It took a little while but I have finally spotted a Google video ad running on The TechZone. I took a screen shot (on the right) just in case I don’t see it again.
As some may recall, I signed a deal with Google to run their new video ad format on my site. These ads are right now outside of the normal Google ads. I have been given a separate publisher ID for these ads and the stats won’t be displayed in my AdSense control panel. Instead, Google will email me weekly performance updates.
As this program continues to gain momentum, the ad inventory will continue to reflect more and more image and click-to-play video ads. I can expect to see text ads in the earlier stages. Right now, I say a video ad shows up maybe 5% of the time. The rest of the time, it’s all text ads. I’m sure that will change as Google ramps up their Q4 advertising efforts.
Whether they are text, image or video ads, Google will pay me a guaranteed flat CPM rate. In exchange, I have to guarantee Google a minimum level of ad inventory. I can exceed the inventory level Google wants, but I cannot go below the minimum level.