Mistakes to avoid with video ad serving
                     Mistakes to avoid with video ad serving
Watson F
Writes on ad server solutions, involved with 
Ad servers for publishers / AdSpeed ad servers.
You don’t need to be in front of a TV to see video ads. They are 
everywhere these days because they are proven, effective and versatile. 
You see video ads when you play a YouTube video, open an ad-
supported app, or visit a news website. The opportunities to serve video 
ads are huge yet there are many mistakes that should be avoided with 
video ad serving. We will discuss a few of them in this article.
No clear call-to-action
A call-to-action is a critical component of any ad, including a video ad. It 
is the closing statement that provides instructions for the viewers to 
perform the next step. If you don’t include a clear instruction, they will 
not see the need to do anything and just basically forget about your ad 
because people are always busy these days. Therefore, at the end of 
each video ad, it should display a strong and direct verb like “Open your 
account”, “Talk to your doctor”, or “Call now” with a phone number, a 
website, or some simple and easy-to-remember contact information.
Video ad too long
Everyone is busy because there are just so many things that want their 
attention. Therefore, the average attention span is getting shorter and 
shorter. People are impatient and need instant gratification. With that in 
mind, you do not want your video ads too long. The first few seconds 
are the most important part of a video ad because if it fails to grab the 
viewer’s attention, they will likely click on the Skip button or ignore the 
rest. Video is a rich media format so you should take advantage of all 
elements including visual, sound, and story. Each second can convey a 
lot of information so make it count.
Same video ad across all channels
There are many places to serve your video ad. You can upload it onto your 
website, publish onto YouTube, share on social media, and serve it on video 
publishers through adservers. Because there are many outlets to display the ad, 
there are different restrictions, requirements, and specifications that need to be 
followed. Some publishers accept ads with a long duration while other sites allow 
only a few seconds. Therefore, you often find that you cannot use the same video 
ad across all channels, which is more convenient for you. Additionally, each 
platform attracts a different crowd. Users of LinkedIn, a network of professionals, 
look for something differently than users of Twitch, a live streaming service for 
gamers. Thus, to grab a specific audience’s attention, you need to have different 
strategies and should not use the same ad. You can first make a long duration 
video ad with the purpose of editing and splitting it up later with post-editing. You 
can create multiple ad campaigns using different video segments to highlight 
specific benefits or functions. That way, you can make each ad version interesting 
and relevant to each target audience.
About Adspeed
AdSpeed ad server is a reliable & powerful ad serving and ad 
management solution that serves your ads, tracks impressions & clicks 
and reports ad statistics in real-time. Driven by the latest ad serving 
technologies, the goal of Adspeed adserver is to provide a reliable 
platform that can help in executing online advertising strategy more 
efficiently. 
Thank you for spending your precious time in reading this article.