Mid-roll ads are lauded as one of the most lucrative ad formats in the digital landscape. But simply adding some mid-roll slots to your streams and calling it a day won’t suffice. As with any other ad format, you have to think about ad placement, duration, price floors, and so on. However, for maximum effectiveness, mid-rolls specifically also require some attention in terms of frequency and targeting.
Let’s check out some best practices for publishers looking to monetize videos with mid-rolls.
What Are Mid-Roll Ads – And Should You Use Them?
Mid-roll ads are a type of instream video ads that show up during video playback (as opposed to pre-rolls, which play before, and post-rolls, which play after a video).
Mid-rolls are one of the most common (as any YouTube user will tell you) types of video ads out there – and for a good reason. Since they show up during the video the user is watching, they are quite effective in grabbing attention.
Additionally, the broad freedom that publishers have in deciding when, where, and how many mid-roll ads to serve makes it possible to optimize the ad-serving strategy for the highest revenue.
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When Not to Use Mid-Rolls
Mid-roll ads are one of the favorite video ad formats among both publishers and advertisers. However, end users aren’t typically particularly fond of them. This means that knowing when not to serve mid-roll ads is just as important as knowing when to serve them.
Some cases in which I don’t recommend using mid-roll video ads include:
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In short videos – Short-form video content is not the best candidate for hosting mid-rolls, for obvious reasons. Users likely won’t be engaged enough to sit through a 15-second ad just to watch another 15 seconds of video content.
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In certain types of videos – Some content, such as follow-along tutorials or meditation guides, doesn’t mesh well with mid-roll video ads. Imagine having to pause your yoga session every five minutes just to skip yet another intrusive ad!
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In paywalled content – Now, this isn’t a rule as much as a personal suggestion. If a user has paid for access to a specific piece of content, they might be ready to sit through a skippable pre-roll, but mid-rolls would likely drive away a paying audience.
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Follow UsBest Practices for Maximizing Your Mid-Roll Ad Revenue
Let’s say you’ve decided that your bottom line could benefit from mid-rolls. What now? You can’t just place ad slots throughout videos all willy-nilly. Here are my top picks of best practices for getting the most out of mid-roll video ads.
Mind the Ad Frequency
Mid-roll ads already have a reputation for intrusiveness. Having them pop up too frequently can get annoying and drive your audience away. The exact frequency you want to aim for will depend on several factors, including the length of the video, the platform you’re using, and more.
For instance, you can put mid-rolls on a YouTube video that is 10 minutes or longer. For such videos, the recommendation is to place an ad slot every two minutes. This might sound like a lot, but keep in mind that only a portion of those slots will be filled with ads in each viewing.
Feel free to play around with your mid-roll setup until you find the optimal combination.
Choose Proper Placements
In addition to frequency, ad placements are pretty high up there on the list of best practices. Ideally, you’ll want to avoid placing ads in the middle of sentences or high-tension moments.
Instead, try to identify places where an ad would feel more natural, such as in between scenes or during major storyline transitions.
Make Them Contextually Relevant
What the ad depicts is just as important as when it shows up. In fact, according to a 2024 IAS paper, The Mind on the Stream, contextually matched ads offer better narrative fluency, emotional impact, memorability, and personal relevance. It’s no wonder that 59% of viewers find them more engaging.
If you’re still shopping around for an ad network, I suggest choosing one that supports contextual targeting. That way, you can ensure your viewers see ads that are consistent in tone, messaging, and topic.
TargetVideo’s Matched InStream solution places ads within contextually relevant editorial content, ensuring a smooth viewing experience and better ad performance. Get in touch with our sales team to find out more.
Consider Length and Skippability
Skippability is yet another thing to consider that could make or break your mid-roll strategy. As a general rule, I recommend making all ads longer than 30 seconds skippable. Of course, you can experiment with longer, non-skippable content (like we’ve all been witnessing YouTube do in real time lately), but these will make audience retention harder. After all, if users wanted five-minute-long ad breaks, they’d be watching TV.
Test Your Mid-Roll Ads
As you’ve likely noticed, there is usually no clear-cut right or wrong when it comes to developing an effective mid-roll ad strategy. That’s why the best thing you can do is test your mid-rolls. Play around with ad frequency and placement, regularly optimize price floors, and keep an eye on video and ad analytics.
After a while of fixing and tweaking, you’ll find an optimal combination specific to your content, viewership, and expectations. And if you need help, you can always turn to TargetVideo’s Managed Ads solution.
How to Add Mid-Roll Ads to Your Website
In order to put mid-roll ads on your website, you will first need to have video content, as well as a video player that is optimized for ad serving.
The next thing on the list is getting ad demand. With the right video ad network by your side, you can unlock access to top-tier demand with high CPMs.
Don’t have any content but still want to monetize through mid-rolls? No worries! TargetVideo’s Managed Video Player is designed for non-video publishers who want to generate video ad revenue. All you have to do is embed it, and TargetVideo does the rest, from playlist curation to price floor optimization.
End-to-end solution for publisher monetization, video content, and audience engagement. You embed the player – we do the rest!
Learn MoreConclusion
Ready to add mid-roll ads to your ad revenue roster? Partner up with TargetVideo to unlock access to premium demand, high-end video and ad technology, and top-tier ad ops experts.
Get in touch with our team to request a demo and find out more.
Mid-Roll Ads: FAQ
1. How long can mid-roll ads be?
Specific ad length limitations will vary depending on the platform. For example, on YouTube, mid-rolls can be up to three minutes long, depending on the region. As a rule of thumb, any ad longer than 30 seconds should be skippable.
2. Where can you find mid-roll ads?
You can find mid-roll ads to place on your website or app through any reputable video ad network. Alternatively, you can enter a direct deal with an advertiser for mid-roll placements.
3. How many mid-roll ads can you have in a video?
You can have as many mid-roll ads as you’d like (unless your ad network has defined limits). However, too many ads will drive your audience away, so aim for moderation, rather than quantity.
4. Mid-roll vs pre-roll ads
Both mid-roll and pre-roll ads are types of instream video ads – advertisements that appear within a video content stream. The difference is that pre-roll ads show up before the content starts streaming, while mid-roll ads interrupt the stream during playback.
5. Mid-roll vs post-roll ads
Much like pre-roll and mid-roll ads, post-rolls are also a type of instream video ads. However, unlike mid-rolls, which show up during the video, post-rolls are served after the video has finished streaming.
