another. A broad audience can still be the right choice when the aim is to reach new people.
• Format mix: in a multi-format campaign, in-feed views are counted on a click or 10 seconds of autoplay, and Shorts views at 10 seconds. A blended view rate across formats is not comparable with an in-stream-only figure.
• Inventory: including or excluding Google video partners, and the split between phones, computers and TV screens, changes who sees the ad and in what setting.

The useful comparison is against your own history. Segment by format, then compare creatives against each other inside the same audience, and audiences against each other with the same creative. The "video played to" columns show the share of viewers who reached 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent of the video, which shows where people leave. A sharp drop right after second 5 points to the opening. A steady decline through the middle points to length.

What this means in the Thai market

The mechanics above are the same in every country. What differs in Thailand is the creative and the destination. An ad written in English and subtitled later does not open the way a Thai-language ad does, and the first 5 seconds are too short to recover from a hook that does not land in the viewer's language. Brands that sell to both Thai and international audiences usually need two openings and two campaigns, each targeted by language.

The click needs somewhere sensible to go. If the business closes sales in LINE chat or by phone, the call-to-action should lead to a page built for that step, because a click is billed as a view whether or not the landing page is ready for it.

YouTube is also not the only place Thai viewers watch video. In-stream formats run on local publisher sites too, and Relevant Audience's Thai Video Network places skippable, non-skippable and bumper ads on Thai video publishers for advertisers who want that inventory alongside YouTube.

Frequently asked questions

Do you pay when a viewer skips a skippable in-stream ad?

Not on CPV bidding, as long as the viewer skips before 30 seconds and does not interact with the ad. On Target CPM, Target CPA or Maximize conversions bidding you pay per impression, so a skipped ad is still a paid impression.

How long should a skippable in-stream ad be?

There is no maximum length, and Google recommends staying under 3 minutes. The length changes how a view is earned: an ad under 30 seconds must be watched to the end or clicked, while a longer ad earns the view at second 30. In Demand Gen campaigns a video under 10 seconds is not eligible for in-stream.

What is a good view rate for YouTube ads in Thailand?

There is no single benchmark that applies. View rate depends on ad length, audience, format mix and inventory, so the reliable reference is your own past campaigns with the same setup. Compare creatives within one audience instead of comparing your account with a number from another market or industry.

What is the difference between a TrueView view and an engagement?

A TrueView view is the billing event on CPV and needs 30 seconds of watch time, a full watch of a shorter ad, or a click. An engagement is a reporting metric that, for in-stream ads longer than 10 seconds, is counted after more than 10 seconds of viewing or a click. Engagements will normally outnumber TrueView views on long ads.

Can one campaign run skippable in-stream ads together with Shorts and in-feed ads?

Yes, Video views campaigns and the efficient reach option of Video reach campaigns do this through multi-format ads. Each format keeps its own definition of a view, so segment the report by format before reading view rate or CPV.

Skippable in-stream is one format with several ways to buy it, and the buying method decides what the numbers mean. If you want help choosing the subtype, setting the bid and building creative for the first 5 seconds, Relevant Audience's YouTube ads service covers campaign setup, Thai and English creative and weekly optimisation.