Google Expands AdSense for Video

Google expanded its AdSense program for video, officially bringing it into beta.

The program launched as a pilot last May, at which point Google began experimenting with different ad formats.

Ultimately, it was a familiar advertising model that won out: InVideo, the format found on Google-owned YouTube. Google will take the InVideo format and expand it across all of its video platforms, and it will also add a text-overlay-based delivery option.

“We have two major goals: to make it easier for publishers to monetize video online and for advertisers to learn how to reach the video community,” project manager Shamim Samadi wrote on the official Google blog.

Google is making AdSense for video available to U.S.-based publishers that serve a minimum of 1 million video streams per month. The company said it expects to eventually expand the program to smaller publishers across the globe. Already, video site MyDamnChannel.com has announced they will use the AdSense service.

The AdSense system looks at signals on the publisher’s site and in the videos to determine which contextual ads will be used. The InVideo system pays out on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis, while text-overlay ads will pay out on a cost-per-click basis.

Google expanded its YouTube partner program last year, allowing publishers to share in ad revenue with Google. The expanded AdSense program will run in conjunction with the partner program.